Natsuki stepped out of her flat and locked the door to her apartment. She was going to meet Shizuru for lunch and then helped her carry her stuff over her house.
Shizuru was moving into her house.
Natsuki scratched her head. Well it all started a few days after she stayed at Shizuru's dorm, she received a call from Shizuru, asking if she could start in her apartment for a while. Her dormitory will be torn down soon so that a new one could be built. So in the meantime, Shizuru would need a place to stay.
Natsuki didn't really mind since she did have an extra room, which was currently used as a study room.
Just as Natsuki pocketed the house keys, she saw her elderly neighbour standing outside his apartment. Natsuki greeted the old man as she walked past him to the lift.
"Gokigenyou Oji-san! Are you waiting for Obaa-san?" The Oji-san gave Natsuki a startled look before smiling and gave Natsuki a nod. "That's nice! I am meeting a friend now. I shall make a move first. Bye Oji-san." Natsuki waved her hand and walked to the lift.
She was fortunate to have a good neighbour. When she first moved into this apartment, Oji-san and his wife were the first to come over and gave her gifts to welcome her to the neighbourhood. It was rare to have such friendly neighbours.
She waited a few seconds for the lift before she heard a soft "ding" signaling the arrival of the lift. It opened to reveal Oji-san's wife, carrying multiple grocery bags in her hands.
"Obaa-san, here, let me help you. It looks really heavy." Natsuki pressed the lift for the Oba-san and offered her help to carry the groceries back to her apartment.
The moment Oji-san caught side of his wife, his eyes brightened and he smiled and waited patiently by the side as Obaa-san opened the door for them to enter.
"Ya… That is a lot of stuff you have here Obaa-sama. Are you..." Natsuki stopped in mid sentence as her fingers went limp and the grocery bags tumbled onto the floor with a slight thud. The fruits inside the bag rolled out of the fallen bags.
"I... He..." Her eyes widened as her breaths came in quick short puffs.
Natsuki couldn't believe what she saw.
Natsuki took a few steps back, her eyes darting around the house, trying to locate someone.
Then her breath caught and her face paled further when she saw Oji-san standing at a corner of the living room. She took a big gulp of air, trying to calm herself as she slowly inched her way to the door on her wobbly legs.
Her mind was scrambling to find an answer to what she saw.
Oji-san only stood there, smiling gently. The same smile he always wore on his face. The smile that was identical to the black and white photo placed on the altar table.
The smile softened as he turned to look at his wife who was now kneeling in front of the altar table, touching a black and white photo of him.
"I didn't get to share with you this." Oba-san said as she gently caressed her fingers over the black and white photo of her husband. "Shou passed away one week ago. It was rather sudden. I woke up one morning to find him dead. He looked so peaceful then that I thought he was still resting."
"I..." Natsuki swallowed, as chills ran down her back. It was hard to speak when the person whom Oba-san said was dead was just standing a few feet away from you. "My condolence to you Oba-san. I… Oji-san..." Natsuki's sentence trailed off as she glanced at the elderly man.
He smiled and shook his head. Then he placed a finger over his lips.
Natsuki rubbed her sweaty palms on her pants as she ran her tongue over her dry lips. "... Er…" She struggled with words as she struggled to control her trembles. "Ouji-san must be in a peaceful place now." Natsuki managed to squeeze out words despite the fact that all she wanted to do was to run screaming out of this flat.
There was a sniffled and then Oba-san wiped her face with her sleeves. "Silly of me! I am sure you have something on. I won't hold you back. Please go. There is no need for you to trouble yourself over an old lady." The Oba-san gently nudged Natsuki out of the door. In fact Natsuki didn't need much encouraging as she hurried out of the flat.
The door slammed shut behind her. Natsuki was alone in the quiet hallway. She stood there motionless for a while until she realised how quiet the hallway was and how alone she was. Her hair stood on end as she dashed towards the lift. But her hand paused midway towards the lift button.
Come to think of it. It might not be a wise decision to take the lift now.
Her imagination was in overdrive now, as scenes of horror movie flashed through her mind. She could imagine herself standing alone in the lift when the lights in the lift flickered off, putting her in total darkness. And then when the lights came back, she wasn't alone anymore!
Her hair stood on end at that thought.
Stairs seemed to be the safer place for now as Natsuki turned and fled down the stairs. As she ran down, she was swearing off horror movies from now onwards.
She quickly ran down the flights of stairs to reach the lobby and finally into the street.
Natsuki leaned her back against the wall, panting. She sat down against the wall and let herself soaked in the heat of the Sun. Her legs were feeling slightly weak.
A couple of passerby gave Natsuki disapproving look as they walked past her. This hardly concerned her. She was just thankful that there were many people out on the streets at this point in time.
She slowly took out her handphone, her hand slightly weak and shaky as she dialed Shizuru's number.
"Hello…" Shizuru voice came from the other end. Natsuki was glad that Shizuru picked up the phone so quickly.
