"How about a reschedule, I know this is for their sake and all but it's a bit risky right now with the case still ongoing." Yoshikage says to the purple haired Asakura.
The professor who had expected that Yoshikage would revert the revocation had her mood ruined by what he said, but nonetheless she reluctantly accepts it.
Feeling defeated, she sighed and put her hand on one of her pockets while the latter adjusted her glasses. "I understand and I apologize for my unruly behavior towards your colleague."
Although she looked a bit down, she didn't feel sorry but rather she was disappointed for not being able to carry out what she wanted to do.
She walked away from Yoshikage to gather her students.
In the meantime while she walked away, Hikigaya just arrived for Yoshikage to finish the conversation he had with the professor.
He calls out to Yoshikage to try and get his attention.
"Yo." It was a very simple word, perfect for a lazy person like him.
Yoshikage turned around to meet his gaze. "So, what's up?" Yoshikage asks.
"You said that he was a tracker right?" Yoshikage nodded at Hikigaya's words.
"Then you should know why I'm here." Yoshikage tries to wrap his head around what his partner said, then it clicks to him.
As they began to talk, Yoshikage started to move and Hikigaya followed him right at his side, they walked at a steady pace.
"He already found their whereabouts that fast?" Yoshikage asks.
"Not really, he only knows the general direction of where they are but that's more than enough." Hikigaya replied.
Yoshikage rummages through his pockets and brings out a fancy pack of cigarette that Hikigaya was addicted to, he grabs one for himself and offers the pack to his partner.
Hikigaya of course didn't hesitate and grabbed a stick also.
The dead-eyed teen would've refused but in his mind, he thought that taking a smoke wouldn't damper their plans plus it a convenient way to maximize self-management.
What he meant by it of course is the MRC's flexibility to be a stress reliever and keeping one's mind in focus, sure it wasn't as effective as meditating but Hikigaya is too busy to even sit tight and close his eyes.
They both respectively light their own cigs, Hikigaya in particular was the first to take a puff out of his own MRC.
Yoshikage couldn't help but have a say on this. "You've gotten a lot better since the first time. Have you been smoking all the time?" Hikigaya gave no comment towards that as he continued to walk.
Both of them suddenly stop, their eyes meet for a while then they turn around in sync with each other.
"Eep!"
She had blonde hair just like Yoshikage that looks completely identical to his, she seems to be a foreigner also.
Was she perhaps related to him? I don't know and I'm not sure, and if I were to think like that then that would be stereotyping.
I'm not a biased person, I am a pretty 'open-minded person' is what I would like to think to myself but who the hell am I fooling? She's obviously related to him, so I could draw some parallels and similarities between her and Yoshikage.
Is she perhaps his daughter?
"Ah! Goro-san!" She meekly bows at Yoshikage and continues, "It's been a long time." Said partner plastered a smile on his face and threw away his cig and prepared to give her a hug.
She came forward and accepted his hug, it was such an uncommon sight though that's probably because the native level of intimacy here is quite low compared to western foreigners...
But they aren't outsiders of this country, at least Yoshikage isn't.
That girl...
A meek maiden from some JRPG is what I would best describe her.
She hugged him tightly, judging by the way she acts towards him and the amount of physical contact emitted by the both of them.
Obviously, I can say that the both of them have a very close familial relationship.
If I still had the mindset of my middle school self then I'd for sure wish for something like this.
Having a proper family...
I shook away those thoughts.
"Um...Maribel, you can let go now." So that's her name.
"O-oh, sorry." She backs away from him then she peers a look towards me and gives me an uneasy smile as our eyes meet.
It seems like she recognizes me but I find it a bit odd as I've never interacted with her before. "Ah, Maribel, you should introduce yourself to him." He says to her.
"I'm Maribel Hearn, pleasure to meet you. I am Goro-san's niece." She stiffly said that, afterwards she gave me an earnest bow.
This is the first time I'm hearing about this, then that would make him her uncle.
