Here's another chapter!
Enjoy! I don't really own the anime (If I did I wouldn't be writing this) and please follow, favorite, and review!
(Issei POV)
Issei approached the apartment building with a bit of caution. After all, last time he was asked to go somewhere, he thought he had gotten stabbed by a glowing spear and had woken up at home, feeling very different.
The place was… oddly foreboding? It was almost as if his instincts were screaming at him to leave the place.
Still, this was his best shot at understanding what had happened to him that day. Nobody else remembered, but somehow, Tantei Keiji knew. And he had a theory about it!
The door opened, and a bell chimed. Issei forewent the elevator (the enclosed space would make him a bit nervous, now that he was half expecting people to come out of nowhere or transform into winged… somethings and stab him with light spears again.
The Tantei family lived on the fourth floor and in the second room. In front of the door, a veritable dump of charms and baubles lay, with a sign saying 'Take one for the love of all that is holy' in very hasty handwriting. Issei looked at a wooden Yakuyoke, picked the spiritual charm up, and felt the kanji characters that spelled out protection.
It was very quaint.
Feeling slightly calmer, now that he had the charm in his pocket, Issei knocked.
… (First person POV) …
Knock Knock Knock
"I'll get the door!" I blurted out, getting up from the leather couch and running to the door.
"Sakura! Witness protection!"
Sakura nodded, and went to the family altar to grab the family katana.
"Dim the lights!"
Dad chuckled and did just that. My mom temporarily ceased to chop her vegetables and went to brew some tea. My grandfather, in his room, began screaming about devils at the door and something about throwing charms at it.
I closed the door to gramp's room and continued to the door.
"My son's first witness interview." My dad said, suddenly teary-eyed and emotional. "I'm so proud."
He was slapped.
"Stop being so dramatic." My mom scolded, before returning to spooning out tea leaves. The two fell silent.
Fumbling with the lock and ignoring more of my gramp's yelling, I swung the door inward and welcomed a somewhat nervous Issei.
I looked behind myself to gauge the atmosphere.
The dimly lit lights flickered on and off, and two people sat like statues at a table. An old man's incoherent mumbling could be heard in the background, and the rasp of a steel on stone echoed throughout the room.
I mentally fist pumped. Perfect. Just the atmosphere I was going for.
I grabbed Issei's wrist, pulled him into the house, slammed the door shut, and led him to the conspiracy room.
…
Issei blearily opened his eyes, trying to focus and maintain his composure on the small wooden chair normally reserved for Sakura.
I sat in front of him, sipping tea and twirling a pen in my fingers. The solitary yellow light illuminated the corkboard, making the red yarn cast shadows across the messy thought process. A gust blew in through the window of the room, the wind making the sticky notes tacked to the board rustle and shake in place. Starlight peeked through the partially drawn red curtains, casting a solitary white beam across the floor.
I got up and unveiled another section of the wall. It was the prized trophy stand, only shown to witnesses with a goal to awe them and bring their mind peace.
"Generations upon generations, the Keiji family has served Japan and its citizens by investigating mysteries nobody could solve. Over three hundred murder cases. Countless identity verifications, yakuza takedowns, and theft recovery."
Issei glanced at the calligraphy drawings of men in blue robes, each with kanji characters inscribing the name and date that they were alive. There were eight pictures in total, the last two showing my dad in all his gang-discovering glory and my grandfather back in his glory days. Badges and small thank you banners hung on the edges of the small enclove in the wall.
"This legacy, lasting over four hundred years, has fallen upon me, Tantei Keiji, to investigate the truths hidden behind society's veil of secrecy."
"…Wow." Issei gasped, admiring the aged tapestries and medals.
"So." I said abruptly, breaking Issei out from his reverie.
".. Y-yeah?"
"Let us begin. The interview."
Sakura chose this moment to enter the room, deftly closing the door and holding the family katana. The curved blade was well-kept, with a shining silver edge and a black leather handle.
Issei looked at the tip of the katana nervously.
"It's for your protection." I said, waving at Sakura and signaling for her to sheathe the thing. She did so. Sakura shot a glare at Issei, communicating a warning that if he fell back into his …usual tendencies… no mercy would be shown. Issei gulped and nodded.
"What do you want to know?" Issei asked, looking at the corkboard now. His gaze traveled all over the board, taking in the information and dead ends I had gathered as of now.
"What… exactly happened on the date?" I said, leaning forward and putting my hands together, momentarily putting the pen on the table.
"I'm… not sure." Issei said, clearly nervous now. "I was on a date with Yuuma-san, and it was going really well. We went to eat and visit stores and stuff, you know? Normal date things. But then…."
"Then… what?" I said, prompting him to go on.
"She-she-"
"There's no need to be nervous. Here, have some tea."
I picked up the other cup of cold tea and handed it to him. Issei slobbed it down shakily, some of it drizzling onto his school uniform.
Issei took a deep breath and sighed.
"She asked if I could die for her, then stabbed me through the chest with a spear made of light."
I shot back in my armchair, shocked.
"W-what?" I stuttered, gathering my thoughts. The pen found itself back in my hand, doing somersaults and dancing all around my fingers.
"She stabbed you?"
"Yeah." Issei said dumbly, rubbing his chest. "I think I screamed, heard her say something about the date being good, and then I fainted. I woke up back in my house."
"And the wound?" I said, getting a notepad and scribbling what happened onto the paper.
"Nowhere to be found." Issei said, still not believing that the injury actually went away.
"Fascinating." I muttered, standing up and pacing in my usual spot. Sakura was also visibly nervous, though she showed it less than me and Issei. I could still tell she was shocked and confused by the way she gripped the katana with an iron fist.
