Disclaimer: I don't own anything. (Though I wish I do)
Summary:
Have you ever heard of Dark Magic? What do you know about them? Natsuki is a rising star in the Fuka Police Headquarter who solves her case based on logic & facts. However, her world is turned upside down when she meets Shizuru. Shizuru lives in a world that can never be defined by logic and facts. What happens when the two meet? ShizNat Rated T for now
Shizuru watched as Yuiichi walked in the direction of the guest room. "Ara, it seems that things are more complex than I thought ne..."
Shizuru never told Yuiichi the complete truth. Shiho was no longer a mere spirit. She can be considered a vengeful spirit.
While it is true that all spirits have strong Yin energy and human stronger positive energy call Yang energy, it is different in Shiho's case. Vengeful spirits have more Yin energy than any other normal spirits. And ghost or spirits generally do not have a physical form making it impossible for them to come into contact human and vice versa. But when a ghost turns vengeful, it can gather enough yin energy, giving itself a physical form to touch things. And that was how Shiho managed to grab hold of Yuiichi just now.
But what worried Shizuru most was the color of Shiho's dress.
While in Chinese culture, red under certain occasions may signifies prosperity and happiness, but for red to appear on a spirit, it indicates vengeance and anger. There is a saying that has been passed down for century. When you dress a deceased in red before burial, the spirit of the deceased will return to seek revenge on the ones who use to harm the deceased when he/she was alive.
There was once a rumor that a young girl was allegedly raped and murdered by an influential politician but the politician was later released due to insufficient evidence. In despair, the girl's parents dressed deceased young lady in red just before burial and days later, the politician died and the case of the politician's death remained a mystery.
And Shiho was dressed in red just now which means Shiho must be out for vengeance. Shizuru thought. But why now? Shizuru had on previous few occasions tried to contact Shiho but with no success. So why did Shiho only appear now to seek vengeance on Yuiichi nii-sama? And why on Yuiichi nii-sama?
Shizuru remembered that they had been a loving couple when Shiho was alive. They had been busy preparing for a baby growing inside Shiho when a car accident took Shiho away. And ever since then, Yuiichi nii-sama had been devastated. Shizuru couldn't fathom why Shiho might be after Yuiichi.
But Shizuru was not worried that Shiho might exact revenge while Yuiichi was alone. The beam of light which she shot at Shiho was strong enough to send Shiho running to recuperate from her injury. Spirits are strong in Yin energy and too much of the Yang energy could kill the spirits.
In Taosim, Taoists speak of balance and co-existence, a balance and co-existence between Yin and Yang energy. Yin (written as 陰 or 阴) which is negative or passive in nature while Yang (written as 陽 or 阳) which is positive and strong in nature. Just like in nature where day and night, Sun and the Moon co-exist. Day time is where the Yang energy or nature is the strongest and hence the Sun is a symbol of Yang energy. While night time is where the Yin energy or nature is the strongest and hence the Moon is a symbol of Yin energy. And in our life cycle, life and death co-exist with life signifies the Yang nature while death the Yin nature. Hence Human represent the Yang and spirit the Yin.
So having Yang energy shot into Shiho would definitely hurt her. She would need time to recover. And even if she had recovered, Shizuru had given Yuiichi nii-sama a talisman to keep him safe for now.
But in the mean time, she would need to track down Shiho.
Date: 2 June 20XX
Venue: Fuuka Forest Nature Reserve
The sun slowly sank into the horizon as the day transcend into night. The sky slowly darkened as darkness slowing crept in but some hint of light could still be seen at the horizon. However, a different form of darkness had descended onto this stretch of forest.
With what little light that was left, it was possible to see a man running through the forest. The sound of the man's panting could be heard echoing through the silent forest.
The man looked like he was escaping from someone. Or maybe something. Because for every few steps he took he would glance back, with a look of desperation etched on his face, as if checking for something.
He ran on for a while until he stumbled and fell flat on the floor. He quickly picked himself up, ignoring the dirt on his shirt and jeans and prepared to take flight again.
A strong gust of wind blew past.
The man held up his hand to his face to block the wind. When he looked up, his face paled. He seemed to have seen something that frightened him. He took a step backwards followed another, shaking his head slowly.
"No, please no. I swear it wasn't intentional. I didn't mean to offend you. I am so sorry. Sorry..." The man sobbed. As he walked backward, he tripped and fell, landing on his backside.
He shuffled backwards while seated, until his back hit a tree. "Please! Spare me..." He pleaded.
He then kneeled on the floor and kowtowed, "Please! I have a wife who is currently pregnant. She needs me. Spare me and I promise I will never do such things again and...and I will always burn joss paper and joss stick for you. So please!" He begged.
