It was the sort of night where many would rather stay in than be out and about. Not because of the day, a Friday in mid-March, or the weather, warm and clear in contrast to the usual chilly the spring would bring about. It wasn't the usual crowds hurrying about the Shinjuku-ward, those were a welcome distraction in comparison to the blinding lights and loud music blaring from the nightlife, the norm during the weekends. No, it was something else entirely, something that hung in the air, crept at your bones, giving you that eerie feeling that something was going to happen. The feeling you got when you walked into your flat after a long night of partying to see your girl sitting on the couch waiting. You just know something bad was going to go down, and you were not able to stop it.

Or it could have been the oncoming storm, as many would suspect. The aura of dread hanging over the city did little to keep the young folk off the streets, many feeling the static on their skin and finding it exhilarating, yet another vibe to feed off of. Ah, to be young, naive, and horrifically impressionable.

In spite of the dark feeling surrounding the city, the windows of the Ginrou-kaku building were cracked, allowing the muggy air to clear out the musty smelling work-living space. The building was old, coming up at 90 years pretty soon, with few renovations to affect the interior. In the past this was the place to be, the hottest little pad in town, with offices and small families chomping at the bit to get their space in the most modern place in town. But now it had fallen by the wayside, the management pouring little of the much allotted rent into repairs, leaving it to the tenants to take care of. Many thought to complain, but to some residents, it was just another thing to get you up in the morning.

One of such residents was a man in his early thirties, tall and a bit on the thin side, brown locks framing his face and sharp eyes. He perpetually smelled of cigarettes, a habit he had been trying to kick, but as the overflowing ashtray on his lacquered desk clearly showed any patch or pill he had tried was completely ineffective.

His particular apartment was a floor-spanning home office; the plate on the door had "Narumi Detective Agency" painted neatly upon it. A regular old gumshoe, a rare sight in this day and age where the police were out full force at the slightest sign of trouble. Yet perhaps that was is why private detectives still thrived in the inner depths of the city, appearing to solve the more seedier cases. Questionable disappearances the police had given up on, victims of wrongful accusation, and on rare occasions, murder...

Or at least that was what Narumi Shouhei wished he was privy to. No, his everyday batch of cases were those of adulterous spouses and stolen goods, not anything so gritty and glamorous as he would like. Ah, yes, the days of good ol' detective work were gone, being replaced by specialists with fancy science degrees, text book theories, and lab equipment. Not an ounce of creativity, nor any sort of skill went into it. Everything was by the book, and if it could not be done by the book, it ran cold. That was why he was there, solving problems using nothing but the tools before him, logic, and good ol' fashion investigational work. At times he would be of use with more bizarre crimes, labeled as a "specialist" of his own; for unusual cases, those the cops had given up on. Supernatural incidents, if you would, though his reasoning for taking up such capers was a secret he would not divulge to anyone.

But such cases didn't fall into his lap, the police generally giving the victims answers they want to hear, or the victims accepting the information without a second thought. It's only when they question the answers given them do they appear at his doorstep.

Thus, to continue paying for his third floor office apartment, Narumi continued to take minor and mundane cases, much to his chagrin.

At that present time, Narumi sat hunched at his desk, lazily browsing various blogging and news sites out of pure boredom. A thin plume of smoke rose up from the cigarette neatly pressed between two dry lips, a frown burrowing the man's neatly trimmed eyebrows. How long had he been scrolling through the same website waiting for something of interest to happen? But nothing came of it; it was Friday night after all. Any blogger would be out collecting their latest scoop, not stuck indoors typing up an article for other homebodies to be reading. The night was young, anything could happen!

With a frustrated groan, Narumi wished "anything" would happen to him.

A distant siren perked his ears as he hit refresh again on the website, the promise of something big dangling just out of reach. Sirens were not that uncommon; this was a heavily policed area with all the gang activity, but one siren soon lead to three, then more. Maybe, he thought, just maybe the night will get interesting...