Natsuki took a deep breath. Even the sound of her sucking in the breath sounded shaky. "Shi… Shizuru.." Natsuki steadied her voice. "Where are you now?"
"I am still at my dorm now." There was a moment of silence before Shizuru asked, "Is something wrong? You sound... different."
Natsuki gave a nervous chuckle. "I think I am too nervous to drive now."
"Did something happen?"
Natsuki let out a breath. "I think I just saw a ghost."
There was a moment of silence before Shizuru said, "Send me your location. I will be over soon. Stay at places with direct sunlight. I am coming over now."
About 15 minutes later, Shizuru stepped out of a cab and saw Natsuki sitting on the steps staring into the distance.
The tension within her eased when she saw that Natsuki was safe. Just a little pale perhaps. But still fine.
This was one of the rare occasions when Shizuru panicked after receiving a call from Natsuki.
Things have been rather quiet and peaceful for a while but that only make Shizuru more cautious. It felt like the eye of the storm. Whoever that person is, he could be hiding in the dark, waiting for the right moment to strike again. And she was worried that when that happened, she wasn't around to protect Natsuki.
But she was glad that Natsuki was fine.
Shizuru walked over to Natsuki. She was spacing out even as Shizuru approached and only managed to refocus her attention when Shizuru's shadow fell on her.
"Hey Natsuki?" Shizuru spoke her name softly. "Are you alright?" Shizuru asked as she crouched in front of Natsuki, a slight frown on her face.
Natsuki blinked several times before she got to focus her attention on Shizuru. "Shizuru?"
"Hai… are you alright?" Shizuru asked as she sat down on the steps next to Natsuki.
"I am…fine… I guess..." Natsuki nodded and then slowly, the tip of her ears grew red as she scratched her cheeks. "Yeah… I shouldn't call you and ask you to rush here. That's very silly of me. I just saw a ghost and well… I kinda panicked… it was shocking to realise I was looking at one… sorry about it." The more she said, the lower her volume and the redder the tips of her ears became. "And I agreed to meet to help you carry your stuff over. Now we have to go back to your place again and you have wasted your time. You must be busy packing when I called you just now..." Her rumbling became inaudible as she buried her head into her palm and let out a groan. "Gosh this is embarrassing."
Natsuki was thoroughly embarrassed by herself. She was definitely shocked and unsettled by this incident. But when she managed to calm down and think about it, it wasn't really that big of an issue. It wasn't like she was attacked by the ghost or anything.
To have Shizuru rushing down because she was shock was just plain embarrassing. If possible, she really wanted to bury her head in the ground.
Shizuru chuckled at Natsuki's reaction. The normal Natsuki has returned. When she first saw Natsuki sitting there, all space out and lost, she was worried. But looked like it's fine now.
"Come, let's go to your house first and you can tell me what happened." Shizuru said as she dragged Natsuki back to her feet.
Natsuki led the way and this time took the lift with Shizuru to her flat. She felt so much safer when Shizuru was around.
Natsuki was particularly tensed as she walked past one of the apartments and Shizuru saw how she hurriedly unlocked the door to enter her apartment.
Shizuru offered to prepare tea and the two of them settled into the sofa. Natsuki slowly took a sip of the tea, allowing it to slowly warm up her body and calm her nerves before she recounted the incident.
"Oji-san used to live next door with his wife. So when I was walking past him this morning, I saw him and spoke to him. He looked solid, like a normal human being. It is not translucent where you can see through it. It is like..." Natsuki thought about it as she tried her best to describe what she saw. "It wasn't like the Gui Wang [Gui: ghost/spirit ; Wang: King] we met at the Fuuka Elderly Home Care."
"You saw the Gui Wan?" Shizuru interrupted, her eyebrows raised. "You didn't mention this to me before."
"Yeah, I saw it." Natsuki scratched her head. "I guess we were all distracted. Though when I saw it, it wasn't very clear." Natsuki thought nothing about it. It didn't occur to her that perhaps it wasn't normal to be able to see spirits/ghost.
Shizuru attempted to hide her surprise. Though something flashed across Shizuru's eyes. "So you saw Oji-san and thought he was a normal human?"
"Hai… I would have thought that ghosts or spirits should look slightly translucent. But he looked so normal that I accidentally mistaken him as a human. But then I saw his alter. It really came as a shock to realise that the person I was looking and talking to is a ghost."
"I see…" Shizuru said beneath hooded eyes. "You also spoke to him?"
"Yeah. Why? Is there a problem?" Natsuki tensed up.
"Nothing. There shouldn't be a problem." Shizuru reassured Natsuki smiled. "Sometimes spirits may choose to stay on in the living world because they have unfulfilled wishes or lingering worries. There are of course a few which are dangerous. But most of the time those spirits are harmless. And most likely the one that you saw earlier is a harmless spirit. He didn't harm you and instead allowed you to leave. So you don't have to worry too much about it."