Just when you would think that he would continue begging, he suddenly launched up from where he was, raised his arm and swung a fist sized rock at something that was in front of him. Apparently, the man found the rock on the ground when he kowtowed just now.
"Argh! Die! Die! Die!" The man screamed as he repeatedly swung the rock at someone or something in front of him.
Again and again, he swung the rock. This lasted for several minutes before he finally stopped.
"You think you can get me?" The man panted. "Haha...you think so? Haha..." The man laughed out loud while trying to catch his breath. The man's laughter echoed through the silent forest.
The man then threw the rock onto the ground, turned and walked away, leaving the rock behind.
As the man walked out of the dark forest, the rock that was left behind turned red as blood stain appeared on the rock. Second later, a pool of blood was seen forming around the rock.
"What is the situation her, Akira-kun." Natsuki asked.
"Kuga." Akira nodded at Natuki and Mai. "It looks like we have a homicidal case on our hands."
"Shit. Any other information?" Natsuki cursed.
"Yeah. Well, you can say we are lucky this time round. The victim has his identification card with him. So it easier for us to identify him and contact his family. The name of the victim is Hanakari Seito(refer to chapter 1 for who Seito is) and the time of his death is currently estimated to be 7pm-9pm yesterday evening." Akira paused and glanced at the crime scene.
White number cards were placed on the floor to mark the important area and a few forensic investigators were seen wearing a pair of plastic gloves bending over areas in the crime scene. Her eyes focused on Takumi who was currently picking up a rock carefully with his glove cladded hand.
"The forensic team is currently combing the crime scene to extract any possible evidence and DNA. See the rock that Takumi-kun is holding now?" Akira pointed towards Takumi. "It was found near the victim. There is blood stain on the rock so we suspect that it could be the murder weapon. But we need to send the rock back to the lab for further analysis to check for possible fingerprints on it. And further analysis is also needed to determine the exact cause of death of the victim."
"Alright." Natsuki nodded and her frown deepened as she asked "Do you know who found the victim?"
"The old man over there was the one who first discover the body." Akira pointed to the old man standing a distance away, talking to a policeman in uniform.
"I see. Thanks Akira-kun." Natsuki said before turning towards Mai.
"How about I will talk to Takumi and you can talk to the witness." Mai suggested.
Natsuki nodded her head in agreement before walking towards the policeman and the old man.
"I will take over from here." Natsuki thanked the policeman and took over the clipboard from him. "Good afternoon Sir, I am Lt Kuga and I will be taking over this investigation." Natsuki informed the old man and took a quick glance at the clipboard. "Alright. Ojii-san, why were you in this forest?"
The old man cleared his throat before speaking, "I was taking a walk with my dog. My house is just next to this stretch of forest and we normally take a stroll in this area after my breakfast."
"Alright. What time did you discover the body?" Natsuki continued asking as she scribbled down the man's statement.
"I think I found his body at about 9.15am." The man answered.
"How did you find the body?"
"I was walking Kong, that's my dog's name, when he suddenly started barking and kind of went crazy. He was pulling against the leash trying to run towards the direction of the erm...victim. And so I followed his lead and that is when I saw the victim lying face down on the ground with a pool of blood around him. Though I couldn't see his face but I knew something was not right here and so I immediately called the medic and the police."
"I see. Alright, thank you Ojii-san, for assisting us in our investigation." Natsuki thanked the old man and gestured the uniform policemen to guide the old man out of the crime scene.
"Shit! I really hate this." Natsuki collapsed onto a chair in the police HQ. Delivering such news to the family member always leave a bad taste in her mouth. She placed her arm over her eyes as she recalled the look on the face of victim's wife when she told the wife about the death of her husband.
With the address given by Akira, Natsuki travelled to a small village located at the fringe of Fuuka City. She stood outside a house with a uniform policeman and looked at the small house, debating how to deliver the unfortunate news to the family members. The house was not in the best condition but she could tell that the owner of the house had done her best to keep the place clean and proper. Flowers were planted in front of the house to make the house looked more livelier and it was obvious that the plants are well taken care of.
Just as Natsuki was about to knock on the door, a voice sounded behind her. "Good afternoon, can I help you?"
Natsuki turned around and saw a young lady carrying large grocery bags in each hand and a young little girl clutching on the lady's skirt and attempting to hide behind her mother. Dots of perspiration appeared on her forehead.
"Good afternoon, I am Lt Kuga. I am looking for Hanakari Seito' wife. Do you know where I can find her?" Natsuki flashed her ID card.
"I...I am Hanakri Inoue, Seito's wife." The lady replied. The lady attempted to wet her dry lips with her tongue. She had a sense of foreboding ever since yesterday night. She knew that something was not right when she saw the policeman standing outside her house together with the blue hair lady.
