The boards of the pier creaked under their feet as they proceeded down it, the mist over the lake rising and twisting around them. Togami-sama walked quickly and Touko found herself hurrying to stay in his wake on the slippery wooden slats, terrified that she would fall, but more terrified still that she'd lose pace with her boss, and disappoint him.

As they approached, there was the soft sound of a splash, and then the figure looked over their shoulder toward the oncoming pair.

Togami nodded, and approached with a wave of his hand. "Hello. Jun Takeda, I presume?"

Togami-sama doesn't waste any time, Touko observed with hesitant admiration.

The figure nodded. He was handsome brunet, with hair around his chin, and a pleasant, if rather serious look on his face. He was dressed in a floppy hat, and an open plaid shirt. He wasn't Touko's usual type, but the sight of him sent her mind back to the first novel she'd ever written.

"That's me."

Togami bowed his head in greeting, before crossing his arms "I'm Byakuya Togami, and this is my assistant, Fukawa-san."

The introduction jarred her from her reverie, and she bowed her head too.

Takeda nodded. "You're here about that person, then."

"Toru Abe. He was an employee of mine. My assistant for two years until someone took his life three days ago."

"Yes. I found him lying in the street and took him to Uchikawa-sensei as fast as I could. However, there was no hope."

"I saw the wound… there's not a lot of coming back from something like that." He sighed. "was there anything of note when you arrived on the scene? Anything that caught your eye?"

Takeda closed his eyes for a moment, and then straightened suddenly. He whirled around back toward the lake, and grabbed something in front of him. In a single blinding motion, he yanked and an enormous fish flew out of the water.

Touko stared in shock at the sudden, and graceful motion. The droplets of water seemed to hang in the air for a moment before splashing back down.

"W-what?"

"..." Togami held his hand over his eyes as the spray from the lake came dripping down from where it'd been flung, ensuring that it didn't land on and smudge his glasses. "..."

"That's...one big fish alright." he said, sounding a little stunned despite himself.

Takeda reeled in the fish, and pulled the hook out of its mouth. He put it in a large bucket beside him, and then turned back to Byakuya and his assistant as if nothing had happened.

"What caught my eye...It was the night of the storm, and I found Abe-san outside Kintaro's Tomb. It's surprising that he would have been out on a night like that."

"...Kintaro's Tomb?" Togami asked with a raise of his eyebrow. "...and he was out on the night of the storm itself. I have to wonder why as well."

Despite shaking fingers, and the fantastic vision of the fisherman- p erhaps sweeping Togami-sama into his arms- she shook it off and grabbed her book from her purse, starting to jot down notes of what he was saying. She was a secretary, after all...

"I wonder if he told anyone where he was going?" Fukawa mused.

"Not me," Takeda said. "We hadn't spoken before at all. Sorry."

"It's a small town , did you notice him interacting with anyone in particular? And please tell me where Kintaro's Tomb is."

"I saw him once in Keisuke's," he paused a moment. "The noodle shop. Other than that, I didn't see him. I'm usually here. Kintaro's tomb..."

The fisherman turned, and pointed off toward the tall, traditional building in the trees, further away at the other edge of the lake. "Beside the old palace."

"hm..." Togami, too, turned to peer through the trees at the tall building. "Is there anything special about that particular area?"

"The tomb is cursed," Takeda replied, matter of factly.

"I'm sorry ?" Fukawa snorted as she stared up at the building Curses weren't real. Curses were not real.

Togami pushed up his glasses with a soft sigh, and her attention was drawn back to him as if by a magnet.

"Cursed." he repeated. "Please Takeda-san, do be serious . A man is dead."

Takeda nodded quite seriously indeed. "Yes. You asked if there was anything special about the area. Everyone knows its cursed."

"Cursed...how?" Togami asked "I'm not exactly the most superstitious man alive but you've got my curiosity."

"Anyone who enters the tomb will die. Anyone who disturbs the entombed will open the portal to hell."

"Well then. Once more we come to the portal to hell. Seems it's kind of a big deal in this area." He shook his head with an absolutely charming facetious smirk. "Who knows, it'd probably make a lovely tourist destination if you marketed it right."

"We don't get many tourists," Takeda replied,, shaking his head. "Maybe because of the curse."

Was that... a trace of humor? it was difficult to tell.

"I hear they're historically considered a bit of a deterrent, yes. But if you've seen any films lately, they're making a comeback." Togami said with a subtle laugh.

"I'm sure the mayor will be pleased."

"Without a doubt." Togami agreed. "Is there anything over by that area that might have...caught my associates attention aside from oh, a portal to hell?"

"I can't think of anything," Takeda said. "Unless he was a thief, or a history buff."

