Black Phantom

Chapter 9:

A cherry blossom petal landed on Mai's coat as she walked to the train station to get to work. She brushed it off mechanically and it was only when she rounded the corner of the street did she remember that there were not any cherry blossom trees in the vicinity of her apartment and it was still winter so none of the trees would be in bloom in any case.

"Taniyama-san?" a voice asked.

She glanced behind her to see that there was no one there. Mai whirled around to see a glimpse of something black run past her. As she spun around again, her paranoia that someone was watching her growing, she noticed that the previously busy street that she had been on was now deserted which was an oddity in Tokyo.

"Hello...?" she called out hesitantly and her heart began to beat faster in fear.

She glanced around nervously again and noted that instead of the sounds of car engines, chatter and people's shoes tapping against the pavement, there was a dead silence.

The psychic felt a shiver go down her spine as the air ripples behind her and she knew that someone or something was behind her.

"I'm behind y-"

The shrill ring of her alarm black jolted Mai out of her dream and she promptly forgot all about it as she carried out her usual morning routine of trying to wake herself up, shower, eat breakfast and look presentable before leaving her apartment.

"Mai, tea," Naru ordered her as soon as she walked into the office.

She divested herself of her coat and left the office whilst muttering darkly under her breath about demanding narcissists.

Naru yawned and rubbed the traces of sleep out of his eyes. He never got much sleep on heist nights on the account that he spent most of it running around and disguising himself. However he had not been able to sleep at all after his encounter with the woman known as Yoshiyaki and for fear that Gene might actually be dead.

"Have you found anything yet?" he asked Lin was also lacking sleep.

Once they had returned home he had showed Lin the notebook he had taken the night before which had turned out to be blank much to his chagrin. However the omnouji had suggested a form of invisible ink might have been employed so he was shining an ultraviolet light over it.

"Nothing so far."

"Did you read about Masako Hara this morning?" Mai enquired after returning with Naru's tea.

She pulled out a newspaper from her handbag. "She is, well was, a famous psychic medium. She was on TV a lot."

Lin spotted Naru shudder and he hid a smile. Masako Hara was indeed known to his charge. They had met at a conference in England and it had been love at first sight for one of them and it certainly had not been Naru. Naru had spent most of his time avoiding her and in retaliation she had threatened to post the video of his PK demonstration all over the internet if he didn't take her on a date. A phone call to her parents had sorted the girl out and she had returned to Japan a couple of years ago and now she was dead.

"She was stabbed through the chest with a blunt paddle like object, leaving a hole...ew," Mai winced as she read aloud from the newspaper article. "The famous medium's body was found two days ago floating in Tokyo Bay and a preliminary forensic report suggests that she has been dead for several weeks before discovery. Found in her clothes were..." she trailed off.

"What is it?" Naru questioned, noticing Mai's hesitant manner and her frowning lips.

"Found in her clothes were five cherry blossom petals."

Upon hearing her words Lin stopped typing and Naru came close to spitting out his tea. It was definitely the Sakurazukamori.

"That's strange," Mai murmured as snatches of her dream came creeping back to her. "I think I dreamt about something to do with cherry blossom petals."

The narcissist ignored her, assuming that it was her usual idle chatter which he didn't have time for, then his memory recalled that she was a latent psychic and presumably this manifested in her dreams.

"You're not sure?"

Mai nodded. "I never remember my dreams properly even if they mean something. When I used to go on cases with Bou-san and Ayako they would ask to recount my dream as soon as I woke up as my dreams normally contained clues about the case and I completely forgot them soon after waking up."

Interesting, Naru thought to himself. It seemed that she was not yet able to control her psychic abilities properly and was essentially stumbling around in the dark. Maybe he could teach her once everything was over.

