Day 7 Continued
"Where in the world is Togusa?" Chief Aramaki looked very displeased as he interrogated the men in his office.
The recruits and other newcomers looked amongst each other and then directed their attention to the bulky silent cyborg near the entrance.
Batou had his arms crossed and shrugged, "Beats me."
Aramaki use to expect Batou to have all the answers even if it was a smart or sly comment in return; but alas, he never was the same once the Major left. However, after the Locus Solus mission, he was ever so slightly better.
"Fine. Get back to work." Aramaki crossed his legs and turned his back to them in his leather rotating chair.
Batou left the room first and right as he did so, Ishikawa caught up to him. He looked over at his tech savvy friend and noticed that he looked like he needed to tell him something.
"Togusa called me earlier…" Ishikawa informed him in a hushed tone.
Batou didn't understand why he was so quiet yet he was interested to hear more, "What did he say?"
"He says he's heading for Shinjuku because it's something about a doll...like how it leers at night and...I dunno, it was really odd but he didn't want to say anything to Aramaki."
Batou's face hardened a bit and he patted Ishikawa's shoulder saying, "I have to go. Tell Aramaki I'll be working on a side operation."
"Wait- but-" Ishikawa began yet Batou got away too quickly. The bearded brainiac scratched the side of his face and sighed.
Batou was on his way to Shinjuku. He had the phone to his ear, hoping Togusa would pick up. After a few attempts, he got an answer.
"I'm really busy right now, Batou..." Togusa tried to conclude.
"Togusa, I know what you're going to do." Batou began, "And I have to be there when it happens…"
"What? Why? What do you know?"
"Just trust me on this." Batou synced his phone up with his car and was now able to track where Togusa was. The district he was in was very rundown yet there was something that made it very popular for tourists; the local psychic.
The two men met up in an empty parking lot. Togusa was lugging the now heavy briefcase in which Batou offered to carry but was turned down.
As they began to walk, Togusa asked, "Why did you want to come with me? Afraid I couldn't handle myself?"
"Well you are an upper middle class man in a fancy suit walking through a crime-riddled city holding a briefcase that is most commonly used for transporting drug money...but that's besides the point."
"You know, that's the most I've heard you talk in years…" Togusa responded, taking some offense.
"I can go all day if you want."
"No thanks…"
The location was a few blocks down from where they were. They walked past many poor residents of the city and, unsurprisingly, most of them were full-prosthetic cyborgs. Many were missing body parts or simply had mechanical parts that no longer functioned. They eyed the two men as well as the black briefcase. Batou was unfazed by all the stares and frankly didn't notice it. Togusa was very irked by them and tried his best not to stare back.
Soon they made it to their destination. They knew they were at the correct location since there was a sign next to the entrance on the side of the old, worn down building that read PSYCHIC READINGS AND HEALINGS. Batou opened the red rusty iron door for Togusa and kept watch as they entered the facility. They were presented with a white stairway which had red arrows pointing in the direction they needed to go; up. They found themselves walking up to the third floor which happened to be very dimly lit. The door to the psychic's compound had a sign that told visitors to knock before entering which is what Togusa proceeded to do.
There was a slot at eye-level on the door that opened up just moments after the man knocked. The naturally narrow female eyes behind it were a very high value green and seemed very mystical; it was obvious that they belonged to the psychic herself.
"Who has come to see me?" The female voice on the other side asked. Her accent sounded very foreign to Togusa even though he knew the woman was born in Japan.
"I thought you would know." Batou scoffed since he was always skeptical of psychics' powers.
Her eyes drew their attention to Batou and she replied with, "I do know. I want to know if he does." She looked back at Togusa.
Togusa cleared his throat and informed, "I'm Togusa and this is my partner from work, Batou."
"Who else?"
"Huh? It's just us." Togusa looked confused.
"If it is just the two of you, then you would not have come here in the first place."
Togusa processed her words for a moment and then realized she was talking about the doll, "O-oh...the doll…"
The psychic stared at him for a long moment before closing the slot and beginning to unlock the door.
The door opening revealed a tall slender woman with almost white pale skin and raven hair. Her eyebrows were very small and her makeup was almost like that of a geisha. She wore a long deep blue silky robe with gold flower embroidery and it revealed much of her cleavage. She was certainly very attractive.