"Hikigaya Hachiman." I bluntly said to her.
It might sound rude, but I don't really care.
She tried to look me in the eye but immediately redirected it to the ground.
I noticed another presence and heard some footsteps coming from behind her, it was another girl.
Her slender arm crept up the shoulder of Yoshikage's niece.
Hearn's eye contact to the ground was broken, she turned around to meet her friend I presumed.
The girl who just caught up to her breathes a sigh of relief. "Mary! Why did you run off like that?"
A small bowler hat with a ribbon sits on top of her head.
One could tell that the both were close with each other with the genuine worry written on her face as a bead of sweat rolled down her cheeks.
"Sorry Renko, Goro-san was here and I just wanted to say hello and have a chat with him."
Yoshikage butts into their conversation, "Renko is that you? It's been a long time since I've last seen you. It's a surprise that you're going to College, didn't you want to pursue a degree in physics?"
"Likewise Goro-san, and as you can see I changed my mind since trying to be normal is not something I want and who would look after her." Yoshikage gave a short chuckle at that.
The girl named Renko gave a scolding look to her friend
"Mary. You should first tell me before going off like all of a sudden, what if something happens?"
At that point, I just turned away from their conversation and returned to smoking but after a bit I finished it all up so I turned my attention to Yoshikage, then our eyes met.
"We should get going." I mouthed to him.
Yoshikage poised himself up from the reminder I gave to him.
"Ah, Marible and Renko, we'll chat some other time, we have some urgent matters to attend to." Yoshikage smiles at the two girls one last time before waving his hands.
I asked for another cig from him, he gave me one and I immediately put it in my mouth and lit it.
With a puff of smoke we both walked with a hurried pace in silence as we were on our way to meet Matsuda.
The trip was uneventful but in my head were thoughts running wild about the case, more specifically the information that Matsuda provided.
Just what is there in the northwest? The temple was just a random guess but it won't hurt us if we try.
It may seem like a stretch to say that the ones we're looking for might be in Tokyo but anything is probable though highly unlikely since It'll be suicide if they went there, presumably speaking.
The branch there won't just sit around and let them roam so freely.
Saitama would be much safer for them but then again, there's probably nothing they could find of any value there.
Taking the MRC off from my mouth, I exhaled a lot of smoke.
I held it instead of returning it to my mouth.
With narrowed eyes, I pause my train of thoughts as I was jumping to conclusions without even a valid justification.
Northwest is just too broad, I should set it aside for now and get more input from Matsuda besides, my intuition paired with logic aren't enough to answer my question without much information, if only I had experience on this things then maybe I'll solve this case but unfortunately I'm not a genius detective that could tell just from a single glance.
The MRC I held was starting to fall off, so I put it in my mouth and inhaled then exhaled, I threw it away after using it all up then I slid my hands inside the pockets of my trench coat.
After a while, we reached the exorcist who was deep in thought.
He notices us arriving and snapped out from his musing, then he tucks away the compass he used.
"So, shall we go then?" Matsuda says as he looks at us.
Both of us nodded to him.
The temple was beyond the river meaning we had to cross a bridge which was far so we headed down south to a twin temple.
Since the temples are related to one another, transportation would be easier.
Why? One can essentially teleport from the other through a gateway that acts like a portal.
Pretty convenient if I say so myself.
"Visitors, I welcome you all to this shrine of mine, Kenponhokkesu Yoshizo is open for everyone who wishes to find peace." A priest approached us when we arrived inside the temple, Yoshikage of course did the honors of acquainting us with him, and after the introductions were finished.
The priest inquired us of our business, all of us looked at each other but I decided that I was the one to answer him.
"We are looking for persons of interest, I assume that you've heard of what happened to the villa up north." He gives me a genuinely intense leer, but in the end he relents and sighs.
"Although I have knowledge of what transpired there, I sadly cannot be of any assistance..."
If the temple here has no clue whatsoever, then that would mean that they entered from southwest since the port was in that direction, Sobu is also near there which further validates that I guess.