Yet soon, he sirens died off, bringing Narumi's hopes along with them. It was to be expected; one should not get their hopes up over such silly thing. For all he knew it was just another fight at the Pachinko parlor, those were common enough these days. Depravity itself was common, he knew, but such was the way of humanity.

But as he had finally given up on anything noteworthy appearing on his screen, a jazzy tune began emanating from his desk drawer, the old oak rattling with the vibrations. Narumi tugged the apparatus open, revealing his beaten up cell phone, the touch display reading "Futsuo".

Strange, he hadn't heard from Futsuo since...

A simple thumb press connected the call, and Narumi held it to his ear to answer. "This is Narumi." He said gruffly, reaching for a fresh cigarette out of the drawer.

"Oi, Shouhei, how are you?" The background noise was tremendous, so much that the man could hardly make out what his caller was saying, "Are you free right now?"

Narumi took his favorite zippo lighter and caught the end of his cigarette, "Depends what you mean by 'busy'."

"Are you on a case or are you surfing the net." Blunt, as usual. Futsuo knew him well; they worked together before, at his previous job.

With rolling eyes the man switched his phone from a hand to wedged between his shoulder and ear, "What do you want, Futsuo?"

"I got a job for you. Crime scene down near the canal. Can you hear the sirens? There's about seven cars out now."

A crime scene, this could be just the case he was looking for. But to have a police officer calling him in and not a private client could mean a number of things, and a vast majority of them involved things Narumi was not ready to get into. Namely confessing to a false crime. "I've got a solid alibi, you can't take me."

"What? Shouhei, that's not what I mean. I..." there was the faint noise of shuffling cloth and skin against the speaker of the phone, "There's been a homicide, a few actually, and I need your help."

So that was it, he was being called in to check out a murder scene? "Futsuo, I told you, I'm not a cop anymore. Call Waruo or something, he's your partner, right?"

"If Waruo and I had the expertise for this kind of thing, I wouldn't be calling you against my boss's orders."

Now he was wary; cooperating with outside agents without consent from your superiors was a fireable offense, and to have the straight-laced by-the-book Futsuo be purposefully breaking those regulations was a feat in itself. Narumi expected such out of Waruo, but not this green bean of an officer. "And... why may I ask do you need a gumshoe to help you?"

"I don't need a gumshoe." The man sighed, sounding more his age than before. The kid was a good deal younger than him, at least ten years, but his occupation was aging him quickly. "I need you."

Narumi couldn't help but snort at the idea; "Whoa, kid, easy there. I don't kiss after the first date."

"Will you knock it off?" Agitated, the young officer had to take a second to calm himself. "When we got into the room, it reeked of blood, rotting flesh and..." he paused once more, as if the next bit of information was either immensely important and required a build-up of suspense, or was so unsettling that a homicide unit officer couldn't fathom it. "...rotting eggs."

The detective's eyes widened in realization. Sulfur.

"...Where are you?"

"The canal in front of the old docks, the poor housing? Just follow the sirens." Futsuo sounded a little relieved, but nervous at the same time. Narumi paid it little mind.

"I'll be there in twenty minutes. Don't touch anything."

The poor housing was just that; group housing for families who could not afford homes of their own, whether it be for financial hardship, inability to work, or other such disabilities. It wasn't uncommon for crimes involving assault to happen at such locations; this lot in particular was known for a good amount of drug activity. Narumi had made busts there himself a few times. But murder... not so much. Too cramped, not many places to hide, too many witnesses...

"No one saw the attack." A tall, gangly man sporting spiked hair and glasses spoke, digging through his pockets for some smokes. "Futsuo can't find any prints aside from the victims on any entry ways. Apparently, the place was dead-bolted when the police arrived."

Narumi glanced to the taller man, feeling a vague twinge of jealousy about his height in comparison. "So how did they know to call the cops?"

"The woman who had the room-share next to them heard what sounded like a wild beast attacking."

A wild beast? In the middle of Shinjuku? "And did you find any nasties up there?"

