Prologue - Daily Life Under Suspension and Reassignment

In a non-descript apartment, a non-descript man tossed and turned in his non-descript bed, then bolted upright glistening with sweat. This non-descript man, named Satsuke Nakamura, is a police officer. His appearance can be best described as "painfully average." His short, black hair was only slightly unmanageable, making him glad that he had to wear a hat while on the job. He was not blessed with movie star good looks, nor was he cursed with a hideous visage. He simply never attracted much attention from many people, let alone from women. His only remarkable feature were his eyes, which had been described as intelligent and kind. These eyes were becoming more and more bloodshot, developing prominent circles from many restless nights plagued with recurring nightmares.

He had wanted to be a policeman since he was a boy. He wasn't following in his father's footsteps, nor his grandfather's. He instead chose law enforcement because of the bullying he received for being cursed with a girl's name. He was disappointed at first when he found out that his beat was to patrol the neighborhoods and the parks on a bicycle, and that he would never be a "tough" cop like Clint Eastwood's character in Dirty Harry. He grew to love his job, though. He enjoyed meeting new people, and being able to talk to the citizens he was protecting face to face made his job far more personal. He also came to appreciate that his job was good exercise, and he had thus developed a more athletic physique. Unfortunately, while he had always been dedicated to his job, he had a tendency towards being easily spooked and panicking when he was in a situation where he was in way over his head.

No, his life would never be like Dirty Harry, but lately it had started to resemble one of the later Police Academy movies because of the recent revelation of liminals. These liminals, also called demi-human or pseudo-human mythological creatures, had been kept hidden by the world's governments until three years prior when the Japanese government and the liminals' representative expressed the desire to cohabitate, thus breaking down cultural barriers. Satsuke had nothing at all against the liminals. In fact, he found them extremely fascinating, as well as very likable, overall. He had come to know quite a few of them while he was on his patrols, and there was even one that he found himself more than a little attracted to, specifically a friendly kobold that he often encountered doing her daily runs. Even with her vaguely canine facial features, he found her quite cute. However, it was her infectious cheer that won him over. The fact that her routine jogs resulted in an excellent figure was also a contributing factor. Were it not the prohibition on sexual relations between humans and liminals in the Cultural Exchange Between Species Bill, he would've loved to have gotten to know her on a more intimate level.

Since the Bill passed, liminals of many species had come to live with registered families so they could learn Japanese customs. In most cases, these cohabitations went quite smoothly. Others had a much longer period of adjustment. One of these involved Kurusu Kimohito, a young man that Satsuke was casually acquainted with. He first met the boy when he responded to a call regarding a young girl that was trapped on the high limb of a tree. By the time the policeman arrived, the girl was already safe on the ground, having been brought down by a harpy. Other than arms that ended in blue feathered wings and legs that ended in birds' talons, the harpy resembled a girl no older than twelve. A lamia was also at the scene with leaves in her long, fiery red hair showing that she had assisted in the rescue. She was a truly bewitching creature, with the hips of a belly dancer and full breasts. From the waist up, the only indications that she was anything other than human were strange red scales framing her cute face, pointed red ears, slightly pointed canines, and golden eyes with slit pupils. However, her lower half was that of a large anaconda with scales that shone like rubies. After his moment of elation that the girl was safe, he asked the two liminals who their hosts were. The Exchange Law required that any liminal is required to be with their host when out in public. The main exceptions were if the liminal is employed, or was appointed by one of their representatives. The lamia pointed to Kurusu as her host, referring to him as "Darling." This made the policeman chuckle inwardly. It was the harpy who hesitated. He remembered reading that harpies often had problems with short-term memory, so he gave her a moment to try to remember. When Kurusu stepped forward and declared himself as her host, he grew suspicious and asked for his papers. After watching the boy tense up for a seemingly interminable amount of time, one of the Exchange Agency's agents stepped forward with his paperwork confirming Kurusu as the harpy's host. The whole thing seemed off to Satsuke. Still, he understood the risk that the boy was taking on this harpy's behalf. This caused the policeman to genuinely like the kid. If it had turned out differently, he would have been left with no option but to have the boy arrested and the harpy deported, regardless of how Satsuke felt about it.

The first disturbing moment occurred when he was investigating a complaint in an old warehouse. He found the inside covered in large webbing which left a disgusting, sticky film on his fingers. Despite having no distaste for spiders, when he touched the webbed tendrils he felt a chill. It was the muffled scream he heard then that sent shivers down his spine and raised the hairs on the back of his neck. He recognized that he was dealing with a particularly dangerous liminal and that, not only would taking matters into his own hands cause a diplomatic incident, but also going in without backup was far too dangerous. His only option was to make a hasty retreat.