This brought him back to Mai's dream. If she was psychic and dreamt about cherry blossoms it was something related to the Sakurazukamori. However Mai had never properly come into contact with the Sakurazukamori and she was wasn't known to be connected to Oliver Davis so there was no reason for the Sakurazukamori to target her or her psychic abilities which were latent at best. It was just a coincidence, he decided, forgetting that there is no such thing as coincidence, there is only the inevitable. He just did not want to consider that Mai could be in danger.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully in the task force office. Lin typed up witness statements and calculated expenses. Naru researched Masako Hara's death for any signs of a connection with the Sakurazukamori whilst Mai read one of the books that Bou-san had lent her. The silence in the office was companionable and Naru reflected that Mai had become accustomed to working with them and they her. It felt strange to think of the task force before she had arrived.

The silence was occasionally broken by Naru's order of "Mai, tea" and it was completely shattered by Mai at five o'clock, asking for culinary advice.

"Naru, Lin-san, what should I cook tonight? I'm having someone over for dinner."

It took a few minutes for the unexpected question to sink in.

"Why are you asking us? Your "relations" would be more suitable to ask," the narcissist replied.

"If they knew who I had invited they would ask too many questions," Mai said. "Do you have any ideas, Lin-san?"

The Omnouji took his headphones off and paused typing. "Are they male or female?"

"Male."

This caused Naru took look her in the eye sharply. "Who is it?"

"Yasuhara. You know, the traffic warden I introduced you to the other day. We decided to catch up with each other tonight. He says he has lots of anecdotes about everything that has happened in the traffic division since I left."

So Mai was having her ex boyfriend around for dinner, Naru frowned and caught Lin's eye.

"Taniyama-san, is Yasuhara-san careful about his weight?"

Naru glanced at him, having no idea why Lin was asking. The traffic warden had not looked fat to him and it was mainly women that were interested in losing weight. Then again, Lin seemed to know something that he didn't.

Mai blinked in surprise. "How did you know- Ayako told you, didn't she?"

Lin gave her a brief nod and returned to his typing, leaving Naru completely mystified.

"Hmm, that's hot pot out then..." the brunette said to herself. "I might just go for sushi, but it is winter. I might just do some yakisoba or udon. What are you having tonight, Naru."

"Steak, I think," he answered absently, still trying to work out what Lin was not telling him.

"Is it for your low Iron levels?" Mai teased. "If you really want to stop looking so pasty I would suggest going outside in the sun."

Her superior officer shot her a derisive look and the subject was dropped.

Immediately after Mai had left the office at the end of the day Naru turned to Lin, completely forgetting that he had actually been planning to ask the Omnouji if he had found anything in the notebook.

"What was that about Yasuhara?"

Lin concealed a smile as he unplugged his laptop. Technically he should be making sure that his charge's focus was on finding Gene and the Sakurazukamori, but the opportunity to shock Oliver Davis was too much to pass up.

"I was informed by Matsuzaki-san about why they split up and resumed being friends," he answered simply.

"Why was that?"

"Whilst they were dating, Yasuhara-san realised where his true allegiances lie."

"What does that mean?"

Again Lin wondered if raising a child to be an expert in the supernatural field and have a PhD at the age of fifteen, really did mean that the child was lacking knowledge in more basic matters.

"He does not like females in a romantic way."

The look on Dr. Oliver Davis' face made the suspense worth it. He looked like a fish for a split second before his face returned to its usual blank slate.

"Apparently he had quite a thing for Takigawa-san. You never know, he may be interested in you now."


Mai Taniyama walked out of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police headquarters absently, mentally listing items to purchase on her way home, having completely forgotten about her dream which should have warned her about what was going to happen.

When she reached the street where her dream took place it did not spark any feeling of strange familiarity, or more appropriately, danger. A step off the curb as she crossed the road changed that.

She was sent spiralling straight into the events of her dream, this time with a nasty conclusion that she could not escape by simply waking up.


The manga series referenced in the previous chapter was indeed Magic Kaitou by Gosho Aoyama, which in itself in based on Arsene Lupin. Well done to everyone who got it right.

I have also made Yasuhara gay for convenience.