"Yeah, Oji-san didn't do anything. He just smiled and hovered around his wife. That was kind of sweet if you think about it" Natsuki sighed. "I was overreacting just now. Gomenei Shizuru. I seem to be making a mountain out of a molehill. To have you rush down, leaving all your stuff behind when I am supposed to help u with the moving." The tip of Natsuki's ears reddened as the feeling of embarrassment resurfaced. "I can drive us down to get your stuff now. Shall we do that?" Natsuki proposed, hoping to make amendments to her earlier 'rush act'.
Shizuru wasn't really listening to what Natsuki was talking about. Her attention was distracted by the increasingly red ear tip. She stared at Natsuki's ears, fascinated by the blushes. She wondered how it would feel if she placed her fingers on her ear. Would it feel hot? And soft?
Shizuru decided to test it out for herself and reach out to touch Natsuki's right ear.
Definitely very warm.
Shizuru thought as she gently rubbed Natsuki's ear before moving her fingertips to the earlobe.
And yes, very soft.
Shizuru's action had Natsuki pulling back immediately, her hand covering her ear, the one that Shizuru was holding on just now.
"Shi… Shi… Shizuru…" Natsuki said she inched away from Shizuru. "What are you doing?"
The question managed to get Shizuru attention. And Shizuru burst out laughing when she looked up to see Natsuki pulling away from her and widening their distance. Her face totally flustered. And she looking at Shizuru accusingly as her hand covered her ears. As if Shizuru had deeply wronged her.
The laughter lasted a few seconds before it finally subsided.
"Ara… gomanei! What were you saying? I got distracted. And I didn't know your ears are so sensitive."
"Stay away from my ears!" Natsuki gave a mock scowl as she rubbed her hand against her ear. The warmth from Shizuru's finger lingered. "I will bite if you dare to touch it again!" Natsuki wrinkled her nose at Shizuru.
The last time anyone tried to touch her ears, that person was given a shoulder flip before landing with a thud on the floor.
Shizuru swallowed another laughter as she raised both hands trying to prove her innocence. "I won't dare to!"
For now.
"What do you think?" Natsuki asked.
There was a blank look on Shizuru's face.
Natsuki gave Shizuru another scowl. "Do you want me to drive us back to your hostel and move your stuff?"
Shizuru shook her head. "Don't worry about my things. Just before I left, I asked Mikoto to help me pack my stuff into boxes and send them over. I think…" Shizuru looked at her watch. "I think the boxes will be over in about two hours time." There was a pause before Shizuru continued when her voice turned serious. "And it is no a molehill. Because nobody knows whether the spirit you saw could be dangerous or not. It is always safer to call me."
Shizuru leaned forward and brushed her fingers across Natsuki's cheek and curled the hair that escape from behind her ears and pulled it back behind the ear again.
"And I am just glad that you called me."
And for that brief moment, Natsuki thought that her heart must have skipped a beat.
But a few seconds later, Natsuki knew she was wrong as her heart galloped at full speed, that she thought it was her imagination that heart skipped a beat.
"Come! Show me you flat. We will be staying together…. at least for a while." And even longer… Shizuru added that silently.
She didn't want to frighten Natsuki or for Natsuki to distance herself from her. So Shizuru will have to take it slow for now.
Natsuki's flat was near the business district but not too near for it to be too noisy. And the main reason why Natsuki chose this place was due to it's tight security. There will be a security guard 24/7 in the lobby and only residents with the access card could enter the place. And to access the lift to go up to the level, residents will need to swipe their cardboard.
"Here is the access card to the flat and the key to your room. Come, I will show you your room."
The room was relatively empty except for the basic furniture like a bed frame, a study table and air conditioning. "I didn't put much things here because I am not sure what you like. We can go out later on or tomorrow to buy the staff that you need."
"Just the way I like it. Ne Natsuki," Shizuru turned to Natsuki as something flashed across her eyes, "Gomenei, the mattress I bought can only arrive next week. I think I might need to share your bed for a few days before my bed arrives."
"Shar… share the bed?"
"Oh… I can't?" Obviously dejected. "It's alright. I think I have created enough problems for you when I said I wanted to move in. I will just Mikoto to bring me a sleeping bag and sleep on the floor for the next two weeks."
That was no way Natsuki is going to let Shizuru sleep on the floor. It is downright rude to do that! After all, Shizuru has rushed to check on her safety.
"Yiyeah… no no no. I don't mean that. It just that…" Natsuki scratched her head. " It's just that I might flip and turn while asleep. I am just worried that I would disturb your sleep."
"Ara… if it's with Natsuki, I am fine." Shizuru smiled.
It wasn't long before Mikoto delivered Shizuru's stuff. They took awhile to arrange and tidy up Shizuru's room. But everything went much faster with Mikoto's help.
"Did you bring the stuff I asked you to?" Shizuru asked Mikoto when there were only the two of them.
Mikoto nodded and handed over a leather pouch.
Shizuru took it and opened to check that she had all the necessary material. She will set it up later when Natsuki was showering. She will set up a Keikkai around the flat. This will at least protect them from any possible intruders and danger.
