Shi frowned as she sat across from the chief. It had been three days since she had made her speech. He sighed before looking up at her.
"I understand this is unusual. But the public has been well..."
"Demanding an explanation as to why I have decided to not release the information?" She asked. He nodded.
"They say they want a reason. I will give them one on your behalf but I need to know why you decided against it." He asked.
"I made the decision to not release the information to the public because of the fact there is so little information. I have no idea how this killer works. This is the ultimate forensic counter. I don't want it shared with the public. But we can't tell them that. So I would say I am keeping the information private to protect the public from possible trauma." Shi explained. The chief nodded and let her go. She walked out of his office and went to head towards the morgue.
"Shi-chan!" Adachi called, running after her. He caught up to her as she walked towards the autopsy suite. "Shi-chan what's wrong?" He asked.
Shi sniffed and sighed. "I think they're starting to question my ability. The chief is going to provide a explanation to the public because they don't understand why I am doing this. But I can't shake the feeling that they think I am the one behind this." She said. Adachi looked around before pulling her into a hug.
"You're not to blame. You're doing the best you can with the evidence you have. You'll solve this then they'll be begging you for forgiveness." He murmured to her. She moved away and smiled as he flashed his grin at her. She nodded and headed towards her office.
"I may not have a cause of death. But I now know that this kidnapper is using chloroform to incapacitate their victims. Which can help." She said, moving some files on her desk. She looked up when there was a knock on the morgue door. A uniformed officer entered, followed by Yu and his friends.
"Excuse me Tawakemono-sensei, they said they were supposed to talk to you." The officer said.
"That's correct. I will speak to them now." Shi said. Adachi nodded to her and left. The group walked into the morgue, looking around. Shi leant against a autopsy table. "So, why was my television appearance a cause of concern with you?" She asked.
The group looked at each other, as if trying to decide what to say. Shi raised an eyebrow at them. Yu sighed and stepped forward. Shi looked at him, her stare intense as she watched them.
"Tawakemono-sensei, have you heard of the midnight channel?" Yu asked her.
"That stupid rumour running around? Why on earth are you asking me about that?" She countered. Yosuke stepped forward.
"Tawakemono-sensei, it's not what you think. The midnight channel does exist. But it's not what the rumours say. It's not your soulmate who appears on it. It's people who have appeared on the TV." He said. Shi tilted her head. "They appeared on the TV, then on the midnight channel then they get kidnapped."
"And, where is your evidence to support this rather unusual claim?" Shi asked. They all looked at each other. "Because without evidence, this is merely a hypothesis." Shi stepped away from the table. "That doesn't explain anything." She watched as the girl with short hair stepped forward.
"We do have proof! It happened to Yukiko and Kanji!" She yelled.
"Chie, getting angry at Tawakemono-sensei won't help." Yukiko murmured.
"But it's going to happen to her!" Chie cried.
"Is that to be taken as a threat? This hypothesis is based purely on circumstantial events. The individual who kidnapped Yukiko may not be the same one who kidnapped Kanji. And if it is the same, they may have been stalking them for a long time. The fact it happened, as you seem so intent to insist, after they appeared on TV is purely coincidental." Shi countered. She slammed her hands down on the table before any of them could speak again.
"Listen, all this is doing is proving you are somehow involved with this. Which I can't allow, and neither will Dojima." Shi looked at Yu. "You're his nephew, he would never forgive himself if something happened to you. And I don't want to have to perform a autopsy on another person whose life is just starting." Shi moved away and tapped the door of the fridge that held Saki. "This is where you will end up if you intervene in this investigation. I know it's difficult but leave this to us." Shi said.
"Tawakemono-sensei, we understand that you are worried about us. But we want to make sure no one else gets hurt. Please just...be careful." Yu said. Shi watched them leave before sighing. She ran her hand through her hair and leant back against the fridges that held her patients. Her eyes closed momentarily as she let out a sigh. She opened her eyes as she heard the doors at the other end of the autopsy suite open. Her work called her. So she walked, to meet her new patient.
Later that day, as she was finishing up for the day, Shi glanced out of the windows on the doors to the back of the suite. The sky looked dark, the rain from earlier in the day have eased slightly to a light drizzle. But she knew it was going to come back with avengance. According to the weather, it would rain until late that night then be foggy until the morning. Shi paused before making her decision. Tonight, she would try the midnight channel.
Shi looked up as she heard someone moving by her office. The chief turned to face her as she walked towards him.
"Are you finished? I thought I would let you know that you don't need to come in to the station unless we get a routine autopsy come in tomorrow." He explained.
"Ok. You'll just phone me if someone does come in?" Shi asked. He nodded in response. Shi nodded in understanding and headed into her office. She gathered her bags and headed out. She walked out, smiling as Adachi moved to her side as she walked to her car.
"Hey. Could I maybe catch a ride home?" He asked sheepishly. Shi chuckled and nodded. He smiled and climbed into the passenger seat of her car.
"So, I have the day off tomorrow, you'll have to make your own way in." Shi smiled. He nodded. "If I don't get called in, do you want me to come and give you a ride home after work?" She asked.
"Sure." He grinned. Shi giggled in response. As they pulled up outside his flat, he looked around before leaning over. They shared a kiss before he left her, pulling his jacket over his head to protect against the rain. Shi watched until the door shut then headed home. Time slowly ticked by as she waited until midnight. The rain pounded at her window. She looked up as her clock struck midnight. Shi sighed and turned to stare at a blank TV.
"Why am I doing this?" She murmured, about to get to her feet. It was then she heard it. The sound of a TV tuning into a channel. She watched as the screen came to life. A shadowy figure appeared on screen. She leant closer as the image crackled and static sounded out of her speakers. The figure on the screen was too pixelated to identify. But, judging from its shape, it did appear to be her. Shi shook her head and rubbed her eyes. As quickly as it appeared, the image faded.
"I'm just seeing things, I'm exhausted." She said to herself. That had to be the reason. Her mind was just playing tricks on her because she was exhausted. Shi shook her head and headed off to bed, wanting to forget about everything. She climbed into her bed and slowly drifted off to sleep. Her dreams were filled with corpses hanging from telephone poles and TV aerials. Of a killer with the perfect counterpart for forensics. Of a shadow wearing a kitsune mask. Shi jumped awake, startled by her dreams. Shi sighed and shook her head. Nightmares were the last thing she needed right now.
Shi slept on and off through the night, the sleep she did get disturbed by nightmares. As daylight broke, she watched people go past, going about their daily business. She sighed, pouring herself another cup of tea. She looked up as she heard her doorbell ring. Shi stood and opened the door. No one was there. She frowned and stepped out, looking around. A van was parked down the street. One of her neighbours must have been getting a delivery.
She turned and began to head back inside when someone grabbed her. Their arm wrapped around her torso and they brought a cloth to her face. She tried not to breathe, pulling forward into her home. She staggered into a table, knocking it to throw it into disarray. She slammed her attacker back into the wall and then into the table, hoping to leave enough evidence. But her strength was waning. She inhaled the fumes on the cloth, her eyes fluttering shut. She fell to the ground, her vision fading. A shadow loomed over her as she faded into darkness.