"Nothing." The man took a drag on his cigarette, glancing to one side as his partner came up. "Waruo, the chief wants you."

"Tell him I'm busy."

"How about I tell him you're taking a smoke break in the middle of a crime scene?"

The taller man rolled his eyes and tossed the half-burnt stub into the gutter before heading back into the building. The young brunette officer greeted him with a mock salute before motioning for Narumi to follow. "Told the chief you were here, so take a look around but try not to disturb the scene too much."

Narumi whistled, giving the man a snarky grin. "So you told him after all. You've got balls, kid."

The pet-name earned Narumi a hard glare from Futsuo, "Hey old man, lay off the kid bit. I've earned my rank!"

This only garnered the flustered officer a snicker and a pat on the back. "You'll always be a kid to me, Futsuo. Get over it."

The two continued their teasing as they made their way up the too-narrow staircase into the dilapidated upper floors of the shared residency. The place was a wreck even before you got into the rooms themselves. Nothing was up to code, but Narumi was sure the price they put on the place kept the tenants from complaining about it. Seeing what squalor these folk were living in, Narumi almost felt grateful for his own dusty office. At least it was bug free. Drug free as well.

A twitchy looking fellow waited for them at the head of the stairs, holding a gown and a pair of waterproof booties, Narumi guessed to keep the scene uncontaminated. He gratefully slipped them on, hoping his outfit wouldn't get ruined; a fine pressed shirt, sleeves rolled just above the elbows, a silk tie, and a new pair of slacks. His jacket remained slung over his arm, the housing unit far too warm for it, and his matching hat left back in the car for the sake of not being lost in the fray of panicked law enforcement agents.

The door to the small flat was broken in, a battering ram placed not far from it. A pool of blood edge from the door jamb into the hallway, foot prints from officers traipsing in and out needlessly only further dragging the crimson around. It was sparsely decorated with a few band posters, a pair of futons still laid out, some A/V equipment, and an open box of drug paraphernalia. But what really caught one's attention was a collection of bones, muscle, and flesh, barely strung together by the ligaments and fatty tissues of whom the people once were. Deep lacerations covered the remaining skin, teeth marks in the bones. Whatever it was that attacked them, they weren't in it for the food, they were out to kill. Something out of a horror movie, a slasher film. Something Junji Ito would drool over, it was so creative looking. But Narumi was not here to admire the work of a madman, he was here to find the creator of such a piece.

"How'd the perp get in and out?" Narumi asked, holding a nose as he carefully stepped over a large pile of intestinal mass, a faint squish beneath his polished loafers being enough to set the officer at the door into another fit of dry heaving. Futsuo stood just outside, casting his fellow officer a dirty look. "We suspect the window... but we're nine stories up, and there's no fire escape on the window, so any intruder would have to jump."

The window in question was on the far wall; a large bay window, probably the only source of light for the room during the day. Big enough for a person to jump through... or a beast. "And the these poor saps?"

"According to the lease, a young couple and their friend." Futsuo finally braved the entryway, narrowly missing a fragment of a skull on the floor. "They were behind on rent, and apparently very deep into narcotics."

"Kept animals?" The detective trudged his way to the wall, grimacing at how dangerously close he was to getting gore on his nice suit. His hands fell over one of the deep claw marks, nearly piercing through the drywall to the other side. "A cougar, maybe?" he snorted.

Futsuo shook his head, "They took in strays, I hear, but that's about it. Nothing like a lion or anything."

That still left the possibility of another such beast though. Above the stench of steadily decaying gore was something he had trained his nose to pick out, the stench of rotting, boiled eggs... Narumi turned his attention to the windowsill and the powdered substance sprinkled atop it. There was no mistaking it. Sulfur, the sure sign of something that was right up his alley. "You guys should clear the bodies out. I'll see what I can do."

Futsuo stepped aside to allow Narumi through, watching as he went. "You'll help us?"

