"NO!"
"LEAVE HER ALONE!"
"HELP ME!"
~/~/~
Thruuuuuuuummmm. Thruuuuuuummmm.
Kotori's nightmare was interrupted, somehow but thankfully, by the sound of the vibration coming from her phone. The woman was a light sleeper, but she never thought that a vibration would wake her up. Groggily, Kotori reached out and unplugged her phone from the charger before she answered the call and placed the phone at her ear.
"Speak and maybe you'll be heard..." She grumbled softly.
"Oh, did I wake you up?" Came the voice from the other side of the phone.
Kotori groaned a bit before she looked at the caller ID on her phone then turned onto her back, "Morning Yanagi, don't worry about it. Was there something that you needed?"
"We're going to bring the woman in to speak with all of us, do you think you can come in really quick?" Yanagi asked, "But if you worked late you can stay home to sleep. I could have Shiraishi bring you up to speed later."
"Ahhh..." Kotori already started to get up from bed as she glanced at her bedside clock, "I'll just go, I'd rather not have Shiraishi talk directly to me if I can help it." She murmured, getting up from her bed and walking to her closet. "I'll be there in an hour so, I'll see you soon." She stated before hanging up.
Kotori sent a quick text to her superior so she could have the day off instead of the next day before she set her phone to the side. Might as well... She thought as she changed into a beige colored wool dress that folded over and fell off her shoulders. She didn't have the time or patience to put a full outfit (Shirt, pants/shorts/skirt, shoes, etc.) together, so, putting on a simple dress was much more comfortable and quicker. She slipped on some black thigh high socks before she went to the closet to grab her smoky green colored ankle boots.
She stopped by the mirror to fix her hair up into a lazily done bone which gave her a sultry look, "I'm diggin' it today." She whispered with a small chuckle before her eyes landed on the necklace that hung around her neck. A gold necklace with what looked like a golden nightingale with a small peace of a purple Hyacinth in it's beak. Of course it was small to fit the size of the small bird, but she could not mistake the plant.
The woman bit her lip as she gazed at the necklace before she shook her head and rushed to grab her phone, keys and purse with more of her personal items, and put on her boots at the door. Once she made sure she had all that she needed, she slipped on her black leather jacket then left her apartment. Immediately as she got outside, she checked her messages and emails.
Thankfully Ichika spent the night at the station so she didn't have to go walk her to work before going to the office, and Kazuki had stayed home that night as well. He must've enjoyed the night without his sister... I really wish they'd work things out... and soon. She thought.
She remembered when she was much younger that the two siblings used to be very close... But it wasn't until Ichika left that their relationship became a little—shitty. It was like every time Kazuki saw his sister, he'd be in a bad mood. Kotori doubted Ichika really did anything to Kazuki to hurt him, but whatever she had done when Kotori wasn't around was beyond her. All she knew was that Ichika DID something, and it had severely affected her relationship with her little brother.
A sigh left Kotori's lips before she stopped at the light.
"I just want them to go back to the way they were before..." She whispered softly, her eyes looking up towards the sky. I don't want the people I care about to experience that regret or pain... That suffering... She thought gently before she started to walk across the street since the light changed.
Kotori stopped for a moment on the sidewalk when her phone buzzed in her jacket pocket. Taking it out, the woman looked at the phone for a moment before she smiled, opening up a text.
"Good morning. Did you sleep well? Did you sleep at all?"
It was a message from Saeki. The woman felt a more at ease by the text as she continued to walk, heading for Yanagi's "Detective Agency".
"It was alright. How about you? Did you ever get home?" She replied back before turning off her phone screen and thinking about the man she had some fuckbuddy relationship with. She had various issues with herself and with others, one of them being centered around commitment and labels. Saeki understood that, being that he had the same issues. It relieved her to know someone else could understand her in that way.
Another buzz.
"Yeah, I ended up going home a bit after you did. ∩(︶▽︶)∩ I took a long, nice bath too~" He replied.