She was a Fujino, the Fujino Clan was built on years of Black Magic and they had many enemies. Enemies who wanted her dead.
And furthermore, there was Natsuki. Someone seemed to be targeting her for unknown reasons.
The Keikkai could prevent most forms of attack.
Mikoto left after dinner, leaving Shizuru alone with Natsuki.
"Let me clean up the table. It has been a long day and I think you should shower first. I will shower after you." Shizuru offered.
"You sure?" It was tempting to take a hot shower now, especially after a long day. To be honest, she felt really tired after today, especially after the shock she had. She had been through an emotional roller coaster.
"Yes. I know where the stuff are. Just go and shower first." Shizuru nudged Natsuki in the direction of the shower.
When Shizuru was alone, she took out the leather pouch from her room and went to a corner of the living room.
She took out a small yellow triangular corner flag from the pouch. There was red ancient wording on it. It was a spell meant to create Kekkai. She threw the flag onto the floor, hard. There was a soft sound, like an electric spark and then there was light smoke coming from the floor. The flag disappeared.
Shizuru repeated the same process for all the corners in the apartment.
Just as she finished the last corner, she heard Natsuki calling out to her from the toilet.
"Erm…. Shizuru… sorry to trouble you. But I wonder if you could bring me some clothes? I forgot to bring them along. Just open the wardrobe in my room and take some clothes for me. Any will do."
Natsuki was getting rather tired and her brain was not really working when she went to the toilet earlier on with only her towel. That was what she did when she was the only one. She would shower and went to her bedroom with only a towel wrapped around her and then wear her clothes there. But today brain failed to register that she wasn't alone.
It was an awesome surprise for Shizuru when she opened Natsuki's wardrobe. She was definitely very lucky today.
Lingerie, chemise, negligees, bustier, corset, garter, slips, petticoats, camisole and stocking.
Shizuru's eyes narrowed as she took in Natsuki's whole collection. Her eyes darkened when her attention fell on certain 'limited edition'' collection.
Shizuru licked her lips and smiled a dangerous smile as her ruby coloured eyes glowed a dark red.
Very good!
She touched one of the 'limited edition' lingerie. She would definitely enjoy taking this off Natsuki.
Finger twitched as she tried to control herself.
She would have continued planning how to put these items in good use but she was interrupted by a loud noise of door slamming open and hurried footsteps.
And soon she saw the owner of the sexy items charging into the room in full throttle.
What Shizuru normally saw on television of racing cars drifting as they turn, she saw Natsuki doing that now. She saw Natsuki drifted as she turned the corner and dashed into the room, stopped in front of Shizuru, slammed the cupboard shut, and leaned against it, preventing Shizuru from seeing it ever again.
Natsuki was puffing heavily from the 100m dash.
There was amusement in her eyes as Shizuru looked at Natsuki.
"Shi… Shizuru…" Natsuki said in between catching her breathe. What Natsuki really want to do now is to hit her head against the wall. How many times did she plan to embarrass herself in front of Shizuru today? Nobody has seen her wide range of collection until now!
"Ara Natsuki, I was about to ask which…" There was a deliberate pause. "Lingerie you would like me to bring over, given your wide array of collection."
"You… you saw?" Natsuki stemmered, panic and embarrassment welling inside her. Her mind didn't seem to be working today. She had let down her guard and unknowingly asked Shizuru to open her cupboard and allowed Shizuru to get a glimpse of her collection!
No! No just a glimpse!
She bet given how sharp and quick Shizuru was, she would have seen everything!
Was there anyway she could murder Shizuru and get away with it!? She might get away with it. She was a police. She knew what police would be looking out for when investigating a murder case. She had a good chance!
Suddenly Shizuru's smile widened as she took a slow perusal of Natsuki, from the top of her head to the tip of her toes, stopping at important junctures. Her hair wasn't fully dried yet and water was trickling down her neck to disappear beneath the towel wrapped around her chest. If possible, Shizuru would have wanted to follow the trail of water that disappeared beneath the towel.
"Yes I saw." Shizuru's paused and took one last look. She knew the beautify scene before her would disappear soon. "And I think I am seeing more now. "
At the confused look on Natsuki's face, Shizuru stepped forward and glided her finger along Natsuki's shoulder blade before sliding it across Natsuki's chest, causing Natsuki to freeze on the spot. Shizuru bent forward and whispered hoarsely into Natsuki's ear, "A very beautiful scene before me." Shizuru gave a low chuckle.
Natsuki looked down only to realise that only a towel was keeping her covered. She let out a scream and squat down immediately, covering her chest.
"I will go shower now. You can take your time selecting the right attire." Shizuru chuckled as she left the room.
Shizuru was rubbing her wet hair as she entered the room. While she showered, Natsuki managed to "fall asleep". But the slightly rigid body showed otherwise.
The lights were turned off except for one bedside lamp which Natsuki left for her.