Narumi gave the man a coy smile, "Of course, if your precious chief agrees to my price scale..." At this Futsuo looked like he might gag as well. Knowing Narumi, he'd ask for the highest possible price of the department, and he'd withhold any info until they were desperate enough to agree to his terms. But before the young cop could protest, he was saved by an older, rather weary looking fellow. "No need, Narumi, we've already got an expert coming in." He said sternly, hitching a thumb over his shoulders. "You're free to go."

It was as if Narumi could just see the money flying away from him, "An expert? Who did you call? A zookeeper to corral the lion?"

A vein twitched in the chief's head and it appeared that he might just pop the younger detective in the face. "I mean it, Narumi. Beat it, or I'll have you taken in for disturbing a crime scene."

Narumi had no choice but to raise his hands in defense and make an act of going down the steps to ground level. So much for an epic case to work on. As much as Narumi hated the idea of innocent people being murdered senselessly, the brief idea of being able to investigate such a horrific crime was downright exciting to him. He wasn't sure if he was disturbed by that or not.

Once back on the street, Narumi pulled on his jacket, adjusting the collar as he approached Waruo. "Gotta light?"

Miffed that he wasn't allowed to continue his smoke while on the job, the man reluctantly tossed his pack at Narumi, whom plucked one for himself and lit up. "Looks like butcher's backroom in there."

"You're telling me. I can already see Futsuo having nightmares about this." Waruo said heavily, scrubbing at his hair. Narumi couldn't help but smirk at the comment, "You two still dancing around each other like a couple of jittery schoolgirls, aren't you?"

Oh, the look he got for that... "Narumi, I swear to God..." A warning, and fair enough. For as athletic and strong Narumi was, he wasn't stupid enough to go up against a guy like Waruo. He was a rough and tumble kid, a bit younger than Futsuo, fresh from the academy from what he had heard. But this kind had earned his place through his physical prowess, able to throw just about any man down in two seconds flat. With him paired with Futsuo, the brains, they were well off in their division.

Yet as Waruo continued to grumble about his apparent inability to properly express himself, something caught his eye. A woman, one he recognized only vaguely in the darkness, shrouded in a cloak that covered her head and eyes, exposing only her lips to the world. Next to her stood another shadowy figure, tall and lean with skin that seemed to glint the moonlight above him. He wore what looked like something of a cape and slacks, a hat perched atop his head bearing what looked like a school emblem. He took some time he speak with the woman, before nodding and heading towards the building.

As the boy came into the light Narumi caught a glimpse of him up close. Not only was he pale, he looked nearly white in the harsh ambers of the street lights above. His hair was neatly trimmed, save for a pair of side-burns that stuck at an awkward angle against his angled cheeks. The cap did indeed yield a school emblem, one of Yumizuki, a prestigious secondary in the northern part of the ward. But what really caught Narumi's attention were his eyes; a light, almost unreal gray-blue, staring straight ahead, a man on a mission. Narumi almost couldn't stop staring as he glided past him. In fact, he would have continued and followed the boy inside if he had not been hissed at violently but a cat that was, for some reason or another, perched atop the boy's shoulder. Strange, then again the whole of the situation was strange.

Is he the specialist they were talking about? Narumi wondered. If he was, he looked far too young to have any experience in this sort of thing. Hell, he almost felt bad for them sending someone so young into a scene like that. Poor kid was going to be scarred for life after all this.

"Well, not much I can do about it..." he said out loud, finishing the cigarette and making his way towards his car. May was well head back and get some sleep, or maybe check that blog again... hm...

Narumi continued to ponder his next move as his mind slowly drifted away from an infinite expanse of websites picturing fine suits and shoes back to the young cloaked boy, and just how he recognized the woman in black.

Perhaps soon they'll all fall into place.

Days went by and Narumi made little headway. He had asked around of his own accord, figuring if he could not get hired on the spot, he could at least gather information and act as a broker for the cops. It was a filthy, dishonorable ploy, he felt, but just because the building was old didn't mean he wasn't required to pay rent every month, and wives of adulterous husbands don't often have a lot of cash to throw around. Unless you were an exotic dancer, then they'd magically have some.

