III

PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND

WELCOME TO KISARAGI. HOME OF THE OLD JAPAN. POPULATION 4,965



I've been philosophical ever since High School. When I was a kid I never worried about huge problems like "What is life?" or "Does luck exist?", but I was naïve. It also appears that so many of the kids in my class are just as naïve. One kid in my math class asked that why couldn't the poor just print more money. They don't understand at all! People do not understand! THEY COULD NEVER TRULY UNDERSTAND WHAT I UNDERSTAND AND THEY SHOULD ALL DIE. ALL THE INFERIORS SHOULD DIE.

Though when I consider that in the back of my mind, they aren't that bad. We all have our differences right? That's what my parents told me. Humanity is a puzzle and we all fit in together.

I'm just suggesting that some of the pieces are ripped and therefore useless, and must be disposed of. That's all.


The bespectacled man thought for a long time, perhaps for minutes or even hours. He always had a plan. As a man of his stature he had a handle on everything but honestly been clueless as what to do. Graham had told him he had everything under control and now, well, look what happened. He was careless, and this certainly was no fault of the bespectacled man because Graham had always been so thorough and... NEAT. He couldn't foresee Graham of all people failing at this job. He was only supposed to grab those two children and he got distracted. He left loose ends too.

If there was one thing that the bespectacled man disliked, it was loose ends. It was enough to get him to feel anger, if there was even a cell in his body that wasn't emotionally dead.

Perhaps... he could wait. Not too long. Long enough to let people forget.

The bespectacled man sat back in his seat. Yes. That would be the best strategy. He grinned. It was all coming together now.


In a quiet little corner of Kisaragi, on a not so quiet street, lay a sweet shop named simply Sweet Ring. A successful shop in it's own right, Sweet Ring had become a fixture in a town obsessed with keeping things as dated as possible. One may say that Sweet Ring could be considered as a statement against all of the so-called kooky citizens obsessed with religion and old Japanese techniques. Of course this was not the purpose behind the creation of Sweet Ring - it's only purpose was to sell food. And for a shop that only sold sweets and drinks it did quite brilliantly.

At this time, a woman with fish lips and a exotic robe was smiling at a nervous young man. Her smile was so straight, so very perfect that it seemed faked. It was.

"Personally I've never heard of a shop such as thisss!" She slurped. "The food here is so... tasty."

"Ahh, y-yeah." The boy laughed. "That it is. Um, your check is here."

"And with my refined tastes too! Simple plastic food does not do it for me. What even surprised me that they were using forks here! No chopsticks! Quite elegant!" She bared her fangs at the boy. "I'm sure you... know all about elegance."

She brushed her hand against the waiter's arm and he let out a tiny gasp. "Ummm... ahh..." The boy turned to look at his supervisor. "Yes yes... A-Akira-sempai!"

Akira Mido was not in a good mood this morning. He had slept through his alarm, thus giving him NO time to train. This never happened and he had no idea that it would ever happen. So when he saw that Tomoyo Hirooka was at his store again, pestering his new aide Kyo. He walked over to the table and tried to put on a smile though it became very strained when Tomoyo made eye-contact with him.

"Is there a problem here?" Akira asked as he composed himself.

Tomoyo sneered at him. "No, no, not at all boy."

There were only a couple people in Sweet Ring at that time, but had this been the evening everyone in the whole store would turn to look at Akira and the woman. Akira thanked the spirits that she wasn't smart enough to ever think of coming at eight and made a big show. He smiled at her even more brightly, his voice cheerful. He wasn't going to get mad. "I'm sorry but it looks like there really is something. May I remind you of the last time you were here?"

Tomoyo had made the decision to ignore Akira, turning her head away dismissively. This made Akira even more pissed – did this woman have any respect for anyone? He didn't show his disapproval. It was best not to let her notice his anger.

"Listen," Akira said slowly, "I'm not sure what you're planning on proving. I'm just a manager of this store – I don't know about my own father's affairs. However, I do know for certain that he has no place for you, a money-grabbing woman who has no love for him."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I think you do," Akira smiled. "And I also think that you should leave."