But this wasn't the worst thing he saw, not by a long shot. It was a particularly creepy night where he was investigating a disturbance in the local park and saw the same boy who stood up for the runaway harpy holding the severed head of a young girl, her skin blue as if she had been strangled before being decapitated. Now it appeared that the boy was, in fact, a cold-blooded killer. Then there were that girl's eyes. As he was taking notice of the girl's unique eyes, completely black with gold irises that seemed to stare directly through him, he felt a sharp blow to the back of his head, knocking him unconscious.

Since then, he pored over every complaint, arrest, and investigation, only to find nothing but the usual reports of destruction of public and private property. Because they all involved liminals and were thus declared "accidental," this was out of his jurisdiction. At any rate, he learned to ignore these petty crimes and even accept them as being inevitable until human society adjusted to accommodate the presence of liminals. Until the human world completely adapted to the presence of these people (for that's exactly what they were), these things were bound to happen.

However, cold-blooded murder was something he simply could not let go, and his concern grew to the point of obsession. This did not go unnoticed by Chief Shimizu, who strongly recommended that he take some time off with pay and maybe see a police-appointed psychotherapist. However, Nakamura knew that no amount of therapy would stop him from seeing that girl's eyes every time he closed his, nor would it stop his dreams of a sweet kid holding a severed head as if it were some gruesome trophy. He knew that there would be no therapist alive who could stop him from washing his hair as if trying to scrub the memories out of his brain, causing him to rub his scalp raw. After the umpteenth time of feeling the conditioner sting the many deep scratches on his head, he made a mental note to see if the pharmacy could recommend anything.

x

The following morning, Satsuke awoke in a stupor. He was finally able to sleep without dreaming, but the sedatives he was given were extremely heavy and put his head in a fog that wouldn't go away. A thirty-minute shower lifted the haze somewhat, but even then, he almost shaved his face using toothpaste instead of shaving cream. The young man knew that he was in no mental condition to try to make breakfast or brew coffee for himself, so he dressed himself (making a note to put his shoes on the correct feet) and walked to a convenience store down the street from his apartment building. As Satsuke gained full consciousness, his mind eventually wandered back to what had been plaguing it for so long. So distracted was he that he bumped hard into someone. He saw that it was the kobold that he used to see on his patrols, and that she was sprawled on the sidewalk. "Oh my God," he said as he helped her up, "I am so sorry. I should've been paying attention. Are you all right?"

She looked up and smiled cheerfully. "Oh, hi Officer Cutie!" she replied. "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it! I almost never pay attention when I'm on a run. Are you okay? You don't seem like yourself."

"Yes, I'm fine. I've just had a lot on my mind. Think nothing of it."

"Okay," the kobold said, patting Satsuke on the arm, "Take it easy, you hear? See you around!" With that, the kobold sped off.

Satsuke smiled and blushed a little bit from the kobold's flirting. It cheered him up enough for him to decide on his next course of action. He easily learned where Kimohito lived thanks to his ready access to police records. He knew that to investigate this matter would risk the job he loved so much, but it had gotten to the point where he could not have any more sleepless nights, no more nightmares. The only way to set his mind at ease was to get answers, and quickly.

It was much larger than he had previously imagined, but he realized that it had to be, given the kind of liminals he had living under his roof. The young officer felt a lump in his throat as he looked down the walkway leading up to the front door. He took a deep breath to steel his nerves, then began walking up to the door. He desperately hoped that either he had imagined the whole thing, or that it was all just a horrible misunderstanding. After all, he genuinely liked the kid and didn't want to think that he'd be capable of strangling and dismembering some innocent girl.

Before he realized it, he was at the front door. He took another breath and knocked, repeatedly whispering "this is only a social call" as softly as he could. "Can I help you?" an unearthly voice queried, making him leap from his skin. "Oh, it's you."

Satsuke opened his eyes, and what he saw made his heart skip a beat. Before him stood that girl, strangely intact and apparently alive. Her expression was perfectly blank, with those very eyes that had haunted him since that fateful night, boring holes into him. "I-I-I," he stammered, "I thought you were dead!"

"Foolish mortal," she uttered, pointing at him. "Clearly you don't understand that you are in the presence of Death Incarnate. When your time comes, it shall be I who shall possess your soul, dragging it past the very gates of Hell!

"I am, however, grateful for your concern for my welfare," she concluded, lowering her hand, "and for this, you have my gratitude."

"Ummmm... you're welcome?" Nakamura replied, completely deflated.