The career change came as a humorous fantasy as Narumi once again found himself idly sitting at his desk, computer on the usual site, scrolling through the pages looking for anything good. His Italian leather chair creaked in protest as he leaned back in it, feet propped onto one corner of the oak desk, a cigarette hanging from pursed lips. Boredom was the number one cause of sudden, chronic napping for the man, and internet browsing was the only known cure.

Yet no matter how long he looked, he couldn't find anything that could lead to a clue about the violent crime at the canal. The incident was hardly mentioned on the news. Those involved would contribute it to the absolute bizarreness of the case, how they had no leads, no probable suspects, and no weapon aside from what looked to be some type of animal. Or perhaps it was because regardless of how huge a news story this would be, how they could follow the investigation of such a gruesome tale and raise their ratings, no news station dared publish a story like this. In a day and age where policing of the airwaves was common place, anything that could encourage someone to take up some sort of lewd conduct or perform a violent crime was censored on the spot. A shame, really, Narumi would often think. Sure, shielding the young and impressionable from gory images such as a crime scene was just fine by him, but pulling the wool over their eyes for anything that could even remotely be considered violent or lewd... That would end up creating a problem in itself. Curiosity killed the cat, as they say.

Not that Narumi advocated showing off that level of body debris to anyone who wasn't trained to handle, especially to children.

Speaking of which...

For what could have been the eleventh time that day, Narumi's thoughts drifted to the high school student he ran across before. He was young, had to be if he still wore his school emblem, but why was he hired by the cops? And those eyes, cold and unfeeling... no, hiding something. Hiding emotion, fear, grief, maybe... And whom was that woman he was with? Narumi knew he recognized her from a time not far passed. For a week he wracked his brain, trying to find out not only more about the case, but the mysterious pair.

It's a face I shouldn't have forgotten, Narumi scolded himself, but I haven't seen her recently, and I for sure have not seen that boy. I wouldn't forget a face like that. Those eyes, that hair, those lips...

A sudden knock on the door shocked the man from his thoughts. With a yelp the chair tipped backwards, taking Narumi for a ride straight onto the floor with a yelp. He hardly had time to pick himself up off the floor before the door was open, the patter of heeled feet at the door shuffling into house shoes. "Narumi-san, are you here?" A familiar cheerful voice called out to him, followed by more shuffling of feet. A woman came into view, a bit on the short side for her age. Dark cropped hair feathering against his smooth skin, eyes wide with wonder for the world. She wore a spring casual outfit, a lavender tapered suit top complete with matching flounced pencil skirt to match. She looked like a reporter just in appearance, or something similar. "Narumi-sa-" She rounded the corner of the desk and stared down at the frazzled detective, barely stifling a laugh. "Catch you getting familiar with yourself again?"

"Put a cork in it, Tae!" The man shout irritably. He wished for something to do to cure his boredom, all he got was a nosy reporter friend coming to call. "I'm doing delicate research online!"

"Looks like you're looking at pastry recipes online, Narumi." Tae laughed, but helped the man to his feet in spite of everything. Of any of his clients, Narumi knew Tae the longest. They had met even before he entered the police academy, back when she was just entering middle school. She was a lively kid, running around with a notebook and a toilet paper tube microphone, and being his next door neighbor, she'd often come over to "interview" him. Years down the road, Narumi saw her as something of a kid sister, but sibling or no, she still had the habit of barging in at inopportune times and heckling him while he tried to get work done. And for what? An interview, a scoop, a tip-off to a big hit of a story to "blow the pants off all those big wigs who say girls can't make it in the journalism world!" Narumi wasn't sure where she got the feminist act, and knew she hardly got flak from any "big wigs" that she wrote for. In fact, Narumi had read a few articles by her before and found them to be quite well done... In the end, he figured she was simply trying to make a point, or just prove that "Asakura Kichou" was a force to be reckoned with.

Narumi righted himself, then his chair, dusting both off before returning to his seat. "I'm taking a break."