Tsurumi-sensei's role in that school coincides with everything that I've thought up so far.
It must also mean that he either approached them or got contacted by the one's behind those shipments on the ILSoP case.
"If that is the case, then we'd like to go to your twin temple." I say to the priest of this shrine.
"Pardon?" He asked as if to clarify what I said.
"We'd like to use the gateway to go to Kenponhokkeshu Yakushido Temple."
"Sadly, as of this moment we are unable to- I ignored what he was going to say and went in front of the saisen box, I fished out my wallet to get a 500 yen coin and tossed it inside the box.
Then I clasped my hands and whispered a prayer to the Bodhisattva that resides within this temple.
"O, temple owner, I ask for permission for us to cross the river with your aide." Nothing happened so I tossed in a bank note of 10,000 yen and a nearby statue emitted some golden glow and settled down after a moment, the priest changed his attitude towards us, he had a bright and grimy smile plastered on his face.
Nothing beats money I guess.
The priest urges us to stand in front of the altar, all three of us situated ourselves near the altar.
He chanted some mantras and a large sigil glowed below our feet, it seems to be the engraving patterns on the floor.
A golden glow consumes us as I feel myself fleeting above the ground.
But before we could depart from here, the priest of this temple bid us farewell.
"I pray for the wellbeing of all of you, may you three be successful on your endeavors."
We arrived at the entrance of the Kenponhokkeshu Yakushido temple in just a moment and coincidentally, the priest there was just sweeping the stairs near the entrance.
Before we fully entered however, I took in all of the surroundings and scanned the entire place for anything that could arouse any suspicion however nothing seems to indicate that thus far.
So without wasting any time we introduced ourselves and went straight to what we came for.
I asked him if he saw or had encountered or sensed any unsettling presence that passed by here, he nervously said that he hadn't encountered anything in that matter but he seems to be sweating profusely.
The leaves that he gathered were blown away by the wind and he muttered curses and profanities under his breath- Unbefitting of a priest.
I could tell that he was lying judging from his bated breaths and sweating face but I didn't understand why he would do that...
The three of us huddled around each other and discussed amongst ourselves about the priest.
"That man is lying." Matsuda says to me.
"It is obvious by the way he acts." I said to Matsuda.
One could easily tell if a person is lying through their body language, and the priest here in this Yakushido temple is acting jittery...
"Well, I don't think he's doing it on purpose." Yoshikage says, I replied with a raised brow and then he continued.
"He seems to be under something, and it's making him unable to tell the truth per say and I feel something quite odd that's very faint in him that doesn't go well with his spiritual energy." I analyze the priest again to check if Yoshikage is right.
Yoshikage's deduction is proven right, I feel a very faint energy that took a while for me to sense.
Is this guy cursed or something? Judging by the way he's acting, he may actually be cursed but I'm not so sure.
"Now that you've mentioned it, I do actually sense something wrong inside of him, as if there is some restricting force."
So the priest is cursed.
Why am I so sure about this? It might have to do with the fact that curses usually collide against spiritual energies within one's body.
Of course this doesn't mean curses alone can do that, there are also other energies that could cause some friction with said energy, but when he mentioned a restricting force, I was convinced.
Restriction is one of the main properties of a curse.
Even though I am able to sense presences quite easily, I pale into comparison to these two when it comes to actually analyzing one's energy forces and on that note I realized that I still have a long way to go when it comes to this regard.
I guess I should be thankful that I get to use this kind of people- No, I banish that thought away.
To a certain extent, I am an asshole but I'm not like him, I'm not like that manipulating Kami of mine.
Both me and Yoshikage shared a look with each other, I slid my hands inside my pocket and Yoshikage noticed this.
I glance back at the priest then return to meeting Yoshikage's gaze, his eyes widen a bit then he nods at me seemingly understanding what my intention was meanwhile Matsuda was left cupping his chin in confusion.