It was at this point that the police officer realized he was in the presence of a liminal. He noticed that this girl was certainly quite attractive. Her skin was a pale shade of blue, and her straight, white hair cascaded down her shoulders. Her figure was petite, yet voluptuous, and it filled out her rather anachronistic outfit very nicely. Covering her blouse was a coat of ebony armor, and her right hand held a notched scythe. How has she not been arrested for having that thing? he mentally asked himself.

"Lala-chan," a familiar voice called from down the hall, "are you scaring visitors again?"

Within moments, Satsuke Nakamura stood face to face with the center of his unofficial investigation, Kurusu Kimohito. "Oh, hello Officer!" he greeted the still-dumbfounded policeman with a sheepish smile. "How can I help you?"

Nakamura relaxed and said, "It is a very long story. May I come in?"

"Am I in trouble?" Kimohito asked, somewhat suspiciously.

"No, thankfully," the policeman replied, smiling warmly. "Your charge here proved without a doubt that you're not in trouble."

"It's about that night in the park, isn't it," Kurusu said. He then put his hands around Lala's head and easily took it off. "She's a dullahan," he concluded matter-of-factly.

"I would appreciate it if you would cease treating my head in such a casual manner," the head spoke as her body started flailing about trying to get it back.

The ludicrousness of the sight made Satsuke roar with laughter. "I found her body trying to find its head," Kurusu said. "I just couldn't leave her like that. Besides, who knows what would've happened to her if I didn't try and get it back for her?"

The policeman clapped the young man warmly on the shoulder and smiled. "Mortal," Lala's head said, "I demand that you return my head to my body."

Kurusu laughed, then handed the head back to her body, which had its hands on its hips and was tapping its foot impatiently. "Come in, officer," he said. "I'll make some coffee."

Once the young girl reattached her head, the group went down the wide hallway. Despite its palatial proportions, it was decorated no differently than most homes. Pictures of family and his liminal homestays lined the walls, and small house plants adorned the simple tables along the hallway. The smell of fresh paint and plaster told the policeman that the house had undergone recent renovations and repairs. It's very likely that this house didn't originally look like this, he thought to himself.

Satsuke was led into the living room, which he noted looked like it was bigger than his entire apartment. Playing video games was that same harpy who rescued the little girl. "Oh hi!" she said, waving a wing. "I'm Parpy the Papi... or is it Harpy the Papi... Pa-pa-pa-..."

The policeman was left scratching his head trying to decipher what the harpy's name was, or at least hoping she would eventually figure it out for herself. "Oh, don't mind dear Papi," a beautiful, almost melodic voice said from the doorway, "she can be flighty sometimes."

The voice belonged to one of the most beautiful creatures he had seen, human or otherwise, wheeling herself into the room via a wheelchair. He found it strange that she was wearing a Gothic Lolita maid's outfit, but Satsuke felt that she wore it extremely well. Her pink hair flowed down to her waist, and her eyes were as blue as the sea. Curiously, instead of ears, it seemed like she had fins, as well as webbing on her hands and odd slits along her ribs. When he looked down below her waist, he understood that he was in the presence of a mermaid straight out of a book of fairy tales. Soon, Kurusu entered the room bearing a tray with two steaming coffee mugs. "Ahh, Officer Nakamura," he said with a smile. "I see you've met Mero."

"A police officer officer?" Mero asked, her eyes lighting up. "It is an honor for me to meet a dedicated defender of the citizens of this lovely town. What brings him here, Dear Sir?"

"He saw me with Lala's head," the boy replied.

"Oh, dear," the mermaid said. "It is understandable that would bring you here. Thankfully, it was a dreadful misunderstanding that we could've done better to prevent. However, I truly admire your dedication, Officer, and I trust any suspicions about Dear Sir have been cleared."

Satsuke felt as if he was being praised by a princess, and fought the urge to kneel before her. "Your words honor me, Mero-san," he said with a smile. "Yes, any suspicions I had regarding Kimohito-san have been lain to rest."

"Darling," another voice, this one familiar to the policeman, called from down the hall, "do we have company?"

"Yes, we do," Kimohito responded.

Soon, the group was joined by the other liminal, the one whom he wished would have haunted his dreams instead, specifically the lamia who assisted Papi in the rescue. She dressed very simply, yet fashionably, with a pink shirt over a black top and a form-fitting denim miniskirt. "Oh, you're that policeman we saw in the park a few weeks ago," she said. "Is Darling in trouble?"

"Not at all, Miss," Satsuke replied. "And you are…?"

"I'm Miia," she replied with a smile that melted the policeman's heart. "If Darling isn't in trouble, what brings you here?"

"Miia," the boy replied, "he's here about the night we were searching for Lala's head."