"Right... Say, I heard an interesting rumor the other day!" This again. As a reporter Tae came across many "rumors", from monsters living in abandoned warehouses to ghosts that haunted the local school's bell tower. Often they were not real, or they were too bizarre to be even fathomable, but on occasion they did have their uses, especially when it came to unfathomable cases like the one from a few nights ago. "And that would be?" He asked, reaching for the still lit cigarette on the floor and snuffing it out.

Tae plopped down at the dining table situated in the center of the office, the one he sat clients at during discussions of cases. "Well, I heard a strange rumor that there's been a mysterious cloaked figure flitting about Tsukudo-cho!"

A strange cloaked figure; that rang a bell. But that wasn't enough to keep him interested. "Okay, so someone's wearing a cloak. What about it?"

Tae pout, cheek's puffing. "Let me finish, Narumi!" she scolded, reaching into her messenger bag and pulling out a notepad. "It's always in some shady area near the west-end exit. They say he appears sporadically, sometimes running, sometimes limping, sometimes flying by some reports." Nimble fingers flipped through pages of notes, a dozen or so interview. "But in spite of the differences in stories, they all said the same thing."

Narumi quirked a brow, wondering if he should get up for another smoke. "And that is?"

"He always smells like blood and death."

That tidbit got the gears turning. Black cloak smelling of death. His mind immediately turned to the kid he had saw a few days before. He had been brought in by the chief of police, right? Was he a foreigner or was he truly a specialist of sorts?

The notebook was snatched from Tae's hand, the man flipping through it, "Where did you say they see this guy at?"

"H-hey, give that back!" A hand darted out to try and apprehend the notebook thief, only to have Narumi stand and begin reading through it. "Just answer the questions, miss. Just the facts." He smirked.

Tae pout once more, appearing much younger than she was. "West-end, where the train lets off, the line that goes up out of town? But it's only late at night, sometimes on the last train. No one has seen him in the daylight."

Narumi continued flipping through pages, noticing something... interesting. "Tae, why do none of these people have occupations listed?"

"They don't have jobs."

The two exchanged a look, Narumi appearing as though he was physically in pain by the act. "Tae, you can't just interview homeless people in the park and expect what you hear to be true!"

"But what if it is? It's just a rumor, and their stories match!"

Unconvinced, Narumi tossed the notebook back at her. "Thanks for the tip, Tae, but I'm not all that interested in some black shadow a couple of drunk guys in west-end have seen. Thanks, but I have to work on that slasher over in the canal."

"Are you questioning my fact-checking skills?"

"I'm questioning your braining skills. Now if you don't mind, I'm working here."

Finally relenting, Tae stood and gathered her things. "Fine, see if I come back with the next tidbit of information, since you're so ungrateful." The same spiel every time, and much to Narumi's disappointment, she always came back. Always.

Narumi waved her off and returned to his desk, looking over what little information he had printed. The documents were highlighted, noted, and even had some corrections made. All were medical records, arrest lists, and friend's profiles from the cases. The three of them were heavy into drugs, yet the man of the relationship still managed to support the other three at work in spite of his own drug habit. They had little more than petty thefts and shoplifting on their records, with the exception of an assault charge against the second man, which apparently ended with a suspension serve. Yet with all this, not one person interviewed could say they knew exactly whom would want to take the three out in such a gruesome way. All they knew is that they often took in stray cats. Narumi soon found that nothing would add up to any normal reasoning. That's when he started looking at the paranormal.

With Tae out of his hair, he was free to switch tabs in his browser and look at a whole different website. Black background, a light gray print with red accents, and in the middle column nothing but pictures of creatures known to haunt the lands. Any demonic form, any deity from any country was all listed here, and with the help of some enthused fans of the occult, a lot of the articles where accompanied by detailed pictures. Unfortunately, Narumi wasn't sure where to start, and had taken up looking through each individual profile one by one, determining through process of elimination which one could be responsible for the deaths.