Tomoyo snorted like a pig, turning her nose up at Akira. "I already told you that I have no clue of what you are talking about. How dare you insinuate?"

"My father is in a bed right now. He hasn't that much time to live." Akira spoke with his smile still very clear on his face. "And I know you've been targeting him for the past two months. I know the kind of person you really are miss. So, again, I will have to ask you to leave, unless you want to bring the police into this. If that is what you want then I have no reason to say no to that."

Tomoyo didn't respond with words. She only snorted again and walked out of the store. As Akira heard the door chimes shatter again, he let out a loud exacerbated sigh.

"Damn it..." That was close. He thought that he was going to explode there. He had to be calm and composed during this job, and while Akira wasn't entirely the calmest of people he could keep himself under control. But that woman really grinded his nerves! He balled his hand into a fist but realized that his subordinate was right next to him. Akira looked over at him. "You okay Keiichi?"

"Ahh, yeah," the employee stammered. "I was fine from the beginning. You didn't have to step in."

"It's not like I came over to cover you. That woman has been coming here for months asking for my father." Akira sighed again as he smoothed out his apron. "But don't worry about it. We have a few people who are impossible to handle. This is your first job right?"

"Yes, that it is."

Akira forced a weak smile. "So don't worry about it. I won't fire you just because a customer is being especially tough. You gotta be kind to most people though. And stand up straight. You're slouching."

The boy fidgeted and stopped drooping. "Oh! Yes, yes, I'm sorry!"

Akira stopped smiling. He sighed. "Keiichi, stop apologizing for everything."

"Oh, um, yes, um, s-sor – no, I mean, okay."

Just then the phone from inside the kitchen rang and Akira let out a grunt. Who could be calling so early in the friggin morning? Today just wasn't his day! He waved his employee away with a flick of his hand and ran into the kitchen. He reached the phone on it's fourth ring, picking up the receiver hastily and juggled it around for a second. He pushed it against his ear.

"Yes?" He asked impatiently. His features grew softer as he heard who it was. "Oh, hey Ryo. It's been awhile huh? How are you?" He listened, letting out a laugh. "Yeah, he's doing fine. Ol' bastard is tougher than he looks. So I'm taking over as manager of Sweet Ring, s'hard…" He blinked, turning his head away. "Wait, what is it Ryo? You sound like you've seen a ghost…" He hesitated. "W-What are you talking about? Rui? What about her?"

The next part made his blood boil. All self control within him evaporated, and his hand lost it's grip on the phone.

"WHAT?!"


Nami had certainly changed during the four years since I last seen her. She seemed much paler than she was before, much thinner too. She seemed so light that I figured I could pick her up if I wanted to. Her hands shook as she let go of me, and smiled. At least her smile hadn't changed.

"Oh Atsuki…" She said, just staring at me.

Nami had been one of the few people that I was fond of while I was in Kisaragi. While she could be a little annoying sometimes, I figured that was mostly because she was a little girl at the time. Very active, lots of energy. This Nami seemed… much more reserved. A word that I did not think fitted Nami at all.

"Nami," I said with a small smile. "You've gotten taller. You're nearly as tall as I am."

She smirked and hopped a little on her toes. "I have not Atsuki. I'm still a pipsqueak! And you're still a giant!"

I laugh a bit. "I suppose so, huh?"

I had been so absorbed in speaking with Nami that I had completely forgotten about Russel, who was peeking out over my shoulder at Nami. He chuckled. "Oh, it's little Nami! What are you doing out of school?"

Nami pouted. "Russel-sempai!" She cooed in that familiar sing-song voice of hers. "I'm not little!"

Russel gave a hearty laugh, smooth but deep. "Course you're not. 'Course you're not." Russel looked over at me with a blink. "How do you know Nami?"

"She's the sister of one of my friends." I lied, looking towards Nami quickly. She seemed to catch my drift and went along with it.

She turned to Russel quickly, nodding her head. "Yeah," she quickly conjured up with a tiny little smile. "I haven't seen him in a long time though! He and I go way back!" Nami was always good at telling little white lies, never quite lying to people outright. It was something I had come to feel admirable about.

