Jack Thornton took off his cowboy hat and joined his friends at the table. He hadn't eaten anything for the whole day since he woke up late and had to head straight to college so he wouldn't be late for classes. He just had to forget to set up an alarm… again. Fortunately, the hot dog and soda he had gotten from the cafeteria were enough to quench his hunger. Despite him being a foreigner, he had managed to become fairly popular around the campus. His 'exotic' looks were to blame, along with that slight Texan accent which seemed to be rather popular with the ladies. Now if only he managed to get Hajime, whom he considered a friend, to become more sociable…
Speaking of which, he hadn't seen Hajime at the cafeteria, thing which was rather unusual. Excusing himself, he left his friends to call him. As he made his way out of the noisy student-filled area, the phone's ringing got clearer. And then came an answer.
"What is it?" Hajime sounded rather impatient.
"Hey there, partner, I haven't seen you at lunch time. Is everything alright?" Jack asked, trying to hide his worry.
"I'm not hungry. I'm off to investigate the snack bar down the street."
"Huh? And what do you expect to find?"
"Clues to Ken's death."
"Well, why would you think there's something there?"
"That's where he was when I last talked to him. Before he got..." There was a slight pause, and then Hajime changed the subject. "The police haven't progressed much. I need to get my own answers."
"It's barely been a day, man. Let the police do their job if you really want answers," Jack tried to reason with him.
"It may have been a day, but we've already got three bodies! I don't know about you, but I don't want that number to grow."
"You might as well be the next victim with that attitude."
"I don't care."
"You don't care about your safety…?"
Hajime didn't respond. After another moment of silence, just as Jack parted his lips to say something, he hung up. The cowboy sighed and shook his head. Then he started running down the corridors.
Hajime made his way down the sidewalk, ignoring all by-passers. In his mind, he was trying to recreate Ken's journey on the previous day. Despite the rather busy traffic around him, he managed to clear his thoughts enough to focus on his self-imposed mission – they had talked at around 7:15 AM, meaning that there were not that many people on the street, giving a potential stalker the perfect opportunity to catch him alone and off guard. Obviously, the killer could not brutally murder Ken in plain view, so he had to have dragged him in a discreet place. Making a mental note to check each alley between buildings, he entered the snack bar.
The place reeked of some kind of cleaner mixed with an annoying lemon perfume and its wet floor tiles shone in a manner which disturbed his eyes. There were people eating at the tables, ranging from the disinterested college students who were impatient for the weekend to the hardworking adults who were taking a break from the daily jobs they most likely hated. Fortunately, there was no waiting line at the counter. Hajime pushed a bill and two coins, looked at the middle aged bald cook in the eye and said, "A hot dog with ketchup and a can of Lipton ice tea."
"Alright," the man replied and was quick to bring him the products, placing them on the counter and taking the money, but then the young one also pushed another bill under his fingers.
"Here's a tip, if you can give me some information," the blond spoke in a lower tone.
Although a bit unsure at first, the cook looked around and then he took the other bill, lowering to his level and asking, "What kind?"
"You've had a client yesterday morning who looked like this." Hajime then revealed a picture of Ken on his phone. "Can you tell me which way he went when he was done eating?"
"Oh, I remember him. He didn't stay here for too long. He had a sandwich and went off."
"In which direction?"
"The college."
"Did you notice anything strange about him?"
"About him, no. But if I recall… I think some kind of creep in a black jacket with a hood and no sleeves followed him once he got outside."
"A creep, you say? Did you see his face or something?"
"Nope, he had his back turned. That's all I remember."
Hajime nodded to show his gratitude and took the food, having a seat at a vacant table. Ten minutes later, he was done and on his way to further investigate, when he bumped right into Jack as he was exiting the snack bar.
"Watch where you're going!" the blond exclaimed in surprise. "Jack? What are you doing here?"
"Just making sure you're not getting into more trouble than you should." The cowboy tapped his foot, looking at him with a scolding glare.
"Even if I did give a shit about your concern, know that so far I didn't get into any trouble and I've found way more information than those incompetent cops," Hajime arrogantly replied and crossed his arms.
"Oh? Humor me," Jack said as the two of them headed back to the campus, making their way through the crowds of busy citizens.
It did not take long for the rich youngster to surprise his foreign friend. Jack stared with his jaw dropped, and just as he was about to say something, Hajime intervened.
"I'm not doing this for my own personal vendetta. I'm doing this for Ken. The only way he can rest in peace is if someone solved this case once and for all." His blue eyes cast a pleading stare at Jack's green ones. "For his sake, don't rat me out to anyone."
"Alright, alright, you win this one, partner…" The brunette sighed. "But on one condition!"
"Don't tell me I'm stuck doing your homework or something."
"That would be funny, but no. I want to come along too, I'm not leaving you alone in this one."
Now it was Hajime's turn to drop his jaw in surprise.
"You do know that things will get dangerous around me," the blond reasoned.
"I do, that's why I want to be by your side, to keep an eye on you."
Hajime shook his head. Then he gave Jack a confident smile and both of them fist bumped. Now they were a team.
"Very well then, let's do an experiment!" Hajime suggested.
Jack blinked. "What kind?"
"You walk ahead and I'll come from behind. Act as if you don't know that you're being followed."
"Why? You're not planning on running off, are you?"