It wasn't doing him much good, considering he couldn't find a demon that could fit through the window but still have the huge paws of a predatory cat. Further investigation would be needed... he just hoped it was a one-time freak accident and not something that was going to become recurring, because without any leads, he wasn't sure he wanted to dive into that, possible compensation or no.

As the sun set into yet another uneventful night, Narumi prepared himself a small dinner consisting of leftover pasta and a bit of pizza from a previous delivery, deciding he may as well watch some TV for the sake of drowning out his boredom with mindless entertainment and junk food. Ah, the life of the bachelor.

It was around midnight when his usual sitcom line-up ended and he decided to turn in for the night. Not that he had far to go to do so, with the only television set in the apartment being in direct view of his bed. He clicked off the set and rolled over, trying to get comfortable.

Yet just as he finally got himself comfortable on his luxurious queen mattress, a thick rumbling interrupted his rest, followed by a bolt of lightning and bucket of rain being dumped on the city... and on his nice wood floors. "Ah, damn it!" Narumi sprung from the bed, quickly moving to shove the window closed before it could allow more water to seep into the old wood of his apartment. Narumi continued to curse as he grabbed the nearest towel and began mopping up with this feet. Of course he'd have to do something like this as soon as he was comfortable, Murphy's law.

While mopping the soaked hardwood, something flickered across his vision, which immediately widened to the ground below. It was only slight, sudden, a flash of white against the cobblestone pavement. But just as soon as he had saw it, it was no more. What was that? A demon? A guest?

And then, trailing behind him in a blur of white, red, and black, was a shadowy cloaked figure.

Without even giving a thought to Tae's rumors, Narumi pulled on his clothes as quickly as possible, darting down the stairs to try and catch it himself first hand. Why? Even he wasn't sure, but it felt like something was compelling him to pursue that shadow, and he had to know it's secrets...

Narumi ran into the night looking for the cloaked figure, wanting to confirm his suspicious and work out the gut feeling he had.

The rain continued to pour down around his ears as he walked the streets of Tsukudo-cho, slicker whipping around in the wind and the occasional breeze threatening to blow his hat away. The streets were eerily quiet, either because of the sudden squall or something else entirely. He recognized it, the tension in the air... the aura that surrounded him, clutched at his skin, his brain, his heart, thick and heavy like a wet wool suffocating the entire city. It set off emotions of fear, sorrow, anger, pain... but he knew to ignore it. The few times he had come across such a feeling told him what to do; stand tall, don't let your mind wander. It was when you let the fear get to you that you could fall into that other world. And if you fell through the cracks of time and space into the darkness, there was little chance you'd come back unscathed.

Narumi continued to wander, the feeling dread steadily dissipating. Whatever was here challenging the barrier between worlds was weakening. He imagined the shadowy figure was somehow responsible, yet he wasn't sure why. If it was, then the figure was not something malicious, but malevolent. At least there was that realization to comfort him; the shadowy figure was not hostile to him, at least.

A deep, thundering roar interrupted his thoughts, his head whipping around in the direction of the animalistic cry. That wasn't thunder, nor could it be anything short of an escaped zoo animal, but in Tsukudo-cho? It was hint enough where he should be.

The detective made a bee-line back towards the Ginrou-kaku building as the sounds of a one sided battle broke out. The running of steel through flesh, claws through cloth, gunshots... He was surprised the police weren't out there checking it out, yet as he passed a few civilians they looked to hardly acknowledge the disturbing noises. Was he imagining it? Or was it that only he had the ability to hear it?

The noises suddenly came to a stop with a shuddering growl, and then all was quiet, drowned out by the downpour. The eeriness dissipated, but Narumi could not shake the feeling that the threat was not quite gone.

He continued down the street, approaching a darkened alley. When he got within ten feet of it, the smell hit him; blood.

Instinctively his had went for his gun tucked neatly in the leather holster beneath his jacket. He had made the mistake of leaving the house without it earlier, but this time he was prepared. The puddles from the storm were dyed red beneath his feet, bits of white fur and what looked like flesh strewn about the concrete alley. But no carcass, so either the beast had escaped or had been sucked into the darkness.