Kotori found herself laughing at the face he sent before she replied, "I bet you fell asleep in the bathtub or something(ω; )"
She wasn't even surprised when she got a text back almost immediately, "I DID NO SUCH THING THANK YOU -`д´-"
Now she had to cover her mouth a bit to muffle the otherwise loud laugh that threatened to catch the attention of those around her. "Suuuuure you didn't. Anyways, I have to go in a bit. If you want you can stop by my place after work? Or let's have lunch? I got the day off since I needed to do stuff today." She was enjoying their conversation but she didn't want to be rude to Yanagi and the others (Shiraishi excluded) by texting when they were going through something relatively important. Kotori found herself already nearing the building, so she stopped by the entrance for his response.
"Oh yeah sure, I'd be happy to have lunch with you~ Be safe out there in the wild! Text me when you get the chance, love." Was his reply.
Kotori sighed a bit relieved before she put away her phone. Now I'll just tell Okazaki that instead of lunch today we'll have breakfast. I didn't even have enough time to eat before leaving. So, it works out. She thought as she headed into the building and up the stairs. As she neared their door she could already hear the men's familiar voices. I hope I'm not too late, otherwise I'll never hear the end of it from Shiraishi... She thought with a frown, her legs moving a bit faster before she opened the door.
"Oh, you made it." Yanagi stated.
"Sorry I'm late." Kotori stated as she closed the door behind her then followed Yanagi's gaze as he was about to introduce the woman they saved. But as soon as Kotori's icey blues met light green orbs filled with surprise, Kotori felt her heart drop to the floor and her words to catch in her throat.
"Ko-Kotori?!"
"… I-Ichi... ka..." Kotori murmured in absolute horror as her eyes widened on her family members form. Ichika's the one Adonis targeted!? She thought, her body trembling a bit as the new information began to sink in. This has to be some joke.
"… Oh...? Looks like the little bird knows the unfortunate soul." Shiraishi grinned a bit, watching the scene unfold.
Kotori felt sick to her stomach as she dropped her purse and phone to the floor. This has to be a joke... But the men could have never known about Ichika's relationship to her. Yanagi wouldn't allow that kind of prank anyways, but just this once—she hoped this was a cruel joke. But her eyes caught sight of the collar around Ichika's neck. Ah... This isn't some joke... Why? Why Ichika? She thought desperately. It was like she had stopped breathing. Her words lost and her throat became dry.
"Akagawa, are you alright? Do you know her?" Yanagi asked, a rather dumb question, but she knew he was trying his best to keep her calm.
"How do you know her, Akagawa." Sasazuka asked firmly as he looked at the woman he knew a bit longer than he did the knew female in the room. He expected an answer, per usual, but unfortunately, he'd have to wait till the two got over their shock.
Kotori pressed her back to the door before a million thoughts began to fill her head. Questions she wanted answers to.
"Akagawa." Yanagi finally spoke up, standing from his seat on the couch and walking over to Kotori. He set a hand on her shoulder while the other gently made her look at him. "Kotori Akagawa. You need to compose yourself." He stated, attempting to snap the woman out of her trance-like state of shock. This was the last thing he needed.
Kotori blinked up at the man currently in front of her before she stepped away from him and closed her eyes. All her thoughts stopping, slowly regaining her composure. He's right... Breathe... I need to breathe. Kotori took several, long and deep breaths before eventually she opened her eyes and looked at Yanagi thankfully.
The man nodded a bit before he went back to his seat with a small sigh. "How do you know each other?" He repeated, though his question rephrased so either woman could answer.
Kotori was the one who spoke up, "Ichika's... My cousin." She murmured lightly before she turned to Yanagi and glanced at Sasazuka.
"I see... So this strikes home for you..." Yanagi murmured as his head nodded a bit in understanding. It seemed as if he now understood why she reacted the way she did upon seeing Ichika. He was sure someone else would've had a similar reaction if they just found out the poor soul that's life was hanging in the balance was their very own blood. "She's not in danger at the moment, so do you mind if you sat down for this, Akagawa?" Yanagi asked as he gestured her to sit down beside him, in front of Ichika.
Kotori nodded as she slipped off her jacket and set it on the rack before picking up her dropped belongings and walked to the couch. Once she sat down, much more composed than before, she gave Ichika a reassuring smile. As reassuring as she could be, "They won't bite... Maybe Sasazuka, and Shiraishi, but other than that you'll be fine..." She promised. She then looked to Yanagi so he could continue where he left off.