Yoshikage approached Matsuda and whispered my indirect message to him, after that Matsuda made direct eye contact with me and nodded his head in approval.
I took out my phone and opened a document and typed in a few words, then I proceeded to face the priest alone leaving behind the two.
"I...have nothing more to say to you so if you could please- I cut him off by shoving the screen of my phone right in front of his face.
'We know what you're going through, so please cooperate with us.'
His eyes seemed watery after he saw that, and he replied with a slow nod.
There's a common misconception regarding curses that most people agree upon.
The general consensus was that curses are only done by witches, warlocks, wizards, or those who have attained a high-level of black magic, I mean that's what the newcomers of the supernatural would think.
I guess the normal side of this world would mostly say that also, and I can't fault them for ignorance is bliss, it's thanks to the two major organizations that they are hiding this nature of the world from our 'daily lives'.
People generally believe that the nature of curses are magical however, they are not.
A curse is a solemn utterance that causes its target to be conditioned according to what has been stated, this is enabled by a supernatural power that mostly comes from entities that hold great power like gods, spirits and other forces.
Basically, all curse's source of energy is attributed beyond the scope of nature and some might guess that mana is all there is to it but one must realize that this so-called magic energy tries to abide by the laws of physics and scientific understanding.
Therefore curses are not magical in nature but it could be utilized in that manner though the results are quite lacking compared to the former.
So in truth, most curses are will-driven in nature, and I don't fucking understand it.
Although most of the time the target wouldn't be aware of the conditions that are set, it is only in the passage of time that they'll notice something strange is happening to them...
Before one can be acquitted in the state of being cursed, there needs to be procedure and the most important thing in breaking it is cooperation.
Because if it's not done right, then the consequences of failing to break a curse would worsen the bearer's condition ultimately leading to death.
That's why we had to let him know that we were aware of his condition but we had to do it in a discreet manner without triggering any impulsive effect from the curse.
Fortunately the curse seemed to be a bit lax and not that lucrative as I've expected...
The consent of knowing is a must needed action to ensure a successful procedure, of course sometimes it could be done indirectly but since the cursed priest acknowledged my message- There were no problems in that part and things went our way for the first time in a while...
Usually, curses tend to be easily solved thanks to the existence of priests and other curse breakers as well though the unfortunate thing about it is that such actions require something in return and it's mostly monetary.
Welcome to the modern world I guess, though I'm pretty sure nothing has changed since then.
-And just because I'm an apprentice priest doesn't mean that I can do it.
I'm not some jack-of-all trades kind of person.
Yahata is a kami-no-sensou, not really something he focuses on, he never even taught me on how to tend on my wounds, only that bald Buddhist monk helped me to some extent and I'm thankful for that I guess.
It was the next part of the procedure and before I could even tell them anything, they immediately volunteered to deal with the curse but the problem is, who is going to be the one to actually dismantle it.
Matsuda is a priest that is probably more suited to this since he is more familiar with the creatures who inflicted the curse but not right now, this is his first time since his retirement.
I'm not demeaning his ability to handle it but he seems to be still adjusting with all of this evident by the battle I had with him.
To put it more simply, he seems rusty like a fire hydrant.
Meanwhile Yoshikage has been an active member of the association for more than a decade and has been in action most of the time.
I guess I'm a bit reliant on him but his talents and skills as a spirit elementalist convinced me that he is able to deal with it.
"How about this, Yoshikage will be the one breaking the curse." I turn to look the exorcist in the eye.
"Matsuda, you will assist Yoshikage and if anything goes wrong, you can take over if necessary."
The two turned to each other and had a little discussion, then after a while Yoshikage raised his palms and formed a small magic circle.
The exorcist then mused, seemingly impressed by him. "That should do it."
Seeing how they both got chummy with each other, it seems that they have now come to terms with each other in regards to breaking the curse.
"If you guys don't have any more problems with it, then you can both go ahead and deal with it." I said before walking away from them.