The gun was drawn as Narumi carefully entered the corridor, approaching the bend in the alley. His gut feeling told him to be prepared for the worst, that there was something just around the corner... He hugged close to the wall, gun drawn, peeking around the brick to see whom or what was there on the other side.

In the darkness of the alleyway past the bend was the shadowed figure he'd seen before, moving away from him at a snail's pace, very much using the brick wall as support. Hell, the figure was practically lying against it as they moved. Now that it was very much slowed to a crawl Narumi could make it out for what it really was.

Human, definitely human. Tall, too. That was about as much as he could make out with that cloak, appearance-wise, that is. But beyond that he could tell a few other things. Chalk it up to some good life experience in the force, or decent deductive reasoning, whatever. He knew the figure was limping, that it was having trouble. They also seemed to be holding their side, or stomach. He didn't look well. Narumi's eyes also fell upon the hilt of a sword hidden under that cloak. That instantly set off alarms in his head, but before he could think too much into that the figure suddenly collapsed, hitting a puddle with a nice splash. There was a pause, only a few seconds that felt like forever as he waited for the figure to rise again, struggle to their feet and continue on. But that didn't happen. They lay still, unmoving. Were they dead? Passed out?

Narumi hesitantly approached the bloody figure, gun still drawn out of habit. Who knew if they man was capable of getting up and taking him out right then and there. One could never be too careful.

A cat trot up to the collapsed man, mewling almost frantically, biting the hem of his cloak as if trying to rouse him. It must have been his pet… Narumi mused, inching ever closer to the injured man. Just as he came within a few feet of him, the cat took notice, fur bristling and ears flattening back with a warning hiss.

It was just like the other day, outside of the complex…

This confirmed it. The shadowy specter that Tae had mentioned, the one he watched make chase just outside his home, was the same as the boy he saw before at the crime scene.

In spite of the cat's warning, Narumi knelt down beside the boy, gently turning him over so he wasn't face down in the puddles anymore. Pale skin, angular cheeks, full lips… Screwed up in pain or not, he could tell he was the very same child. He was pursuing the beast? This boy? Was he insane?

His training kicked in, assessing the situation. The boy was not dead, still breathing, if not a bit ragged. He wore a school uniform to match the cap firmly placed upon his head, the fabric torn and dyed crimson by what looked like a deep gash in his stomach. Claw marks, so he was pursuing the beast, and had apparently given it a run for its money judging by the fur and bits of animal meat on the other side of the alleyway. A white leather belt hung from his hips, a sword on one side, a gun on the other. Across his chest was what appeared to be a holster of sorts, metal tubes tugged neatly in rows of four on each side. But what really caught his attention was the design on the hilt…

He knew that design, he saw it once before, years ago…

Then it clicked.

The cloaked woman, the mysterious boy sent in for a special investigation, and the rumors surrounding the shadow… paired with that dark, heavy aura, it finally made sense.

Narumi wasted no time in heft the boy up into his arms in spite of the cats protests. The feline scratched and bit as his ankles, Narumi had to fight the urge to kick it away. "Calm down, pussy-cat." He chided, making sure he had a firm grip on the slight youth. The boy was injured enough, he didn't need to be dropped again. Given the situation, Narumi couldn't take him to the hospital. If anyone from that world ended up there, their leader would have a fit. Cover-ups were expensive, and if someone found out too much it could be life-threatening.

He would have to patch the boy up as best as he could, otherwise he'd end up dead out here in the rain. "You owe me an explanation, kid." Narumi adjusted himself to better suit the boy's weight, grimacing as blood began running down his slicker and onto his slacks. "And a new suit too. But I'll put that on your tab." Along with all the other medical supplies he'd need, he was sure.

With the cat in tow, Narumi hastily made his way back to the office, hoping he could get the boy fixed up long enough for an explanation… and to confirm his suspicions.