Yanagi nodded to her a bit before he looked back to Ichika, "Our pursuit of the X-Day incidents is important, but we should also look at that collar of yours." He continued exactly where he left off before the small scene between Kotori and Ichika transpired. "Hoshino, Even though it was unintentional on your part, that collar's a great lead on the criminals."
"I say we should make use of whatever we have." Sasazuka piped up.
"I'm also sure that you aren't going to be able to relax until we do something about it." Yanagi added.
Ichika looked at Kotori a bit worriedly before her gaze turned to Yanagi, "That's true..." She seemed to relax after that, even if obviously the groups intentions and interests, as a whole, was on the collar and the connection she had with Adonis, she looked like she was relieved at least two people were also looking out for her well-being. "But if you're going to examine the collar-"
I need to mention something...
Everyone in the room froze as they all looked at the collar around Kotori's cousin's neck. Ichika simply looked terrified just hearing the voice that came from the damn thing.
It is futile to attempt to remove the collar. If you insist on trying, we cannot guarantee her safety. You are free to examine it, but if you do anything to inconvenience us, you will also be putting her life in jeopardy.
Kotori felt her heart stop once again, her eyes widening as she gripped the edge of her sweater. Ichika... Her life... could... disappear... She found herself subtly trembling once more. But not with fear, instead—anger.
Please investigate the X-Day incidents. Once you learn the truth, I'm sure you will exact your form of justice. You will learn whether or not you believe it is right to oppose our will.
After that, the whole room was silent for a few minutes. No one said a word as they processed that possibly the leader of Adonis had just spoken to them through the collar.
"So... Was that them just now? A warning, or a threat, one might say?" Enomoto asked cautiously.
"...They bothered to wait until we'd all gathered. They sure crave the spotlight." Shiraishi cooed as his eyes stayed glued to the collar.
Immediately Kotori moved from the couch to Ichika's side and grabbed her hand. The woman must have been frightened. "Ichika, are you alright?" She asked softly, looking at her cousin with obvious worry. She had no idea what she might've been going through, but all she wanted was to protect those she loved.
Ichika relaxed at Kotori's touch, looking to her cousin, "Y-Yes... Sorry... The criminals are... uh, monitoring everything about me... through the collar..." She murmured before looking to everyone in the room.
"Well, working together with them is definitely off the table. Even though we all quit, we were cops once, right?" Enomoto said. An uncharacteristically serious expression on his face.
Ichika looked up immediately, "All of you were police...? I did verify Yanagi was a former officer. And I know Kotori and Shiraishi are still in the force... Enomoto and Sasazuka... Were you two also police officers?" She asked.
"Um, well..." Enomoto trailed off.
"Dumbass. Should I just sew your mouth shut?" Sasazuka grumbled with his usually annoyed expression and tone to match.
Enomoto fumbled with his sentence before he glared at the other male, "My tongue just slipped! Just once!"
"So it's true then?" Ichika asked.
That's when Enomoto looked to Yanagi for help. The sight was very routine in a way for Kotori so she found herself relaxing as she watched. Enomoto seemed to treat Yanagi like the older, protective brother of sorts, always needing him to help him when he was in trouble.
"We can't hide it, can we? All she has to do is look us up at the station." Yanagi started before he turned to Ichika, "Right... We should get this over with. You two introduce yourselves to Hoshino. After all, we're probably going to be seeing her a lot more often now."
"Gah... R-Roger that..." Enomoto grumbled, defeatedly. With a sigh and a cough, the man cleared his throat and then turned to Ichika, taking a deep breath.
Oh here we go...
"Perk up your ears and listen well! Formerly assigned to Field Ops Team 2, before you stands a kabukimono rivaling Keiji Maeda! The crooks I've arrested are without number! A shining silver samurai, worth 1000 cops! A paragon, standing alone 'neath the stars! That is I, Mineo Enomoto! Don't you forget it, rookie!" The man hollered at the top of his lungs, or something very close, as he stood off to the side of Ichika and Kotori.
Shiraishi let out a small laugh before he grinned at Ichika, "Hey, you don't need to humor him. I don't know if he's got a talent or a condition, but he's a subject I like to observe at a distance." He stated whimsically.
"Uh... right..." Ichika murmured softly.