"I see, could we have a talk with you in your house?" Natsuki asked. She would not want to inform the lady of such news outside the house.
Inoue couldn't remember if she had kept the ice-cream she bought for her daughter in the fridge. Because she was in a daze. She knew something was wrong as she sat on the sofa and stared into the eyes of the blue hair policewoman.
Natsuki took a deep breath and said, "I am so sorry madam. Your husband Hanakari Seito was found dead this morning. We would need to ask you some questions."
Dead.
Inoue's 'eyes rolled back as she fainted onto the sofa.
"Kaa-san...kaa-san..." The little girl dashed out of the room towards her Inoue...
The images in Natsuki's mind faded as she saw herself, a much younger blue hair little girl, kneeling next to another blue hair lady who was lying on the floor in a pool of blood.
"Okaa-san...Okaa-san...Wake up...wake up.." The blue hair little girl begged.
"Natuski,Natsuki...Hey Natsuki..." Mai waved her hand in front of Natsuki's face as she tried to catch Natsuki's attention.
Natsuki brought her attention back to the Mai, rubbing the back of her neck, trying to erase the discomfort brought about by her memory. "Sorry about it Mai. What it it?"
"You ok? Your face looks pale." Mai stared at Natsuki with concern.
"Yeah well, I'm fine. Don't worry." Natsuki gave Mai a smile. Its good to have Mai as a friend and colleague. "Was thinking about the homicide case from this morning. By the way any news from Takumi-kun regarding Munakata Shiho's case?"
At the mention of Munakata Shiho's case, the concern on Mai's face was replaced with a frown.
"Yup. Which is why I am here. I have got the reports from Takumi and the case seems more complex that we thought." Mai said as she passed Natsuki a file.
"Why? What happened?"
Mai continued as Natsuki flipped through the file. "Munakata Shiho's case could be related to this morning's homicide case."
"What!?"
"Yes, they could be related. Take a look at the report from Takumi, the one on Munakata Shiho's case. The forensic team found a few items found in the crime scene and took them back for analysis. The items include a shovel, a piece of white cloth and one torchlights. The analysis found 2 sets of fingerprints on the shovel, one of which has been identified belonging to Tsumugiya Ichinose while the second set of fingerprints belongs to Hanakri Seito, the victim of this morning homicide case."
"Shit..."
"My thought exactly." Mai couldn't help but agreed. "We ran a check on Hanakri Seito and he is squeaky clean. What about your side? Did you learn anything thing from Hanakri Seito's wife?"
"Yeah I did." Natsuki said and took out her notebook and flipped through it. "Hanakari Seito was retrenched about 6 months ago when the company he worked for went into restructuring. He had been unemployed until about 4 month ago when Seito started bring home money again. But according to his wife, he did not reveal much about his job to his family except that he worked the nightshift. Everything was good for a while until two days ago where he started acting weird, locking himself in the room and drinking himself into oblivion most of the time. Occasionally his wife could hear him mumbling apologies. But for most of the time, he was too drunk to say anything." Natsuki paused before continuing, "And since the two cases are related, it seems that Hanakari Seito started behaving oddly about the same time Munakata Shiho's grave was robbed. Something must have happened to trigger such reaction from Seito."
"It seems that we have more questions than answers on our hands now." Mai commented.
"Yup. It seems that Hanakri Seito is involved in some shady job since he was damn secretive about it. What is this shady job that he has he been doing. Could his death be related to the job? Secondly, something must have spook him up. But what could it be. And thirdly, how is Seito related to Tsumugiya Ichinose."
"This guy Tsumugiya Ichinose, he does have a long list of record. He was once jailed for 18 months for breaking and entering into a private property, 10 month for small time robbery and fine for drink driving and other petty crimes. But I think we might need to see the forensic reports on the homicidal case first before we can probe further."
"Hey Onee-chan and Kuga-san."
Both Natsuki and Mai turned to see Takumi moving towards them with a file in his hand.
"Glad to have caught you here. Save me a trip to your table. The analysis for yesterday's homicide case is out. Hope it can help with the case." Takumi said as he handed a file to Natsuki. "I shall make a move first. Bye guys. Gotta go back to the lab." Takumi gave Mai a smile and a wave before moving off.
Takumi as the main forensic pathologist has done an autopsy on the victim, Hanakiri Seito. The report indicated that the victim suffered from a head wound which is likely to be caused by a blunt object. A blood stained rock found near the victim is identified to be the weapon as traces of skin tissues was found on rock surface. While the impact of the rock may have fracture his skull, leaving him brain dead, it was the loss of blood from the fracture that finally killed him. An analysis on the rock found traces of fingerprints on the rock. And the fingerprints were found to belong to Tsugumiya Ichinose.