"Just trust me on this one, okay?"
"This seems weird, but alright."
Jack did as he was instructed. Hajime waited for a few moments and then he followed him from a decent enough distance. There were three alleyways separating them from the perimeter of the university, meaning that he had to calculate both the time and speed needed to sneak up on the victim while also making sure that there was nobody watching. The first alley was excluded because it was too close to the snack bar. The third one, on the other hand, was too close to the university, both being buildings outside of which some people were guaranteed to be. The only chance for an attack was when the victim passed by the middle alley. He took a good look at the buildings surrounding it: one was a computer shop with a schedule from 9 AM to 8 PM, while the other was an abandoned shop.
Having all this in mind, after they both went past the first alley, Hajime sped up his walking a bit in such a way that Jack would not notice him. By the time the unsuspecting cowboy reached the second alley, he struck. With one swoop, Hajime grabbed Jack from behind, covered his mouth and pulled him into the shadows.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" the victim growled out in shock.
Hajime let go of him, a pleased smile on his face.
"So I was right! This might be the place where it happened."
"How are you so sure of this?" Jack inquired, his curiosity now piqued.
"There's no time to explain. We've got to check this alleyway for any forms of aggression," the blond instructed.
"Hopefully this whole detective play won't be for naught."
And so they spent the following minutes inspecting the trash cans and boxes, but unfortunately their search was fruitless. It was only after the cowboy started using his phone to light the dusty walls that they found something - a handprint.
"This looks… interesting?"
"Keep lighting this part of the alley," Hajime demanded.
"Are you sure?" Jack wondered as he did what was asked of him. "This might all be one huge coinci-"
Then they both froze in their steps as they saw many dark red stains on a trash bin that was lying way back in the alley, too far for the public eye to witness. The brunette's hands began to shake as his blond friend went to further inspect. After touching the dried stains a few times and sniffing them, Hajime gave the verdict.
"My theory was correct. Just like the mugger who was killed a few streets away, Ken must have been dragged here and viciously murdered."
"Alright, let's head back and tell the cops about this," Jack suggested. "I don't want to stay here any longer."
"I guess you're right." Hajime nodded, a hint of reluctance in his voice. "Let's go."
Courses were about to resume as they reached the college. Both of them rushed to their lockers to pick up the materials for their next class. Just as Hajime opened the door of his locker, he gasped loudly, startling Jack, who turned to him and asked, "What's wrong?"
A note written in black marker was stuck on the inside of the locker's door, the message in poorly drawn kanji saying: YOU'RE LEARNING ABOUT THIS FASTER THAN I THOUGHT. I'LL AWAIT YOUR NEXT MOVE, HAJIME.
"M-maybe someone's pulling a bad prank..." Jack fearfully reasoned, though deep inside he was dreading the worst.
"No, this is a challenge." Hajime took the paper and squeezed it tightly in his hands. "And I won't be intimidated."
Bochiborof snuck into the same alleyway where the two students had been to previously. He climbed the metallic fence that was near the bloodstained trash bin and he jumped to the other side, where Demon Subaru was sitting on the ground with his back against a wall, feasting on a non-descript hunk of flesh.
"Master, I have delivered the note just as you ordered," he stated, excitement being written all over his face. "The friend was terrified, but Hajime's determination simply grew stronger."
"Good," the devilish teen replied and then he tossed the hunk of flesh on Bochiborof's head, giving him a lump.
Demon Subaru clenched his fist. He was angry. Not even feasting on flesh could restore at least a decent amount of his power. He searched his pocket and pulled out Bluenika, Dragon Soul Fortress. Staring at the card, he telepathically demanded All Over The World to bestow him with some strength until he could manage to complete it once more. Unfortunately, there was no response. No, he would not have that. The grip of his fingers tightened around the card as his hands began to glow purple.
"Ow, my head!" Bochiborof moaned out his pain as he opened his eyes, only to have the surprise of seeing his master back on his feet. "Sire, what are you doing?! It's too early for you to be walking again!"
A cold glare from those black eyes with shining red irises shut him up. Demon Subaru then took out his cell phone once more and dialed another number.
"Sky High Pizzas, how may I help you?" the monotone voice of an old woman answered on the other line.
"Sora-san, it's been too long!" Demon Subaru spoke in the same voice of his human counterpart.
"Oh, thank goodness you finally gave us a sign, Subaru! We've all been really worried about you, especially Tsugumi."
"I know. I've just talked to her a while ago. Listen, I've been doing some digging in regards to all these murder cases."
"You did? I didn't know you could still be bothered to leave your apartment."
"I know, I know, but I've had the exact same fear as Tsugumi that he might be back, which is why I made this extra effort."
"And what did you find?"
"A trail that led me to the old chemical plant. Want to meet up there so we can investigate together?"
"I don't know what to say, I've still got a few more hours of my shift."
"Come on, you know the others are even busier, I don't want to do this alone!"
Sora stood silent as she pondered on the proposal laid in front of her. After a few moments, she sighed and said, "Very well, I'll call my colleague and ask him to start his shift a little early. See you there in an hour or so."
"Alright, see you there!" Demon Subaru then hung up and turned to his servant. "It's time to get back to work."
"Right behind you, master!" Bochiborof eagerly replied, both of them leaving the alleyway's shadows.