"You may remove your shoes inside. They will get stolen if you leave them outside." She turned as her river of hair followed.
The men did as they were told and closed the door behind them.
Upon entering the room, they were greeted with the pungent smell of incense and honey. The walls were covered with foreign decor, most of it coming from Eastern Europe and parts of the Middle East. All the furniture had soft pillows and cushions and every inch of the floor had carpet. The overall color scheme were reds and violets adorned with gold. The few lights that lit the areas were not natural but filtered with red and some black light bulbs.
The woman led them to a living room with two dark red couches facing a square table. She removed a crystal ball that was on the table and moved it under the furniture. She then lounged on the couch and gestured for them to take a seat on the couch opposite of hers. The men quietly did so and awaited further instruction.
"Place the doll onto the table." She instructed as she reached behind herself before grabbing the hose of a violet hookah bong and sticking the mouthpiece between her lips.
Togusa opened his briefcase and set the now motionless doll onto the table in front of them. Batou watched carefully.
The psychic leaned forward and inspected the little guest, "Where did you find her?"
"An antique store in China." Togusa replied.
"How long have you had her?"
"For about a week now."
"You got her for a child?"
"For my daughter."
The psychic then took the doll into her arms and stood it on her lap, "What has this little one done to you?"
"Oh you know...moves on its own, opens drawers and makes a mess, disappears every now and then...I even tried disposing it in a dumpster but it returned the next day as if nothing had happened."
"You what?" Batou intervened and looked irritated which Togusa was caught off guard by.
The psychic studied the men and now sat the doll in her lap, facing them. She then asked, "Batou, why did you come? This doll has caused trouble for your friend here but not to you...but something does seem to haunt you."
"Maybe I need some answers too…" Batou replied a bit more gently.
The psychic smiled and tilted her head so that her ear was near the doll asking, "Perhaps you have those answers?"
The doll replied with silence.
The psychic suddenly flipped her own hair aside so that it was over one shoulder. She pulled out a cord from her neck port and attached it to the back of the doll's neck.
Togusa was shocked. This was no ordinary doll, it was a small gynoid. That explained how it was able to move on its own yet it did not explain its intentions. The psychic's eyes turned blue and she was suddenly very still and quiet. Her head slowly tilted up and the look on her face was stoic.
"I've finally been able to reach you." A familiar voice sounded from the psychic. A different vibe radiated from her. She no longer was the stranger they just met but a friend they once knew.
Batou smirked and knew exactly who it was yet Togusa still had no idea what was going on.
"You're still the rookie I know." An audible chuckle could be heard.
"Major?..." Togusa's eyes widened, "But….how?"
"I never vanished off the face of the earth. I have always been around; watching over my comrades." She began to explain, "I infiltrated this 'doll' in attempts to communicate with you."
Togusa seemed to somewhat understand but then asked in frustration, "Why would you bring my daughter into this?"
"She was the only person who could hear me...but not the only one who could sense me." Her eyes shifted towards Batou.
Togusa looked at his cohort and asked, "You knew?"
"The moment I first saw the doll." Batou gave a nod.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't think her revelation would take this long."
"That's besides the point." The Major continued, "You and your family are in danger, Togusa. That antique store was Yakuza property and because of the way you both handled 'negotiating' with them during Locus Solus, you now have a bounty on both of your heads."
"That was Batou's damn fault for shooting up the place!" Togusa knew at the time it was a bad idea and now he could not believe it would bite back on both of their asses.
"I admit, I take some credit..." Batou replied smugly with crossed arms.
"The Yakuza know your location because of those earrings you bought your wife."
"What about the doll? It was in the store too."
"I moved it there from another location." She reassured, "But you must evacuate your family as soon as possible. They've already tagged the location of your residence and within the next 24 hours, they will come for you and your family.
"This is insane…" Togusa gripped his head in stress. The thought of his family in danger terrified him and he was inclined to put the blame on Batou.
His partner stood and said, "Then we need to get going now...who knows if they've got eyes on us here in the city as well."
"They do." The Major responded.
"Will you help us?" Togusa asked as the look on his face was now full of worry.
"Of course." She gave a nod and lightly grinned, "Just like old times."