"Don't mind him, Hoshino. That's just how Enomoto hides his nerves. He's just a bit of an awkward guy." Yanagi said, trying to save Enomoto.
"Paragon? Paragon of nincompoops, more like." Sasazuka sighed.
Kotori shared the sigh as she closed her eyes, "To think we're the same age, it's kind of insulting to have anything in common with you, even if it's just my age." She murmured before looking to him. "Just goes to show that some people don't grow up once they graduate high school."
"Oh, yeah!? I will not tolerate any further slights! Anyway, it's your turn, Takeru." Enomoto grinned.
Sasazuka was much more appropriate than Enomoto with his introduction, "I was in the Cyber Crimes Division. Takeru Sasazuka. That's all."
Kotori laced her fingers with Ichika's as she found herself much more relaxed than before. The normalcy, to an extent, of the situation unfolding before her gave her a sense of security.
But then Ichika's question made the air tense up a bit.
"Is the reason you all quit the force... because you questioned the righteousness of the police like the letter mentioned?"
The two who just introduced themselves averted their eyes, making it plain to see that they didn't want to talk about their individual reasons. So, Yanagi maned up, "It's true that we all quit for our own individual reasons. I... I couldn't follow the department's policy. I wouldn't be able to solve the case as a police officer. So I left, and I've continued to pursue it on my own."
"I see." Ichika nodded.
"Hey, setting aside you three for a moment, do you think the bad guys included me and the little bird when they were talking about joining hands?" Shiraishi suddenly piped up, his tone as flippant as he always was, handing the note to Kotori.
Kotori scanned through the note and looked to Yanagi, having a silent conversation before they both nodded to each other, and she set the note back down onto the table.
"Shiraishi... Kotori... You both still work with the police, so how did you know about all this? If the messages are to be trusted, I'll be killed if the police know about this..." Ichika murmured as Kotori felt her cousin beginning to tense up again.
Shiraishi lifted a hand to gently scratch his head before he spoke, "Somehow, the first letter—the one that said you would die—was slipped into some case files that I was handling." He explained.
"WHAT!?" Ichika responded.
"They were documents I got from Section 1, but they were addressed to a "detective agency". So, I, as a member of this agency, took it to the others, and then we found you." Shiraishi added as he looked to the two women across from him. "A woman would die if the police found out, right? Obviously I couldn't call it in." He hummed, amused by the situation.
Kotori glared at Shiraishi for a moment before she turned to Ichika, "… They know you, so they probably know we're family. Obviously, I wouldn't call it in..."
"The second letter you just saw was left on the table in this office after we found you at Shinjuku Garden."
Kotori nodded a bit as she was off-handedly informed about when the second letter was found. The gears in her head began to turn. If the culprit set the letter after they confirmed Ichika's life was spared, that meant either he had someone there to confirm it for him, who would send him a text or a signal of some sort so he could plant it, or he had a tracker in the collar.
"Well? Lady who's been turned into a pet cat. Can we examine your collar?" Sasazuka asked.
"What?" Ichika looked to him, her attention moving to the light blue haired male.
Kotori glared at Sasazuka, "…"
"Sasazuka." Yanagi started.
"N-Now hold on a second. Why are you calling me a pet cat?" Ichika piped up, stumbling a bit as she faced the intimidating aura of Takeru Sasazuka.
"can't you see it? There's a picture of a cat on your collar." Sasazuka stated.
"What!"
"Also, one of the standard X-Day calling cards, a coin, was left at the site where you went down." Yanagi added, his eyes closed as he thought of something. "The coins have the same cat motif as your collar, with anemone flowers in the back."
Enomoto joined in on the conversation, "It's the symbol of the terrorist group claiming responsibility for X-Day... Adonis. You've probably seen it before."
"I had Shiraishi examine it back at the station. It's the same as the coins that have been left at the other crime scenes." Yanagi added.
Shiraishi looked towards the wall lazily, "But there wasn't a Roman numeral counting down to X-Day this time. If this was to be the December incident, then there should have been a "I" written there."
"If it was just the collar, we could possibly dismiss this as a copycat crime, but that coin means-"
"The perpetrator is related to the X-Day cases, without a doubt." Sasazuka interrupted Enomoto.
Which resulted in the beginnings of an argument. Kotori rolled her eyes a bit at the two before she got up and walked over to the wall to lean against. Her back was hurting.