Like I had suspected Russel bought into it. "Ahh… alright then." He scratched his head. "Lissen' Nami, me and Atsuki need to speak for a little bit. You think you can hang around for a bit?"

"Sure," Nami replied, finally letting go of me. "I'll just wait out here."

Russell managed to unlock the door to his shop and waved me inside. The shop was cramped to say the least. In Tokyo this was to be expected - most of the shops there were small enough to only fit one person to each aisle. However, compared to the other shops in Kisaragi Russell's was almost puny. I managed to squeeze past a tight opening between aisles and met up with Russell at his counter. He was getting something out of the register and he looked to me a little nervous.

"I'll, um, take you into the back," he stammered, taking another key out of the register before closing it.

I watched him. "Why all of the secrecy?" I asked him. "It's as though you're scared."

"That's be'cuz I am," He shook his head as he lead me upstairs, opening the final door at the top of the stairs. "Lissen', just come with me into the back. If I'm going to explain to you what's going on, then I have'tah make sure there's no room for anyone else's ears to hear us." He opened the door, leading me into a more spacious room. Must be his home, I figured. It wasn't exactly neat but it wasn't exactly messy either. Everything seemed half put away, and while the floor was spotless the tables were cluttered with objects. Russell waved me over to a seat across from his bed as he plopped down. I sat down with a sigh. "Alright." He clapped his hands. "What do you want to know?"

I didn't say anything at first. "Wait... what?"

"Well, you're here to investigate. Ask me a question!"

I turned my head to my left, my eyes still connected with his. "I... well, you were shaking like a madman a moment ago. I figured I wouldn't have to ask."

Russell shook his head. "It'll all make sense soon... go ahead little man."

"Tell me everything?"

Russell frowned. "Can yah be a little more specific than that?"

"Well I don't know much."

"Oh!" Russell smoothed out his jeans as he got to his feet. "That's right... I didn't really send that much info over huh? My apologies, I wasn't exactly ready to spool too much out to the FORT y'know?" He walked over to his little kitchen in the corner. "Coffee?"

"Do you have tea?" I asked.

"Ahh," the man grinned. "Not a coffee man huh? I see. I don't make tea that much but I know how, hold on." He shuffled around, placing a kettle full of water down on the stove. "Alright. I figure I should tell you what I know about the girl. It ain't much but..." He let out a grunt out through his nose like that of a pig. He slid over to a jet-black machine, most likely his coffee machine and started to fiddle around with it. "This girl, the one that was murdered. Her name was Rui Yamase, a fortune teller, young girl... Personally I only met her twice, though Nami knows her pretty well. Hah."

"This I already know," I said. "I've been to Kisaragi before. But... didn't Rui commit... suicide?" Those two words, together, made my whole body shudder.

"Oh yeah. That's right. Heh, forgot. Well then! Umm... there's no real way that I know how to put this. It's really embarrassing actually but she sorta... kinda... well, you know how I reported that she committed suicide in the report? That's ex'actlah' how it happened. The lab freaks said that it was by her own hand. I ain't too sure over this though. It felt like there was something wrong."

I kept quiet. This caught Russell off-guard, and his Shinen grew anxious. He clammed up and I knew right then and there he wasn't ready to tell me. Fine enough. I was willing to pull the information out of him, and deep down I think he knew what I was going to do. He knew but he'd rather save face as a scared little rat than a shameful dog with his tail between his legs. If he wasn't going to tell me, then I decided to use my Σ.

As I felt the burn run through my arm and everything turn gray Russell sat there motionless, aware of what I was doing but too nervous to do anything about it. That was his curse. Most people didnt' feel the grey burn like he could. Most people didn't know that I had this power. And the feeling that their mind was that of an open book was greater than any torture or any type of pain. For this I felt sorry for him, but I was not apologetic over what I found.

"She... KNEW about the FORT?" I repeated outloud, the words rolling off my tongue in the most uncomfortable sense. I glared at Russell all the while, who looked spooked.