She could clearly see that Natsuki was in 'proper' attire. Long sleeve shirt and track pants and none of the sexy wear Shizuru saw just now.
Shizuru sat on the empty side of the bed and smiled as she rubbed her hair dry with her towel. Natsuki was definitely embarrassed.
She couldn't remember how many times she had smiled or laughed today. She really enjoyed being around Natsuki. It was fun teasing Natsuki, watching her turned red with embarrassment.
When her hair was more or less dry, Shizuru switched off the light and tucked herself into the bed.
Shizuru laid on the bed but she didn't intend to sleep yet.
She glanced at Natsuki. After awhile Shizuru sighed inwardly.
For the past few days, she had been doubting her decisions to move in with Natsuki and deepen their relationship. She wondered if she was doing the right thing by getting close to Natsuki.
For some reasons, Natsuki seemed to be able to see spirits and her ability was getting stronger by the day. If what Natsuki said was the truth. She was able to see a fade outline of the Gui Wang at first. But now, she was able to see spirits clearly and communicate with them.
Normal humans don't have the ability to see ghosts or spirits. Even for Black Magicians, not all were able to do that. They tend to use spells or potions to help them see for a period of time.
Shizuru was very sure that Natsuki was like any normal human beings to start with. But something had changed to cause Natsuki to be able to see ghosts in such vivid appearance.
But what was it?
Was it because of their frequent and constant interactions that triggered the change in Natsuki?
Shizuru sighed. But there was no going back now. The two of them could only move forward. Whoever was hiding in the dark targeting them will not let Natsuki off even if Shizuru left Natsuki's side.
Shizuru turned and stared at Natsuki. Natsuki was finally asleep now and Shizuru was granted the opportunity to look at Natsuki without her realising.
Shizuru reached out to touch the midnight blue tresses and marveled at how soft her hair was as it fell gently over her shoulders. And her face, definitely one to draw people's attention. Those high cheekbones and cool emerald colour eyes, giving people the impression that cold and distant feeling. Yet when she gave that glare of hers, she gave the impression that she was not someone to mess with. Half irritated and half get real look. It was those dark green eyes that caught her attention. Bottomless green when you look into her eyes. And those bottomless green eyes were occasionally glistening with irritation and defiant and yet beneath it there was a tinge of shyness that made Shizuru want to explore further. And then there was the luscious lips. Shizuru moved her fingers gently over her lips. She only had brief contact with Natsuki's lips and that brief contact then had left her wondering what would happen if she deepened the kiss and delved deep into the sweetness of her mouth.
But for now, she had to wait.
By the time Natsuki woke up, the bed next to her was empty.
She stepped into the kitchen and saw a sandwich on the table. There was a box and note next to it.
The note was from Shizuru. She has woken up early today to prepare breakfast for the two of them but had to leave early for her lessons. The box next to the note was meant for her. It was to thank her for allowing her to move it and would like her to wear it at all times. She opened the box and saw a bracelet. Rather than the usual bracelets outside, this bracelet was intricately carved out of wood and tied using a black colour string. And if she held it close to her nose, there was a fragrance coming from the bracelet. Natsuki placed the bracelet over her left wrist and tied it. Very pretty and it suited her better than those expensive and elegant bracelets.
Just then, a message came, notifying her of a new case. She took in the details and left the house.
Mai was already there when Natsuki arrived and Mai briefed her about the latest discovery.
"Female in her early twenties found dead by a cleaner of the park. The victim was naked when the cleaner stumble upon her. No belonging found near her. Her clothing was nowhere to be found. Where her body was found is unlikely to be the crime scene. We would need to wait for forensic report to know if she was sexually assaulted."
Natsuki nodded her head. There were a few cases she hates to handle as a police officer. Rape cases and child abuse cases.
"Do we have any missing person report recently?" Natsuki asked.
Mai shook her head. "Some of us are combing through the area to see if we could find any other evidence."
"Alright then. I will take the area not covered by them." Natsuki said as she put on a pair of white gloves.
The team spent the whole morning and early part of the afternoon searching through the park for possible evidence and eye witnesses. The search was quite fruitful when they found the victim's purse in a dustbin.
With the discovery of her identification card in her purse, it became easier to track down what happened before her death.
By the next day, Natsuki and Mai were able to track down the victim's activities before her death.
"Victim was a 21 years old intern working for Z company. Forensic determines her death to be between 2200 to 0000 on 23rd November. Traces of date rape drug were found in her body. There is evidence of sexual assault and bruises were found on her upper body. The main cause of death is strangulation. According to her coworkers, victim was last seen alive on 23rd November and prior to her death, she was asked to accompany her boss for a dinner appointment." Mai read out the details of her finding. "When we interviewed the employees, they seemed rather reluctant to share details pertaining to their boss."
"No surprise. It is the boss who determines who stay and leave in a company. Are we able to identify the owner of the company?"
"Hai… Homura Nagi is the CEO and owner of the company. The secretary wasn't too cooperative but we managed to establish where the victim and her boss went for their dinner appointment. Akira is on her way there to verify the information."