Matsuda looks at me curiously.
Those eyes that seemed to question my decision to where I'm going, "I'll be checking the surrounding area." I said to satisfy his inquisitive eyes.
Then I departed without looking back at them.
While taking in the area, I exited out of the entrance of the temple and into the streets.
It seems that everything is normal…
Walking down the road, I looked for any sort of address, preferably the name of the street.
After looking for a while, I turned my head to a sign that said '428th avenue of Seta Street'.
Realizing this, we were quite far from where we once were.
I noted it down on my phone.
Taking information like this is also part of the job, mainly it's important for submitting reports and the like but mostly just for documentation purposes.
After finishing that mundane task, I walked beside the irrigation of a nearby rice field and checked the water.
It took some seconds for me to know that the water was fine, so it's probably safe for me to assume that the contamination only remained at the villa...
That begs the question, were they perhaps just testing the substance and using it on the people at the villa?
The more that I think about, the more it gets confusing.
It can't be simply just an experiment where they used them as their control unit, there seems to be more to it, are they perhaps trying to prepare for something?
Maybe, but I don't really know...
The compass that Matsuda used to locate the perpetrators was still pointing in the same general direction and I have no doubt in mind that we could leave and move away from here and call in others to deal with this.
Honestly, I could just dispatch a rescue team for this priest with a curse and then continue on our way in pursuit of them but there's no point in haphazardly chasing them without any sort of information, we were only operating based solely on a broad clue.
Since the situation is still not warranting for us to overextend, it's best for us right now to be more calm and cautious.
However I know that we have to keep our eyes open for anything that may arise, I already thought of counter measures for the most probable scenarios that might arise.
After all, the ones we are after aren't just feeble-minded and they probably expected us to come for them, I mean- It's just common sense at that point.
When a case is done, those that aren't dead from us yet are all subjected to be questioned thoroughly unless of course they swore some sort of oath that would make it hard to deal with, however that won't stop the association as they themselves say that information must be gathered through any means possible.
And it should be clear by now that anyone that starts an incident wouldn't get away scotch-free even if it is accidental or whatnot.
Someone will have to take accountability...
Comparing them to criminal masterminds wouldn't be far-fetched so that's why I have to treat these culprits in a rational manner, like trying to get inside their heads to get a grasp on what they're doing.
-But not only that, we have to be careful since they are probably capable of destroying an entire prefecture.
I guess that's why this responsibility is taking a toll on my mind but even then, a case that is properly dealt with is better than claiming that they have done the task but in reality they did nothing or made so little effort without reaching any sort of conclusion- Always putting it on hold until the problem escalates even further.
Maybe they are horrified or maybe it's out of their reach but even then they could just ask for assistance, I know there are a lot more possible reasons but there should be no excuses when doing this kind of job after all, one must adapt in this ever changing climate of a world.
In this job, mistakes could lead to either confusion or worse- It could be detrimental when solving some sort of incident.
That's why I need to prepare and analyze every step we have taken because one wrong move could spell nothing but disaster for us...
It took only a couple of minutes before I decided that I have done all there is to do here.
A horde of vehicles was ahead of me.
The first one was a truck followed by a SUV then a caravan of minivans but out of the corner of my eyes I saw a speeding sports car trying to overtake all of them and as soon as it passes them, I caught a glimpse of a familiar face but her ewwwwyes were covered by a dark sunglasses.
The car slows down as it approaches me, then it stops right in front of me.
The door at the driver's seat opens, a voluptuous figure stepped out of it.
Her sweet smile would've made men of my age heart's pound and beat vigorously, but those piercing eyes made me a bit unnerved instead.
For someone like me, her very presence makes me very wary.
The car made a sound indicating that it was now locked, she then took off her glasses and hid it inside the pockets of her trench coat.
"Yukinoshita-san." Not the one at the high school I used to be in but her devilish sister that is right in front of me.