The lamia screeched reflexively and turned to Kurusu with mild anger. "Don't remind me of that night!" she whined.

"Miia had such a fright when she first met Lala," Mero said.

"Yeah!" Papi added. "She's scared of detachable heads!"

"Shut up, birdbrain!"

"Cease this commotion at once!" an authoritative voice shouted from the doorway.

The policeman looked to the doorway and saw one of the few other liminals that he knew of from stories he read as a young boy. From the waist up, she was a very stern-looking woman whose white blouse struggled to contain the largest bust that Satsuke had ever seen outside of lewd anime. Her long, blond hair was tied in a ponytail, revealing pointed ears covered in brown fur. From the waist down, her body was that of a well-muscled horse and covered by a very large skirt, presumably for modesty. Around her human waist was a leather belt with a long scabbard containing a claymore. What is it with these liminals and their weapons? he mentally asked himself. He then remembered the day he arrested a purse-snatcher that had been terrorizing the neighborhood, and that the thief was being chased by a centaur. Could that have been her? he thought before dismissing it as meaningless coincidence.

"Is this the way you two behave when we have guests?" she said. She then turned to the policeman and said, "I am Centorea Shianus, a knight of the proud centaur race! I have sworn lifelong fealty to My Lord, and will thus defend him with my very life."

"I am Officer Satsuke Nakamura of the Fukazawa Police Department," the young man replied with a bow. "It is an honor to meet you, Shianus-san."

Centorea's expression softened somewhat. "So, in a way, we share a similar calling: to uphold justice and protect the weak and the helpless," she said. "The honor is mine, sir.

"So, what brings you to our humble home?"

"You mortals surely know that I am still here," Lala's ghostly voice said from a chair by the dining room table. With that, she took her head off and poured her coffee down what must have passed for her throat.

Miia screeched, "Damn it, stop that!"

The centaur nodded. "So, you are the one who found us in our search for that one's head," she said with a frown. "The timing of your discovery of our search was unfortunate. Had we met sooner, we would have gladly enlisted your aid."

"It is nothing at all," he replied. "Well, I should be going. It was truly a pleasure to meet you all."

The boy rose and politely escorted the policeman to the front door. "Thank you for stopping by," he said with a smile. "I'm glad we could get this whole mess sorted out. I'm sure this must have been weighing on you."

"I am, too," Satsuke said. "Now, be good!"

The policeman strolled down the sidewalk, finding himself smiling for the first time in days. He felt that he could finally put his mind and heart fully into his duties without the thoughts of a gruesome murder constantly plaguing his thoughts. So elated was he that he didn't notice that a black sedan with tinted windows was parked across the street from Kimohito's house, nor that it drove off as soon as Satsuke left.

x

The following two days found Satsuke feeling rejuvenated. Ever since his meeting with Kurusu Kimohito, the nightmares had stopped and he was finally able to get restful sleep without heavy sedatives. He took a day to catch up on his housework, and he even took a leisurely stroll through the park to enjoy the scenery, something he hadn't been able to do for a long time. It was at this moment that he felt like he could go back to work and concentrate on his duties as a police officer. So, it was on this day that, after a refreshing shower and a breakfast he could finally enjoy, he donned his uniform and rode to work.

It was when he entered the precinct building that he felt as if something was wrong. Every coworker he passed by stared at him as if he were a condemned man on his way to the gallows. Just what is going on here? he asked himself. I had better go see the chief and report for duty.

Satsuke was ready to knock on the office door when it flew open. Chief Shimizu, a very imposing figure, stared at him with undisguised anger. "Nakamura," he growled, "get your ass in here."

The young man immediately felt very small, and meekly walked into the chief's office. "Shut the door," he commanded. The moment Satsuke closed the door, Shimizu yelled, "Just what the hell were you thinking, Nakamura?! I thought I told you to let the whole thing go! I can't have one of my officers investigating whatever they want without my authorization!"

"Aye, sir," the policeman replied, doing his best to remain stoic.

"Shut up, Nakamura! I've got a good mind to fire your ass right now!" Shimizu shouted.

"Forgive me, Chief," Satsuke said, bowing obsequiously. "I promise that it will never happen again."

"You bet it won't!" the chief yelled, pounding his desk. "You're damned lucky that when I spoke to that kid, he spoke highly of you. In fact, he urged me not to fire you or even punish you! Furthermore, he went as far as to praise your dedication."

After speaking of Kimohito, the chief calmed somewhat. "I can't say I entirely disagree with him. I've never had an officer as dedicated as you are in all my years on the force. That being said, I have no choice but to suspend you without pay. I must ask that you turn in your badge and your gun until further notice."