"So, the collar, can we see it?" Sasazuka pressed. "The voice from the collar said that we were free to examine it." He added, irritably.
Enomoto awkwardly piped back into the conversation, "No, but isn't that a bad idea? They also said they'd kill her if we caused any trouble for them... On top of that, I doubt Akagawa would want to weigh the odds on her cousins life."
"They'll kill her if we try to take it off. But we're free to examine it. There's obviously a difference, idiot."
"So what does that mean?"
"It's a test. They're daring us to figure out what we can." Sasazuka clarified.
"I think the risk is too great. We don't understand how they think yet, so we shouldn't take any unnecessary risks." Yanagi stated as he glanced at Kotori, who seemed to be growing agitated.
Sasazuka sighed, "I won't be cracking anything. We can at least check for the type of EM waves coming off the collar. It wouldn't hurt to see just what kind of countermeasures they've built into it."
"This is someone's life, Sasazuka. If you fuck up at any point, you could get her killed." Kotori growled.
The man rolled his eyes, "You're biased to the situation so your opinion is worth nothing to me. Control your emotions then you can talk to me about what you think." He stated before he turned to Yanagi. "If you say to leave it be, I will. We can just go back to pursuing the cases."
Yanagi only sighed, he thought about his next words before he turned to Ichika, "… Hoshino, you can trust Sasazuka. Do you want to let him take a look?"
"It's... not dangerous is it?" Ichika asked.
"The criminals' goal isn't to kill you. You'll be ok as long as we obey their terms. Do you understand?" Yanagi clarified.
Ichika nodded.
"They said we were free to examine the collar. As Sasazuka said, they're sure we won't find them. But we should at least get a sense of its general structure, because I think it'll be important. I won't say that this is without risk. It's your life at stake, so we won't force you." The man added.
"Make up your mind. I'll wait ten seconds." Sasazuka stated seriously. "Make me wait any longer and I'll decide for you."
"That's the perfect amount of time for me to walk over there and shove my foot up your ass, brat." Kotori hissed.
"Looks like the little bird is showing off her talons a bit." Shiraishi grinned as he watched Kotori's actions and listened intently to her words. "That's a first."
Yanagi looked at Kotori, "… Akagawa, please calm down."
Kotori looked to Yanagi a bit upset before she huffed and turned away from him.
"I understand your concern and your instinct to protect your family, but now is not the time to be getting upset and aggressive." He stated, trying to somewhat soothe the woman that was seething with some sort of criminal intent at Sasazuka.
Kotori understood what he was saying, but that didn't mean she was okay with what was happening.
"Please do it, Sasazuka. And... Please don't provoke them." Ichika murmured before she looked to Kotori, with what was possibly the best reassured expression she could muster given the situation.
Kotori appreciated the effort.
"Too late, ten seconds was up a while ago."
"Wow, man. You've never waited for anyone..." Enomoto cooed in surprise.
Shiraishi grinned, "A life is on the line, after all."
"Please, Sasazuka." Yanagi said softly.
"Got it."
But it seemed Kotori finally had enough, "I'm going to get some fresh air..." She stated, moving away from the wall and going out the door. She quickly grabbed her phone and headed for the roof, forgetting her coat, let alone to close the door. She really needed a moment to actually breathe and to collect herself. Being in the room with all the guys, who clearly had their priorities straight, was not helping her calm the hell down. Any second longer and she feared she might've punched Sasazuka if he said another word.
This is not the time to react impulsively... I have to get myself together... She thought lightly as she got up to the roof and decided to sit on one of the chairs that was accompanied by a table and two more chairs. Kotori took a deep breath as she leaned back against the chair and closed her eyes.
Obviously, Adonis' goal isn't to kill Ichika, it's to show her and the rest of us their goal from their point of view. To get us to understand and question our own definition of justice. She thought, playing with her necklace with a hand. They know Ichika, so, it's someone she's met... But that doesn't narrow the list helpfully. But this person knows her, her work, family, so they know that I'd do anything to keep her safe.
Thruuuuuuummmm. Thruuuuuummm.
Kotori's train of thought, once again was interrupted by the vibration coming from her phone. "Hm?" The woman looked at the caller ID; Unknown Number. With a raised eyebrow, the female slowly answered it before putting it to her ear, "Hello? This is Kotori Akagawa."