"Ahh, y-yeah..." He laughed, nervously. "ABOUT that. Heh... I-I had nothing to do with that..."


"Well?" The coroner spat out with his gruff voice.

Ryo Unami had never seen a dead body before. He had seen them in books, pictures of them, thousands of them. This might have been the only reason he didn't start crying then and there. However, he was speechless. He was sure of, in the whole entire history including the many dreadful things that had happened to him and other much more unfortunate people, that this was the deepest feeling of sorrow that he had ever felt. It didn't help that the body was staring up at him, and IT REALLY DID NOT HELP that the sheet covered up the whole entirety of the neck, leaving only the head out. It was incredibly disturbing, and what was even more unsettling was at the time the only question he had on his mind was not who could have ever done this but was simply why he was even here. Why did they bring in a childhood friend to identify the body? Why?

"Is that her?" The coroner drooled from the bowels of his throat.

Ryo sighed. "Yes." He said, his voice quite grave. "That's her. I've no doubt."


Akira arrived at the hospital just as Ryo was leaving. Ryo was not confused, because that would require him to not understand and he perfectly understood the situation. He was just conflicted on how to feel, so much so that he didn't realize Akira running upto him until he stopped in front of him, holding his knees. He was panting loudly.

"Ryo." Akira said breathlessly. "Ryo…"

Ryo looked at Akira, concerned. "Wait, Ryo, you didn't run all the way here from Sweet Ring right?"

"Ryo!" Akira ignored his friend's question and grabbed ahold of Ryo's robe tightly, almost ready to rip the fabric off from the seams. "Is it true? Is it her?"

Ryo didn't answer right away. Akira appeared either on the verge of tears or a second away from exploding and it was unsettling for Ryo. He opened his mouth to speak. "I went to go identify the body. Y-Yes, it's her."

Akira growled. "Ahh, jeez, what the hell?!"

"My sentiments exactly Akira. And c-could you let go of my robe?"

Akira let go, clutching his hands together. "What exactly happened to her?!"

Ryo brushed his robe off with his palm. "Well, they haven't done the autopsy yet so they don't know for sure but one of the workers said that her throat was cut clean."

"Shit… seriously? She couldn't have done that herself, could she?"

"Yeah," Ryo nodded. "The man said that there's no doubt that it's a suicide."

"That…" Akira shook his head. "But… argh! Why'd the hell did this have to happen on a bad day like this? This is probably the last thing I would ever want to hear!"

"I'm sorry that it was me who had to break it to you Akira."

"Well, I'm just glad someone fucking called me! And why the hell did they call you in? Yui is the head of the police."

Ryo blinked and adjusted his glasses. "Well, and this is just conjecture, I think Yui isn't… exactly… in any condition. I mean, what with her losing Mako and everyone else in her family…"

"Oh," Akira pulled back, feeling a little ashaimed. "Oh yeah. Mako… wasn't she and Yui…"

"It's no place for me to go speculating on what people are Akira. Neither is it yours."

"Jeez Ryo, I didn't know you could get so… W-Whatever. What about Yayoi? She was Rui's best friend!"

Ryo just glared at Akira. "Please Akira. You know Yayoi isn't in the right state of mind. Nami told me that she hasn't even been out of the house in months. So it was either call you or me. Or Mika, though she's probably half-way across the world by now."

"So they went with you?"

"As unpleased as I am about the decision, yes, I was the one."

Akira looked down at the ground and refused to speak. "…"

Ryo crossed his arms. "Listen, Akira, this is quite upsetting. You should get back to the Sweet Ring. Didn't you say-"

"I closed it down." Akira said, sounding a little disgusted. "All day today."

"Oh." Ryo bit his lip. "I think we make some calls. We need to spread the news to some of her friends. Especially Yayoi."

"What about Mika?"

Ryo shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't even heard from her for so long. I figured that you had her number."

Akira tried his best not to grin. "Yeah, that I do. I could call her. Don't' mean she'll pick up."