"Homura… Homura..." Natsuki tapped her fingers on the table. "The name sounds familiar. Homura… wait… let me see..." Natsuki turned to her laptop and keyed in the name. "No wonder. Homura was the name of the company involved in vast area of businesses such as electronics and gaming arena. Hmmm… no wonder I find his name so familiar. My gaming console was built by Homura."
Natsuki keyed in Homura Nagi's name into the search engine and was surprised by the results. There was a much tabloid news about Homura Nagi. Rich, famous and a casanova. A favourite topic of the tabloids. The news detailed the various girlfriends he had and the lovers he hid underneath the radar of his girlfriends.
Thoughts ran through Natsuki's mind.
Natsuki keyed in her password and accessed the police system and extract Homura Nagi's home address. And immediately, the system generated a list of property owned by Nagi. There was more than six properties in the list.
"What's the name of the restaurant Nagi and the victim visited on 23rd November?"
"P restaurant."
Natsuki nodded her head and searched for the restaurant's address. Comparing Nagi's addresses with the restaurant's address, Natsuki ranked the properties based on distance from the restaurant.
"We will each take half of the properties and check to see if Nagi returned to any of this property on 23rd November night."
It really didn't take long.
Natsuki hit the jackpot when she visited the first property. With the help of the CCTVs, she was able to spot Nagi carrying the victim into the lift. She was right to come to the property that was nearest to the restaurant.
Natsuki stepped out of the building to call Mai. "No need to check the rest of the properties. I have the CCTV footage of Nagi entering his apartment with the victim. We will meet back at the office."
Natsuki extracted all the CCTV footages of the lobby and the lift as possible evidence to submit to the court. If Homura was indeed the culprit, Natsuki planned to establish a strong case against him. She wasn't planning to let him go scot free.
"How is it?" Mai asked as she entered the office.
Natsuki was scrolling through the CCTVs footages.
"At about 2130, Nagi entered the lobby with the victim. At about 2345, he left his apartment and took the lift alone. There was no sign of the victim leaving the building though."
Just then Akira came in. "Homura Nagi and the victim was spotted leaving the restaurant at about 2100. Eyewitness said that the victim was drunk and Nagi carried her to his car."
Akira's report further confirmed the fact that Homura Nagi could be the last one who saw the victim alive.
"There is a high chance that Homura Nagi is involved the rape cum murder of the victim. But it's strange. The victim was seen entering the building but no evidence of her leaving." Mai pointed out. "Did the CCTVs capture her leaving the building?"
"Not possible." Natsuki shook her head. "I have checked all the CCTVs of every entrance. No sign of the victim."
"Wait… can we scroll back to the time when Nagi was leaving the building?" Mai asked.
"Stop! Here, look." Mai pointed at the screen. "Nagi was pulling a luggage. Judging from the size, it is large enough to stuff a body in it."
Natsuki frowned.
"There is a possibility that the victim could have been killed by Nagi and then stuff into the luggage to be disposed of. That is the only explanation why we didn't see the victim leaving the property." Mai pointed it out.
"I see…" There was a moment pause as Natsuki contemplated the next move. "Akira, can you bring a few people to search through the park again to see if you could locate the luggage seen in this picture. Mai will request for a search warrant for Nagi's house and I will track down Nagi and requested him to come down to the station for statements."
"Yes Madam!"
"Alright!"
Natsuki nodded. "Alright! Let's catch him!"
Just as Natsuki was about to move off, her handphone vibrated. She had a message from Shizuru asking if she was coming home anytime soon and if she needs dinner.
Natsuki's heart warm when she saw the message. It was nice to have someone waiting for you at home and checking if you are coming home soon. It made her look forward to going home, knowing there was someone waiting for her.
Natsuki replied Shizuru and then moved off to locate Hormura Nagi.
Natsuki brought along two other police officers to bring Nagi in for investigation.
"Please have a seat Fujino-san." A lady in her 50s gestered to the leather sofa. Her hair was neatly styled by a stylist before this meeting. Even her attire was carefully chosen by her stylist with her ears and neck adorned with pearls. An expensive dress showcased her trimmed figure. She had worked hard to maintain this figure at this age. "We are so grateful that you could come despite your busy schedule. I have heard a lot of great things about you."
Shizuru would occasionally take in request for help regarding supernatural stuff. Of course the pay has to be substantial too.
"You are too kind to say that."
"Please call me Keiko. There is a reason why I requested your help."
"Oh ya… I didn't realise that our exorcist is such a beauty. If I knew, I won't mind being harassed by ghosts more often so that I could always see you." A young man with a grey white hair said as he slowly sauntered down the stairs, a grin on his face.
Shizuru raised an eyebrow when she saw him. She could guess the reasons why she was asked to come here.
"Silly child!" Keiko chided. "You don't know what you are talking about. Show some respect to Fujino-san."
"My deepest apologies." The man gave an exaggerated bow. "Please accept it."