Natsuki closed the file, looking up. "Lt Tokiha, we will make an official arrest of Tsumugiya Ichinose on suspected murder. Please make the necessary arrangement."
"Yes madam!"
Fuuka Police Head Quarter
"Fuuuu…This is crazy Mai." Natsuki lamented as she collapsed into the chair in the conference room. "I am speechless."
"Yeah I know what you mean." Mai could feel a migraine coming up soon. "Well at least we have more information now than we first started."
Hanakari Seito lost his jobs about 6 months ago and had been trying to look for a job since then. However, about 3 months ago, Tsumugiya Ichinose contacted Seito offering him a job as grave robber, digging for the remains of the deceased.
Tsumugiya Ichinose operated a small enterprise, organizing marriage ceremony for the deceased.
In certain culture, people believe in Afterlife (refer to chapter 2 A/N) where the soul or spirit would go to a specific plane/realm of existence. And in this plane/realm, the spirits would stay and continue their existence. And this was where Tsumugiya Ichinose's company comes in. He offered to be the matchmaker between two families whose family members may pass on without marrying. He would approach parents whose child may have die before they were married and suggested to arrange for a marriage ceremony with another deceased. Upon marriage, the remains of the deceased would be buried together. There is nothing illegal to this.
However, it was not easy to find a suitable female or male deceased that match the client's request. Instead of searching for suitable single, Ichinose chose to rob random graves and Hanakari Seito would then dug up the remain for him. Follow which Ichinose would recreate a fake profile for the deceased and arrange for the marriage ceremony. This wedding ceremony would allow the deceaseds to be marriage in the Afterlife and provide some form of comfort for the families knowing their family members are married and well taken care of in the Afterlife.
In his latest project, Tsumugiya Ichinose picked on Munakata Shiho's grave and had Hanakari Seito dug up her remain. But Ichinose claimed that he saw Shiho's apparition when Seito and him dug up her remain. And that spook them, forcing them to run out of the cemetery them leaving behind everything. And that was the last time Tsumugiya Ichinose saw Hanakari Seito.
All would have been well but Munakata Shiho's remain was not found on the crime site.
Tsumugiya Ichinose claimed that even though they had left Shiho's remain in the graveyard, it had followed them home. Ichinose found the bundle of remain under his bed when he got home from the graveyard and in shock he tried to dispose it again and again. But not matter where he disposed the bundle, it would always find its way back to house.
And about a few days ago on 2 June 2015, Ichinose had tried to bury the bundle in the Fuuka Forest Nature Reserve and that was when he saw Munakata Shiho's spirit again.
"So Tsumugiya Ichinose was at Fuuka Forest Nature Reserve on 2 June 20XX. Another evident to prove that Ichinose is the one who killed Hankari Seito. That place is where we found Hankari Seito." Mai pointed out as she scrutinised the report. "And the forensic report also suggests that Seito died between 1700 on 2 June and 0100 on 3 June."
"Yes you are right. But Ichinose is sneaky. He claimed that while he was there, Shiho's spirit tried to kill him and in response he had taken a rock to defend himself, which explains why his fingerprint is on the rock."
Mai snorted in response. "And not to mention that he claimed that Munakata Shiho could have killed Hanakari Seito."
"But judging from Tsumugiya's facial and body expression, he seems to be telling the truth." Natsuki argued as she recalled that throughout interrogation process, Tsumugiya Ichinose had been fidgety whenever he mentioned Shiho's name. "But on the other hand, it is hard for us to accept that a ghost killed a man and is now attempting to kill another. And all the evidence that we have gathered so far points to Tsumugiya Ichinose as the main culprit."
Mai nodded in agreement. "And very likely, Tsumugiya is lying through his teeth."
"Yup. But we would need Tsumugiya to bring us to where he hide Munakata Shiho's remain and then we could return the remain to the Viola family." For unknow reason, the mention of Viola family brought to Natsuki's mind Viola Shizuru's face.
"Alright, Tsumugiya, which part of Fuuka Forest Reserved did you buried Munakata Shiho's remain?" Natsuki asked.
"There is a river flowing across the Reserve and next to the river, there is a Rain tree. I hid her remains there."
"Alright then, bring us to there." Natsuki commanded as a uniform policeman led a handcuffed Tsumugiya Ichinose into Fuuka Forest Nature Reserve with Mai and Natsuki following behind.
The group travelled for a while before stopping under a rain tree where the policeman dug for the Munakata Shiho's remain.
"Ara ara, would you all be hunting for treasure, policeman-san?"