"It's 'Doesn't mean' Akira…"

"Whatever. I'll give her a call." Akira fished inside of his pocket and pulled out his silver-steel phone, looking over at Ryo. "Um… Ryo, listen… do you think we… should… ugh, should we call him?"

"Him? You mean Shinji? I haven't even heard from the boy in a year. I don't even have his number."

"NO!" Akira barked. "Not him…"

Ryo raised an eyebrow. "Ohh… Him, you mean? Oh yes. I'm not sure. He hasn't even responded to us at all. Has not even made any attempt to contact us. Even if I called him or texted him, I doubt the chances of him picking up are high."

"Should we try though? What kind of friends would we be if we didn't tell him."

Ryo opened his mouth to speak but closed it in all the same moment. He couldn't deny Akira's logic. One of his friends had been killed, so what kind of person would HE be if he decided not to? He let out a loud sigh, coughing into his hand. "Alright. You call him too Akira, I'll handle Yayoi. Tell me if he picks up or not."


"Well… it wasn't like she KNEW about the FORT from ME. I mean, it's not like I told her..." Russell tried to reassure me. "Lissen', why don't I explain what I know?"

I sat back down. He didn't speak for a few moments in an attempt to coordinate what he was going to say. "Well… May I say first that I really have no idea who the girl is apart from her being a psychic or fortune teller? I mean that's what lil' Nami told me. Also said she could read into the future right?

"I know what you're thinking." I interrupted. "She can't read minds."

Russell let out a sigh of relief. "Thank gawd. Thought she just read my mind like a book! So, well, gosh, I don't know how to explain it but she somehow knew. Two days ago that girl came into my shop and started asking me questions. Seemed pretty angry too! 'Shinen' this and 'Serial Killer' that. She even mentioned a name, Saijo. I had no idea who she could have been talking about until I met you, of course.

I closed my eyes. "That's… probably me. It has to be me. There's no other Saijo that she could be talking about." But why? How did she know me and Russell worked for the same group?

"Yeah. After awhile I got mighta' pissed and asked her what she was talking about. She was rambling on and on and I had no clue what she was friggin talking about. That's when she mentioned the FORT and said something along the lines of 'If you don't answer my questions then I'm not going to able to help you, trust me.' Seemed pretty nervous too, kept telling me that I had to answer her!"

"You know, you don't have to imitate her voice."

"Yeah! I know!" Russell sneered. "Still though, she was pestering me so much that it just unnerved me, so I kicked her out! Told her that she was crazy! I didn't wanna hear her out, which was probably my huge mistake because of what eventually happened to her. Poor gal."

"That's just it!" Russell said, his eyes darting to the floor. "I dun' think she could have killed herself. You can't just accidentally slit your own goddamn throat like a cow. You have to know exactly what you're doing, have a friggin huge tolerance for pain. I just don't think a girl, who seemed so determined to go an' find answers would just kill herself.

"You think it's something else entirely?"

"Yeah…" Russell looked back up at me. "Yaknow what I think?" He asked. "I think it was that serial killer that's been prowling around town."

I brushed my hair out of my eyes. "I heard you mention something about a killer before. How long has this been going on?"

"Oh boy, for the past several year or so! Way before I came here! S'practically a scare to go outside during the night now! What's even worse is that the police have had no leads, not even a clue! They keep telling the public that they have the whole thing down pat, that they have some leads but they' jus' lying through their teeth. The public is gettin' restless too."

Several years? True, there was a serial killer doing terrible things when I was in Kisaragi but we found the guy. We put him away, me, Nami, Akira… Akira. My mind wandered to the boy for a moment. He always pretended that he knew what he was doing but he was confused about himself, about the kind of person he really was. Had he found his own goal in life? Perhaps I could visit Sweet Ring, unless if that interrupted the mission.

"The real kicker is that the murderer, he 'as no set pattern. He does different stuff to each body, like he gets bored just doing one sick thing all the time. His first murder was a decapitation! Dumped the body in a different town!"

"You mean the teacher from Kisaragi?"

"Yeah! The guy was a photographer, I think, I don't know the poor bastard personally."