The woman sighed. "Please excuse him my dear."
Shizuru smiled and decided to direct the focus of the conversation. She planned to finish this as soon as possible so that she could go home and prepare supper for Natsuki. "It's fine. I heard you request my help."
"Oh yes! We do." The lady sighed again. "It's my son. I worried for him. To be honest, I have the ability to sense and see the supernatural, albeit weak. Just recently, I saw shadows surrounding him. My ability is weak so I could not have a clear picture of what is harming him. But I could sense that whatever it is, it isn't good. And this is the reason why I requested your help."
Shizuru turned to look at the young man again. He was playing with his lighter, rolling it between his fingers, completely ignoring the conversation that was going on.
There was indeed dark shadows surrounding him and it was growing bigger and darker. Shizuru glanced at his forehead, a black aura surrounded it and within the black aura, there were signs of red.
Not a very good omen.
Shizuru nodded her head. "A black aura with tinge of red surrounds him. He will be down on his luck for the next few days and if he is not careful, blood may spill."
At Shizuru's conclusion, the lady's face pale. Fujio-san came highly recommended by her acquaintances. She trusted what Fujino-san said.
The young man stopped his fiddling and looked at Shizuru. He smirked and stood up from his seat. "I am tempted to believe everything you say since you are so beautiful."
He walked towards Shizuru and bent towards her, his hand reaching out to touch her face. "How about we go out for a meal and you could share with me more?" He had been captivated by her sensual beauty the moment he first saw her. He wondered how she would be liked when he had her beneath him. He ran his tongue over his lips. He couldn't wait. Perhaps even better than the intern he had a few days ago.
Shizuru's eyes narrowed. She could be more than glad to prove her prediction right be making sure his blood spills if he touched her.
"Nagi!" This time a sharp rebuke.
"Alright alright!" Nagi straightened up and raised his hands in surrender. He was sure there would be another time.
Just then the butler came and whispered something into the lady's ear.
It was very soft but the information didn't escape Shizuru's ears.
"Three police officers are at the door looking for young master. They insist that they want to speak to him."
"Fine. Bring them in then." Keiko thought about it before continuing. "No wait. Contact the lawyer first. Then bring them in"
The lady turned back to Shizuru. "I'm sorry Fujio-san. Could we meet another day instead? I have some urgent matter to settle."
"Of course." Shizuru stood up to leave.
But at the same time the door to the living room opened to reveal three people standing outside.
Surprise flashed across Shizuru and Natsuki face when they saw each other. They didn't expect to see each other here.
But given the situation now, it wasn't an appropriate time to strike up a conversation here.
They nodded at each other in acknowledgment and then walked past each other.
Natsuki did a quick scan of the surrounding before her attention was locked on the grey-white hair man. She frowned when she saw shadows hovering around him.
"Good evening. I am Inspector Kuga. I would like to speak to Homura Nagi." Natsuki flashed her badge.
Gone was the polite demure as Keiko sat on the sofa with an aloof and haughty expression. She lifted the cup of tea in front of her and took her time sipping her tea. All the whole Nagi was slouched on the sofa playing with his handphone, completely ignoring the police's presence.
Natsuki's eyes narrowed. They were deliberately making them stand and wait.
Silently the lady placed the teacup back to the saucer with a loud 'cling'. "I am Homura Nagi's mother. What do you want to do with him?"
"We require his assistance with a case."
She snorted. "My son has always been a law abiding citizen. I don't know why you need to speak to him. Or is the police so incompetent that they can't resolve a simple case?"
A sarcastic comment had Natsuki frowning.
"Don't worry kaa-san. I guess incompetent people require help from people who are more capable." Nagi smirked as he looked up from his handphone. "And I am always willing to help."
"You have always been a helpful boy." The lady gave Nagi a doting smile. "But please bring along a lawyer. We don't want people to take advantage of your kindness." At that, the lady gave Natsuki a look.
The investigation didn't go well. Hormura's lawyer blocked their attempt to press for any helpful response information from Nagi.
"My client has made it very clear. He expressed great sadness for the victim's death but has nothing to do with it. The victim was his employee and they had a dinner appointment on 23rd November. At the end of the dinner, the victim became drunk and my client offered to drive her home. Unfortunately, my client does not know the victim's address and feels bad having to disturb his secretary at night to check for her address. He also doesn't feel safe leaving a young girl in a hotel. Thus he bring her back to his apartment. After which he received information that he needs to depart to Europe for a meeting, thus he was seen pulling his luggage, leaving his apartment. As to what happened to the victim after that, my client won't be able to answer you as he was overseas then and won't be able to account for her. You can verify his flight details with the airline. I would like to reiterate my client's innocent and to ask the police department to free him now."
Natsuki stood outside the room and observed the interrogation through the glass panel. It was a one way mirror which allowed Natsuki to see through but prevent the people inside from looking out.
The interrogation didn't seem to be going anywhere.