Touko felt a rising sting of indignant anger at the thought that the man was accusing an employee of Togami-sama's of being a thif.

"There that much to steal in the old palace?" Togami asked with a raise of his eyebrow.

"I don't think so," Taked shrugged. "But an outsider might think there was."

"Be that as it may." Togami said, straightening his suit jacket. "Abe-san was a good employee...and I can say for certain he was no thief."

"I didn't suspect he was. But no. There's not even any good fishing near that area."

Togami glanced at Touko, and she found herself flushing under his scrutiny.

"Hm...We'll have to investigate the area ourselves in a bit. See if we can see the scene of the crime." He paused. "...if there's bad fishing up by that area, why were you there? After all, you were the one to find his corpse."

"Worms."

"worms. I'm afraid I don't … Ah...you get your worms from over by the old cursed tomb?"

Takeda nodded.

"Hm." Togami nodded "well then. I suppose that...makes sense. In a way."

Touko struggled to speak, opening her mouth for the first time in several minutes.

"I-imagine what k-kind of fish you'd catch with cursed tomb worms..." Fukawa supposed.

"Big ones," Takeda said.

"As we saw but a moment ago." Togami pointed to the massive fish in the bucket. "If it works, I suppose, it works."

"I g-guess that's true..." Fukawa nodded. She flushed deeper, feeling a bit like she'd said something stupid. She hoped Togami-sama didn't think she was an idiot.

"Is there any more you'd like to know?" Takeda asked.

"Yes, can you catch me up to speed on the storm that hit a few days ago."

"It started around midnight. Rain. Thunder. Downed a few trees."

"A big rainstorm then. I heard it knocked out all the power and network lines."

"Power's been okay," Takeda shrugged. "No phone or internet."

"Meaning communication has indeed been cut off." he shook his head. "...good to know. Were there any safety precautions in place? I imagine most people stayed indoors."

"Most people in the village are indoors by nine anyway."

"Hmmm? And why's that?" Togami asked, "Not much of a night life?'

"Mostly just the noodle shop."

"That makes sense." He nodded. "I suppose I was wondering if there were any local ordinances I should know of."

Takeda seemed to consider it for a moment. "If there are, they've never bothered me."

"Good to know. Thank you Takeda-san." Togami bowed his head with a thin smile "you've been a wonderful help."

The fisherman bowed politely to them. "I'm glad then. If you need me again, I'm usually here."

"I'll be sure to come back." Togami said with a smile, before he turned to Touko. " have a few leads."

Fukawa nodded, looking down at her notebook-half to keep from embarrassing herself in Togami-sama's gaze- and then up, though not directly at him. "D-definitely more than we had before..."

The fisherman turned back to the lake, and they heard the whiiiz plop of the fishing line.

Touko hurried to follow Togami-sama as he started back down along the pier, shaking his head. "So...should we visit one of the other witnesses...or take a hike to see this tomb?"

"I'm not sure," she admitted walking just behind him. She felt a rush of embarrassed, and nervous excitement. Was he asking for her opinion? Him? Ask her? A lowly secretary? She struggled to answer. "O-on the one hand, we do know for sure where the tomb is..."

"While we have no idea where any of the people Abe-san spoke with may be...though I suppose we can check the noodle shop."

"Given that both Takeda-san and Uchikawa-sensei mentioned it, it's probably somewhere we should a-at least look," she nodded, hoping that she hadn't given an unsatisfactory answer.

"Indeed." He agreed, nodding his head, and Touko felt a rush of relief, even joy.. "Why don't we start there, then head to the tomb, hm?"

"G-good plan!" she agreed with a nervous smile, following after him as they returned through the main road. She struggled to control the beat of her heart as she watched the bounce of his pale hair from just behind him.

The fog lingered around the lake, but once they reached the street, the air was clear, even if the sky was overcast.

"So, Fukawa-san." Togami said as they made their way back onto the road "...what are your thoughts so far?"

"M-my thoughts?" she asked, tripping just slightly and then righting herself as she was addressed. He wanted her opinion again? Could-could it be he actually valued what she had to say? Or was he just testing her? Either way, she wanted to make certain that she impressed him. "W-well... the b-biggest question is definitely why was Abe-san out by the tomb I suppose. Did he die there, or was he b-brought?"

"Exactly what I'm wondering. But if he was moved , the question is why . Which is why I would like to see the scene of the crime today."

"S-same," she nodded. The absolute puzzle of it pierced through her mind as she turned it over. She was curious to know, even beyond wanting to impress her boss. She thought back over their investigation so far. "There may be clues that r-rude detective missed."

"Given how little he seemed to care about his job, I imagine he likely missed quite a bit." Togami snorted.

Touko felt a little thrill. If there was nothing else, it seemed they could bond over hating that miserable detective.