"Knowing your past, I'm assuming you left the room to collect your thoughts."
What-
But confusion easily turned to anger and recognition. "Adonis..." It's not hard to find my number, it must have been trivial compared to finding background history on all the people at the office. "What are you playing at?"
"I just want to make sure you realize, if those men hinder us in the slightest, your cousin's life will be in a dangerous position, however unfortunate that would be for us. We would appreciate it if you make sure that they do nothing to jeopardize her life and our experiment."
Kotori took a deep breath, "… I will never forgive you... if you hurt... Ichika." She growled. Her nails dug into her hand so harshly she already began to draw blood. "I'll track you down and kill you myself."
"We don't wish for Ichika Hoshino to get hurt, either. And we're aware the last thing you want is another situation like Sumire's."
The moment the person on the other end said that name, Kotori felt her breath sharpen and her heartbeat picking up. Her throat drying up again. Tightening. Her eyes were wide and her body trembled with something between anger and fear. Sumire...
"You can tell the others of this conversation, however, that is all up to you... We're not sure if you've told them why you're already so torn about going against us. Or about Sumire Mujitsu."
"Shut up..." Kotori whispered, weakly. Stop talking... Please...
"This experiment is not just on your cousin, Kotori Akagawa. This is an experiment on you as well. We hope in the end, you'll find the answer you've been looking for." And with that, the line hung up.
Kotori set the phone down on the table before she set her non-bloodied hand on the arm rest, trying to get herself to stand. How do they know about Sumire? She thought frantically before she pushed away from the table and walked over to the edge of the building. They know... About her... Think... Who...!?
"Hm?"
Kotori sharply turned at the sound of another person's voice and gripped the railing tightly. "..."
"Has your head not cooled down yet? It's a lot to process. Your cousin's life being in jeopardy and all." Shiraishi grinned as he looked upon the evidently troubled female. "You look like you've seen a ghost. Are you alright?" He chuckled.
"I'm not in the mood for your bullshit, Shiraishi." Kotori grumbled as she turned away from him and leaned against the railing. "What do you want? Here to laugh at me or something?" She asked as she closed her eyes and pressed her forehead to the railing. Her head had not cooled down, not at all. At this rate she would die from the anger boiling up.
"No, not at all~" Shiraishi cooed as he walked over to the female, "I'm just here to make sure my fellow officer isn't about to jump off the roof."
"Shove it." Kotori spat before shutting her eyes. Sumire...
The name wasn't one she was prepared to hear for a long while. She hadn't told anyone about her, ever. Not her parents, Ichika or even Saeki. Yet, her name was uttered to her as a threat, and it felt like her head was spinning as those horrible memories tried to break their way into her mind once again. The incident concerning Sumire wasn't even on the news and probably was never even documented, so how the hell...
"Akagawa?"
Kotori opened her eyes and lifted her head to slowly look up at the very tall man known to be an inconsiderate ass. Her hair fell a bit into her face but at the moment she hardly minded it, "What...?" She murmured as if a bit defeated.
Shiraishi continued to smirk down at her before he crouched to her level and said, "You don't look like yourself when you have that expression. You look completely lost and defeated. A polar opposite to your calm and collected expression. It's almost unnerving to see you so down, almost." He grinned before he reached out and gently grabbed her chin, "I'd love to see what other emotions the usually so guarded and witty detective has."
The woman found herself punching the man's chest harshly and stood to her feet. "Too bad I don't like being around you, so you'd hardly get the chance to see anything of the sort." She growled with irritation before she took a deep breath. Wow... I feel a lot better. She thought as she gathered her things. "Now you know not to touch a woman without permission, catnip-for-brains." She stated, heading back towards the others.
Shiraishi coughed from the harsh punch but otherwise seemed unfazed from his position on the floor. "… So aggressive..." He murmured before he got to his feet, a bit unbalanced at first.
By the time she got back to the room, Sasazuka seemed to have finished checking the collar and they had moved on to a different topic at hand.
"Sasazuka's people skills need some work. But his skills are sound. Just let it slide." Yanagi sighed in defeat, knowing no one was really equipped to make Sasazuka learn how to be nice to another human being.