"And you're absolutely sure this actually happened?" I said, turning to face Issei once more. He nodded.
"… Most evidence points this to being the work of some sensory drug."
"… What." Issei said, staring at me. "You're saying I was drugged?"
"Well, that's part of it." I said, returning to the corkboard.
"Look at the profile of Yuuma. Red eyes and black hair, right?" Issei nodded again.
"Red eyes are exceedingly rare, even rarer than green eyes. Hair colors that are not black or brown even more so in Japan."
I pointed to the rough sketches of Rias Gremory and her group.
"Look at these people and then compare them to Yuuma."
Issei looked at the drawings, blushed (No doubt thinking about… something unmentionable), slapped himself, shook his head, and the gasped.
"They all have those rare exotic traits!"
I nodded, grimacing. "And they also all go to one club: the Occult Research Group."
"… And what does this mean?"
"It means that there is most likely some sort of cult operating. First, a random invitation to go on a date. Then, what you described as very strange and irrational behavior from Yuuma and an unusual experience."
Issei nodded again.
"You were most likely a target of being inducted into the cult."
"… The great Onee-samas…. Rias Gremory… they're all in a cult?"
Sakura cut in this time.
"All evidence points to yes. In addition, the name of the club is weird. I mean, Occult Research? What about the Occult is there to research? I've been to the room once, and I'd rather not mention the things found in there. Copies of swords, diagrams of pentagrams, and text with an unhealthy obsession with biblical analogies. It was also mostly unused, indicating a separate location for meetings. Considering that the Gremory family is very rich, it is indeed a possibility."
"When were you ever in the room?"
"Doesn't matter." Sakura snapped, probably not wanting to admit that she was scared of the possibility of a cult in Kuoh and went to investigate.
"They're probably some sort of fanatical LARPers, considering the biblical analogies and swords, along with the spear that was supposedly used to stab you."
"What are LARPers?"
"Medieval reenactors."
"Ohhh…." Issei nodded.
"This really ties it all together… thank you, Issei-san!" I said, bowing. "This will help with our investigation. Although we have no evidence of the club actually being a cult, we can still work towards exposing the ugly truth and prevent this instance of a toxic society from spreading."
"… Thank you for opening my eyes to this greater evil." Issei said with a serious expression, bowing back and extending a hand to shake.
I took it, gripped it firmly, and shook. Some pact of friendship was (reluctantly) formed between the pervert and the detective.
"I did promise you snacks." I suddenly said, withdrawing my hand, discreetly wiping it (who knows where Issei's hand has been), and giving him a bag of chips.
"Have a better rest of the day, and remember to not approach people that look like they're insane or in a cult." I said.
"Do I need you to tell me that?" Issei said, some confidence being restored now that he knew that he didn't actually die to a light spear and that it was just a hallucination.
"Oh, and drink lots of water to get whatever thing they put in your food out of your system."
"Okay!" Issei said, already walking out the door.
… (Later that day, Issei POV)…
"I knew it was real." Issei said, sitting in front of the fountain that Yuuma had stabbed him at. "I remember everything. Every little detail about what happened."
Issei suddenly felt somebody watching him. Turning around slowly, he saw a man wearing a dark suit and hat.
"How unfortunate. Unfortunate for you in that you managed to run into me." The man said, revealing piercing blue eyes and a cocky smirk.
"Who in hell is that?" Issei said, shivering and running away. Somehow, he was must faster than usual.
"What in the world… What is happening to me?"
"Such cowardice…" the man said, suddenly unfurling dark wings (Issei really wondered if the cult had managed to infiltrate the Tantei residence and put hallucinogenic drugs in the bag of chips he was given). "
The man held out his hand.
"So… let's see. It appears your friends and master are nowhere to be found. You've shown no signs of disappearing and that no magic circle has appeared. Therefore, I will assume that you are nothing but a stray, is that correct?"
A glowing, white sword appeared in his hand.
"What in the actual world stay away from me you fanatical LARPer!" Issei yelled, running away.
"And that means killing you won't be a problem!"
"If I really die to this cultist, I would rather that a hot chick killed me and not some creepy dude!" Issei thought, still sprinting away.
The sword's handle turned into chains and it was thrown at Issei, impaling him through the stomach. Issei felt blood rush up to his throat and a trickle of it flowed out of his mouth. Then, he felt the pain.
He gritted his teeth, unwilling to accept his death.
"This really blows. It's the worst pain I've ever felt. It didn't hurt this bad last time the drugs caught up and Yuuma "murdered" me."
He screamed as the sword glowed again.
"It hurts, doesn't it?" The cultist said, approaching him slowly. "Light is a deadly poison to your kind."
"Stop with the dungeons and dragons references? What do you really want?" Issei gritted out, feeling the agony spread across his body.
The man ignored him.
"I thought it had finished you off, but you're turning out to be quite the tough one."
"This is just a hallucination. I won't really die." Issei thought desperately, trying to clear his head.
"Don't worry." The man raised his hand, and another sword appeared. "I'll put you out of your misery."
"Am I… really going to die again?"
Issei fainted, but as he collapsed, he caught a red glow illuminating the park.
"When will this crazy dream be over?"
…
"Aaaah!" Issei screamed, waking up next to what he thought to be the cult leader, Rias Gremory, looking at him with a seductive pose.
It wasn't over, was it?
And… Chapter!
Still 2000 words. Not that long, but good enough for the short scene and the 3-minute clip I based it on.
Please follow, favorite, and review!
-Spirit