Satsuke was crushed. He barely even noticed his hands slowly placing his badge, that very symbol of everything he represented, onto the chief's desk. He knew the risk he took by going to Kimohito's house, but he thought that it would all blow over after such a pleasant visit. His walk home was dominated by the feeling that everything he had built for himself was crumbling away. The rest of the day was spent staring at the television while watching nothing at all. He couldn't bring himself to care or even eat. That night, he stumbled into his bedroom and collapsed onto his bed, then cried himself to sleep.

x

An indeterminate amount of time passed with Nakamura sitting in his boxer shorts staring at the television. He ate only when the growling in his stomach became unbearable. He was unaware that days had passed doing the same thing. He didn't know or care that it had been days since he left his apartment. He barely noticed that food was becoming scarce, his pantry having only a few packets of ramen and his refrigerator practically empty. He was also unaware that someone was in his apartment with him. "My, aren't you a pathetic sight?" a feminine voice said.

Satsuke screamed, then turned to face his uninvited guest. "Take whatever you want," he yelled, "not that I have very much."

"What I want, Nakamura," she replied, "is you."

He looked over the woman in his apartment. He recognized her as the agent whose impeccable timing saved Kurusu from being arrested and Papi from being deported. She was tall, and quite beautiful. She wore an official-looking black suit, her form-fitting skirt coming down just above the knees of her long legs. Her frame was slender, perhaps a little too much for his personal tastes. Her hair was as black as her suit, spilling past her shoulders. Finally, she wore dark sunglasses despite the room being dimly lit.

"Who are you?" Satsuke asked after calming himself down.

"I am Smith, the Interspecies Exchange Coordinator," she replied. "I understand that you are in a bit of a predicament."

Any attraction he may have felt slipped away by how smugly she addressed him, and how she seemed to be mocking him. "What do you want with me, Smith-san?" he asked.

"I have a proposition for you," the agent said with a smile. "In return, you will receive full reinstatement of your duties as a police officer with full pay, including back pay for, shall we say, your days off. The chief has already approved of our proposal. In fact, he highly recommended you for this job."

Nakamura was elated at first, until he became suspicious as to this woman's motives. "So, what do I have to do?" he asked.

"We with the Interspecies Exchange frequently get exchange students who can be, shall we say, difficult to place. Often, it is a matter of frequent rejections by prospective host families, and sadly, many of them have to be sent back if they are rejected too often."

"Why do their hosts reject them?" Satsuke asked, dumbfounded that such a thing actually took place.

"Most of the time, they simply don't get along with their host families. Other times, it comes down to outright threats. You have undoubtedly noticed that liminals are often a lot stronger than we are, so we have to take these threats very seriously, or else there would be a diplomatic incident."

"So why me?"

"You have a reputation of treating people fairly and respectfully," Smith replied, her tone serious, "regardless of their species. Everyone we have asked speaks very highly of you, Nakamura.

"So, will you take the job?"

"I can't," Nakamura replied, deflated. "It's not that I don't want to, believe me. It's just that I simply don't have enough room in my apartment to accommodate multiple liminals. Hell, there's barely enough room for just me."

"The Agency will provide you with new living quarters, specifically designed for even the larger species. We will also recoup your living expenses, including food, utilities, as well as any necessary repairs and remodeling. You will also be provided new furniture, as what you currently have will seem very small in your new home. We will even hire personnel to move your clothes and other personal possessions."

Satsuke felt like he was making a deal with the devil. Still, the reason he loved his job was the potential to make a positive difference in people's lives, and this was an opportunity to be there for liminals who needed someone like him to accept them without question or hesitation. "I will need some time to think about this," he said finally. "This is a huge undertaking which, while I am honored you chose me, I'm not sure I'm qualified for."

Smith frowned, then placed her card on his coffee table. "Call me when you've decided," she said, turning to leave. "By the way, your coffee is terrible," were her parting words.

That night, the young man laid on his back on the mattress, unable to sleep. He couldn't help but feel violated by Smith inviting herself into his home, and her occasional tendency of speaking condescendingly towards him. On top of it all, she had the nerve to complain about his coffee. However, his mind constantly went back to her offer and just wouldn't let it go. "Oh, screw it," he muttered after another hour of tossing and turning.

He got up and went back to the living room where her business card waited for him. Picking up his phone, he dialed the number, not caring how late at night it was. "It serves her right for showing up unannounced," he said to himself indignantly.

"Hello?" a bleary voice answered. "Oh, hello, Nakamura-kun."

"I'll do it," he said, then hung up.

He then went back to his bed and collapsed, falling asleep immediately.