If this were true, if they had mistaken this victim for some other series of murders, then the police really hadn't a slightest clue.

"Have many of the victims been decapitatied?" I asked hesitantly.

"Just one. Bunch of others were disemboweled too. All the bodies were dumped out of town but they were all from Kisaragi! About twenty-somethun'. And that girl, Rui, she was asking about that!"

"Hmm…"

Russell rubbed his arm. "Yah really think it has somethin' to do with Silent? I'm no master at Silent-knowledge but she was talkin' about it like she knew exactly what it was."

"I wouldn't hazard to guess that she didn't know something." I replied. "Even if this is unrelated to Silent, it wouldn't hurt to check."

Russell beamed a great big smile. "Hahah. See'? I knew yah'd see it my way. Lissen. I know I kinna' lied in my report to HQ but you just gotta investigate. I keep thinkin' I'm being watched but you're trained to deal with these types'a situations. Please?"

I shrugged. "Well then. I suppose that I must." I was only pretending to be less than thrilled to help. The events that Russell vaguely told me had peaked my interests. What had Rui known that had driven her to suicide? Or, more importantly, what had she known that was so important that she had to be killed to keep quiet? Or had she known nothing at all? I was curious, not only as an investigator but as a friend. A friend of a girl who died like a dog.

The first thing I had to do was get in touch with Yui. As pained as she was, she would have to know about Rui. I looked at Russell, my eyes unyielding. "Do you have a phone somewhere around here?"

I had connections with the police of Kisaragi the last time I visited. Thanks to my earlier visits, the police department had figured me for a Criminal Profiler, a high ranked one at that. Quite the achievement for someone so young, but it was all a lie. Everything is a lie once you really dig down to the grit – success in life only depends on how well you can use these lies to your benefit.

It appeared that my luck had not run out for they actually remembered me. I asked for them to put me in with Yui Yamase and they quickly directed me to her extension. She picked up after a few rings.

"Yes?!"

Her voice was angry. It didn't take much to tell that.

"Yui, this is Saijo. Saijo Atsuki."

There was a pause on the line. "Who?!"

This came as a shock to me. She didn't remember me? And yet the police officers, her subordinates did? I cleared my throat. "I'm an officer from the capital. I was just asking-"

"Oh! I bet I know what this is! A member of the press just looking to trick me into giving out information!"

I didn't say anything. It was understandable, her losing her sister. But her act right now seemed paranoid. "N-No, that isn't tru-"

"TODAY is your lucky day. There's going to be a press release later today! We caught the man who is responsible for this! So stop calling me!"

And she hung up.

"W-What happened?" Russell stared at me. "I could hear that chick screaming her lungs out from over here!"

"She said she found the man responsible. I can only assume it's the man responsible for her sister's death, though she didn't say that outloud."

"I'm guessin' asking her for information is outta' the question?"

"Not entirely but…" I didn't have an answer. Where should I start? "To be honest… I think I should come back later. I need to think for a little while."

"Ahh!" Russell got up from his seat, bowing his head in a overly-formal gesture. "Well, come back anytime yah' like. S'not like I'll be going anywhere anytime soon."

I gave him a nod right back. "Right. Thank you for your help."

Even though it wasn't that helpful.

Nami was waiting patiently outside when I came out of the shop, her back pressed up against a nearby wall. How long had I been in there? It certainly seemed like more than an hour but here she was, waiting there like I had only just stepped in for a second. She gave me a smile as I met her gaze, pushing off of the wall. "So, um, how did it go?"

"Fine," I said simply, not really wanting to go into details.

"Oh," she said. This caught my intention – no silly remark? That seemed almost unlike the Nami I used to know. She reached out and grabbed hold of my hand. "Here, c'mon, let's go somewhere."

I didn't argue with her. She tugged me by the arm and led me down the road to, where else, the very same playground she always went to, near Yuhigaoka House. She smiled, letting go of my hand finally as she turned back.

"Um, I-I really don't know what to say!" She laughed. "It's just a surprise to even see you…"

"To be honest I didn't think I would come back either, but here I am."