"He looks so hateful sitting there with that smug look on his face." Mai walked in to stand beside Natsuki, lips tightened in displeasure.
There was silence as Mai stood there watching the interrogation. She sighed. There was no use delaying what she was instructed to inform Natsuki.
Mai reluctantly turned to Natsuki. "Our request for search warrant was denied."
The frown on Natsuki's face deepened. "Why?"
Mai sighed again. She knew Natsuki was going to be very very upset when she heard it. "I spoke to Sakomizu just now. Instructions from the top came in for us to stop all investigation on Homura Nagi and to release him immediately."
"What!?" An incredulous expression on Natsuki's face as she turned to Mai. "The top said that?"
"Hai… it looks like Homura has some connection with some big shots from the top."
"This is not right! How could they interfere with the investigation!?" Her face darkened.
Mai had no answer for Natsuki. She had asked the same questions as Natsuki. But Sakomizu Kaiji's reply was clear. Instructions came from the top. They had to follow it.
Natsuki's body was rigid as she stared at the interrogation room. She was speechless beyond words. She turned sharply and strode out.
She would not go down without fighting!
The door to Sakomizu Kaiji's office slammed open and Natsuki walked in.
"Sir!" Natsuki gave the halfhearted salute.
Sakomizu Kaji didn't bother to look up from his work. He know Natsuki would look for him. "We need to release Homura Nagi now."
"But Sir!" Natsuki's face darkened further. "He is our prime suspect!"
Sakomizu glanced up at Natsuki briefly before returning his attention to the document in front of him. "Do you have concrete evidence that he is the one?"
"No sir. But the evidence points towards him."
"The evidence only suggests but unable to prove he is the culprit. So release him now."
Natsuki stood there, unmoving as her fists clenched.
"Release him now." Sakomizu reiterated. "This is an order."
"Yes Sir!" Natsuki gave a salute and turned to leave the room, slamming the door behind her.
"Homura Nagi, you are released now." The information was said through cleaned teeth as Natsuki entered the interrogation room.
At Natsuki's statement, Akira and the police officer looked up in shock and disbelief.
Nagi's grin just widened as he stood up and straightened his tie.
"See I told you. I am innocent." He laughed as he stepped out of the room, the sound of his laughter echoed along the corridor.
Once Nagi and his lawyer vacated the room, Natsuki slammed her fist into the door.
Bastard!
Mai came into the interrogation room to sign off the statement taken by Akira and the police officer.
"Natsuki...what.." Mai shook her head and stop Akira in mid-sentence.
Natsuki took a deep breath to calm herself. She can't let that bastard go.
"Akira and Mai, see if you can trace the road he took from his apartment to the airport and search the surroundings for possible luggage. He might have abandoned his luggage on the way. The luggage is an important piece of evidence for us to conclude that Hormura Nagi is the murderer. We need to find it."
"Alright."
Natsuki took another deep breath to calm herself. "It is getting late. We will do that tomorrow. We will just go home and rest for the night."
Natsuki opened the door to her apartment to find that Shizuru had left a table lamp on for her.
Natsuki smiled, no longer feeling that tired.
"You are back." Shizuru opened the bedroom door when she heard keys turning at the apartment door. "I was wondering when you will be back."
Shizuru took in the tired look on her face. "What happened? The investigation didn't go well?"
Natsuki nodded her head as she took off her shoes and put it in the shoe rack. Shizuru bent forward and placed a pair of slippers for Natsuki.
"Is it about Homura Nagi?"
Natsuki paused in the middle of changing shoes. "Yes He is." She paused, wondering if she should reveal more information. "He is involved in a murder case. But his family has some connection with the higher up, so we are ordered to release him and stop all forms of investigation against him."
"I see…" something flashed across her eyes. "I guess this explains why his mother requested for my help. I guess you might have seen the shadows that surround him."
"Yeah I saw the shadows too. Quite obvious. But I am not sure what it is."
"When a person dies, it will take awhile for the soul to form into spirit. The soul resides in the body. But when the body dies, the soul will leave the body and become spirit/ghost. So the shadows you see are fragments of a soul, slowly forming into spirit. It will take about seven days for this transformation to be completed. That's why in some cultures, the seventh day is very important. They call it the 头七 [头 ('tou'): meaning first ; 七 ('qi'): meaning seven]. Tou Qi is the day when the deceased returns to pay a last visit before the deceased move on to the nether world."
"Could the shadows that surround Hormura Nagi be the fragments of the victim's spirit? Back to seek her revenge on Nagi?"
"Possibly. I took a quick look at his aura just now, he may meet with misfortune for the next few days, with likelihood that blood may spill. I guess that is why his mother request for my help to prevent that from happening."
"Do you plan to help Hormura Nagi?" Natsuki stared at Shizuru, trying to search for an answer from her face.
Shizuru returned Natsuki's started before smiling. "No I won't. But I can help you."
Seeing the puzzled look on Natsuki's face, Shizuru smiled and leaned forward to whispered something into her ears.
A/N:
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!