Kotori set her stuff down just as Shiraishi came back in the room behind her. She frowned knowing Sasazuka probably said something insensitive again and simply walked back to her cousin and sat beside her on the armrest.
"I'll go back to investigating the August case. Even the perps are asking us to." Sasazuka piped up with an annoyed air around him. But that's all the time.
"… Is everybody here investigating the X-Day incidents? But how?" Ichika asked a bit confused.
"God, just shut up already. Use your brain for once, you stupid cat." Sasazuka growled with irritation.
"What the-! What the hell was that for?!" Ichika exclaimed with equal irritation.
Kotori shot a glare at Sasazuka but didn't say much since Yanagi would advise against it.
"When your emotions run high, you really do resemble a cat with its fur on end." Shiraishi mused happily from his place on the armrest across from Kotori. "Akagawa is a cat too sometimes. She's like the really mean cats though, the strays. Oddly it causes me to want to pick on her."
"I'll shoot you." Kotori hissed.
"Haha! Is that what we're calling her now?" Enomoto laughed.
"No, we are not." Kotori stated firmly. "Sasazuka, shut up. Shiraishi, don't encourage it unless you're ready to lose your manhood."
The room filled with silence for a few minutes before Yanagi spoke up, "Each of us are investigating different cases, each of them are X-Day cases. I'm researching the incidents as a whole. Enomoto is on April and May, Akagawa is on June and July, Sasazuka is on August as he mentioned, and Shiraishi is on September and October." He explained as he looked at Ichika with a calm expression, trying to calm her nerves.
"June and July? June's case is practically impossible to decipher with all those variable, isn't it? No DNA was on sight, no fingerprints, nothing but the explosive residue. And since there was a school festival recently before the explosion, it's impossible to pinpoint a suspect. And July's suspect is already caught, isn't he?" Ichika asked, looking up to her cousin. "They're totally unrelated too." She frowned in confusion before turning to Yanagi, "September and October too. I thought the September suspect died, and nothing actually happened in October, did it?"
"Do you really think that nothing happened in October despite all their talk of a countdown? There's something about that." Shiraishi intervened, an uncharacteristically serious expression on his face.
"I'm basically just reviewing July's suspect... June is iffy to me and I already have a few suspects that would have a motive. When I'm not doing that, I'm helping out the others with field work they can't do." Kotori stated softly, more collected and calm.
"But, you have to work on the cases that you've been assigned by the police department, don't you?" Ichika asked, looking between the two other present cops.
Shiraishi grinned happily, "Oh, I do my job. I do all the work I'm given, that is. Out here, there's no red tape, so I'm free to investigate whatever I want." He shrugged.
"… Are you really allowed to do that as a police employee?" Ichika asked.
"Didn't I tell you? I'm not a police employee here. I'm one of Yanagi's precious team members. Same goes for Akagawa." Shiraishi smirked.
Yanagi cringed, "Stop saying precious. It's creepy.
Shiraishi laughed, "Ahaha! Come on now, don't be a stranger!"
Kotori rolled her eyes before she flicked a pen at the man, "Shut up you weirdo." She reprimanded before looking to Yanagi, "I don't do much besides X-Day anyways, so me looking over the cases aren't something suspicious while I'm at the desk. That's where my team really has me since it's overrun by men." She huffed.
After a minute or so, Shiraishi glanced at Kotori then to Ichika at her side, "You are really easy to read. Nothing like your cousin at all~ Are you suspecting me now?~" He cooed with a whimsical expression on his face, like he was having fun.
"Shiraishi, you're taking an awful lot of pleasure in my reactions." Ichika stated, "Why wouldn't I be suspicious of you?" She asked, stating a perfectly valid point.
"Very true, and if I was with the criminals... You might have forced me to hit this trigger I was hiding to kill you right now." Shiraishi's eyes narrowed on the female and Kotori felt her cousin flinch, which caused her to sigh.
He's such an ass.
"Stop teasing her, Shiraishi. Hoshino isn't a toy for you to play with." Yanagi intervened with a groan. Honestly, dealing with Shiraishi was exhausting on it's own.
"Well you say that..." Shiraishi hummed, "But she's just so much fun to scare." He smirked. "Anyway, it would be easy to suspect me, however..." He trailed off as he looked to Kotori, who was looking back at him with slight confusion. "Nevermind, that's for another time."