Nami smiled as she plopped down on one of the swings. "I-I guess. Heh. Jeez, I'm getting all flustered."

"By the way, shouldn't you be in school?"

Nami tilted her head, rubbing the bridge of her small nose with the side of her finger. "I skipped." She put it quite bluntly. "I was with another friend but I sorta lost her in town."

"Ahh." I nodded. "How's your sister?"

Nami clammed up and nodded. "She's, ahh, not so good. She's fine but at the same time she isn't fine…"

"Really?"

Nami sighed. "It's not like I'm going to lie to you. It'd be impossible to LIE to you Atsuki. She's like her old self but different…." She shook her head. "I really can't believe it. REALLY. It's you. What are you doing here anyway?"

"Oh." I said, preparing to lie right through my teeth. "I'm here to visit. I heard about Rui and…"

"I know why you're here Atsuki." Nami blinked. "Don't lie to me."

"I… um… W-What?"

Nami's face grew blank. "Rui was murdered last night. There's no way you could have known that. Russell must have told you."

I didn't know what to say. I kept quiet.

"Atsuki. I know you came here because of Rui's murder but it's not because you just want to visit. Be honest with me. I would never lie to you like you're planning on lying to me."

"…" I finally opened my lips. "Didn't Rui kill herself?"

"No." Nami said detachedly. "No, she didn't. Rui was the one who did it. She didn't do it herself though, she was forced. I don't know how to explain it any better than that."

"But how do you know this for certain."

"She said so." Nami frowned. "Granted she didn't tell me directly, but I heard it all the same. I heard how it was supposed to happen. She knew about it ahead of time and yet she went to the crime scene knowing that there was little chance she would ever come out alive."

"What do you mean?" I said with a smirk. "So, did a little bird tell you that?

Nami froze and looked away from me. "Ahh, well… no. I don't think I could hear it from any animal."

"What do you mean? You have Melody, don't you?"

"Melody died a month afterwards Atsuki. The poor dog… she was comatose on the floor all day and night."

I felt a pinch of guilt rise up from my chest. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring that up but if that's the caase, then why can't you speak to them?"

"It's fine." Nami said and bit her lip. "But… Ever since she died…" She gave me a pleading look, her hands tightly wrapped together. "I can't HEAR them anymore. Maybe I lost my power or maybe they're just refusing to speak to me. I don't know why but they won't say a word, won't even utter a peep!

"That is strange."

Nami stared into my eyes. "But I can hear Russell… and I can hear everyone else Atsuki. Even you. I can hear you right now. "

"Hear me?"

"Yeah. You're not even saying anything but you're talking. Why is that? It's been like this for years… Atsuki. Is this your power? Why can't I shut it off? Please tell me Atsuki, I think I'm going insane."


"The grand master is a man of ostentatious taste." The man in the wireframe glasses said as he got off the plane. His voice was gruff but within the vastness laid elegance and élan. He had the voice and appearance of a leader, not an underling. "A man who lusts for perfection as though it is the only reason he lives. He is also a man who does not enjoy those who fail, or waste time, or even speaks about him behind his back, all of which you have been doing ever since we got here. I would rather not have him displeased." "So you do best to remember that my eyes and ears are owned only to him."

"Whaaaat?" The young boy smirked. "I'm only saying that he should get a new hat. Thing is tattered."

"It matters not an ounce."

"Fine." The boy shrugged. "How far is this town?"

"About twenty miles. Why?"

"Well it's boring!"

"Oh please. Can't you act like an adult for five seconds?"

"Heh. Says you. I bet his Kisaraga isn't that great of a challenge. We only have to pop in and out."

"Kisaragi. The name is KE-SAH-RA-GE. You have no tongue for foreign languages."

"Whatever. I just think the guy is blowing steam over nuffin'."


Author's note – Pay close attention guys. Everything in bold and Italics signifies a clue. Follow along with the story! :D Thanks for reading guys, really! If you have any cool ideas of where this plot can go, I'd love to hear them. It can go anywhere right now honestly.