Kotori got up and walked over to Shiraishi before aiming to punch him. This time Shiraishi was prepared and caught the punch. "You look scary with such a calm expression, trying to hit me."
With a sigh, Yanagi brought the attention back to him. "This is all we can tell you for now. We'll investigate all the incidents... What are you going to do?" They all turned to Ichika now, as the question was something they needed to know. "We can't rule out the possibility that the criminals will contact you again. You shouldn't travel alone, if possible-"
But the man as interrupted by the window abruptly opening.
"Oh, a guest? How unusual?" Okazaki's form appeared coming in through the window. Kotori sighed deeply.
He's as odd as ever.
Kotori could sense her cousin's surprise but everyone else was used to Okazaki's blatant disregard for physics, let alone logic.
"Not again!" Enomoto groaned.
Yanagi sighed, "Trespassing is illegal, you know."
"..uhh... erm.." Ichika looked thoroughly confused.
"Heh, sorry for surprising you like that." Okazaki smiled, slipping into the room and standing to his feet.
"I-Is this man a part of your team?" Ichika asked.
Obviously, he isn't with how we all reacted, even Yanagi said he was trespassing... Come on Ichika. You're giving Sasazuka reasons to pick at you. Kotori groaned as everyone gave her complicated looks.
"If you guys have guests, should I come back later?" Okazaki asked as he walked to Yanagi a bit.
"I'd appreciate that. Also, and I tell you this every time, use the door if you're coming over." Yanagi stated with exasperation.
"But sometimes it's closed, and I can't always get in." Okazaki smiled.
Kotori couldn't help but chuckle, the man was always pushy. "Okazaki, today isn't the best time." She piped up before she walked over to the SP, taking his hand, "By the way, after this, let's get breakfast today. I don't have work today and I have plans for lunch I completely forgot." She smiled.
Okazaki seemed elated to hear that before he nodded, "Okay~ I'll wait for you downstairs." He smiled back before politely excusing himself and exiting the room through the door.
"Every time. You gotta admit, that guy's sharp." Enomoto sighed.
"That guy's TOO much of a ghost. I wonder if he even actually left..." Sasazuka groaned as he looked towards the door suspiciously before he got up to go check. The last thing they needed was have Okazaki hear about the collar or anything else they were doing.
"You're oddly good at dealing with him, Akagawa." Enomoto murmured.
Kotori shrugged.
"That guy works in the Secruity Police Division at HQ. He's covering us while we investigate. His name is Kei Okazaki." Yanagi explained, trying to clear up the confusion.
Ichika tilted her head in confusion, "Huh... Covering you? The police are giving you protection while you freelance?" She asked.
"Well, that's what Okazaki claims, but who can really know if what he's saying is the truth?" Shiraishi shrugged.
"As for why an SP officer has been attached to us, we don't know what the police's intentions are..." Yanagi continued. "Since we have no idea what the police's intentions are, we can't let Kei Okazaki know about you. If he learns about the collar, it'll be bad. The criminals told us not to tell the police, so we can't complicate things by telling them." He stated before he glanced at Kotori, who was a bit tenser than before.
Ichika only nodded as she took in the information. "Okay..."
"Anyways, do you have an answer to my question?"
Ichika jumped a bit as if realizing something before she looked down in thought. It was a couple of moments before she glanced at Kotori then to Yanagi then spoke, "Could I have a little bit of time to think about it?" She asked.
Everyone glanced at Kotori for a second before Yanagi nodded to Ichika, "All right. It would be unreasonable of me to press you for a decision now, given the situation. You might be hesitant to work with us, having just met most of us. I don't want to let you die." He admitted before he sighed deeply, "I'm not a policeman anymore, but I didn't just abandon the ideals I had back when I was."
Ichika began miling, "Thank you... A lot has happened, so I'm really confused... But I'll collect myself and think about it." She stated as convincingly as she could.
Yanagi smiled back, "Okay."
"Sooo, for now... We need to be able to contact you somehow, right?" Enomoto asked.
"Ahh, right..." Ichika nodded. "I'll be back tonight, then." She proposed before she began to exchange phone numbers with everyone, then left.
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