"Hikigaya-kun! What a pleasant afternoon, would you care to give this onee-chan a hug." Seemingly, she tries to flaunt her appearance but I glance away from her redirecting my vision to the car.
-Yukinoshita Haruno, she's the older sibling of Yukinoshita Yukino.
Surprisingly, she is an alumni at Sobu and unsurprisingly, she is a member of the association although she resides in a different branch location, Tokyo to be precise.
I walked past her and continued to do so.
Now that I was done here, it was time for me to check on the temple premises for anything of note.
Yukinoshita-san caught up to me and said, "How rude. It's our first time working together and this is how you treat a beautiful maiden." She pouts as she tilts her head at me.
"That's how I normally treat everyone." I said as we passed the street sign that I earlier noted.
There weren't any people in the streets since it's afternoon, all of them are either busy with their work or school.
For a brief moment our meeting yesterday resurfaces in my mind.
"Thank you." The words that came out from her mouth surprised me a bit, and I wondered for what reason would she tell me that.
I thought it was just a form of flattery but those piercingly warm eyes of hers and the intensity it shows, I couldn't help but think otherwise.
Was she genuinely thanking me?
"What for?" I asked her as I was still confused on what she meant .
"For getting rid of him on my behalf ." So it was that, but why would she feel that way?
"Why? There's nothing that you could possibly gain from him being gone." I repeated my earlier question with a bit more detail.
She smiled at me and said this. "I wouldn't be seeing Yukino-chan anymore if it weren't for you."
At that moment I became very wary.
Yukinoshita Haruno is a fellow member of the association but despite the similarity, the status and reputation she holds stands leagues above mine and the rest of us due to the branch she is in.
Just as the Metropolitan Prefecture is the capital of this country I live in, the Tokyo Branch is the most important branch out of all, it is dubbed as the Imperial Branch due to the backing of the Imperial family.
Normally people perceive the emperor of the present as nothing more than a ceremonial role having no power to govern but in this twisted reality- Being of royal blood meant that power is absolute as history imprinted their names and status…
Yukinoshita Haruno probably got into that branch due to her talents, efforts and connections.
Although she has stated that she has been keeping a close eye on her sister, she failed to discern that a dangerous individual was near her and no- It wasn't me.
She realized that a certain biology teacher was acting out of character and she grew anxious on how she hasn't noticed him yet, which is why she allegedly forced her way to get hold of my reports since I was unto him even though my reports were all private to some extent.
Maybe it was when she easily convinced Socho of the branch I'm in to join the case that I started to realize the terrifying power of status and connections…
Though it's not like I'm against it, in fact I was going to ask her to help us out due to who she is to that club mate of mine.
I would've used her sister as a bargaining chip to get her on board but I guess this is better...
"Oh! Before I forget Hikigaya-kun, College will be accepting new applicants starting next month." At this point I'm not even surprised about what she said.
But still, I do have some dignity left, I think. "Yukinoshita-san, I value my privacy, you know? So please refrain from prying any further or else…"
"Or else what Hikigaya-kun?" As expected, Yukinoshita-san never backs down.
"It would be better if you had stayed with your sister. Who knows what will happen to her…" To say that this was sarcasm would be wrong, it may have come off that way but I meant what I said, even now I'm still not sure if her sister is in the clear.
Yukinoshita Haruno seemed to go silent, and I realized I may have made a small mistake.
The air seems to drop a couple of degrees and I felt her hands gripping on my shoulders- Then I felt her chin rest on my right.
I didn't do anything, only observing her.
The sudden physical contact was something that I expected to happen, and the only reason why I caused her to do it is not because I'm in desperate need of a woman's intimacy- Rather it was just me taking an opportunity to understand her power and strength.
She doesn't know I'm measuring her up, some might think that they could take her in a close combat but don't let your eyes be fooled by her body.
Contrary to her body, she has a grip strength that indicates an experience in martial arts exceeding that of the 10th dan I think, and since we were close enough that our heads are next to each other, I could silently grasp her mana pool.
To say that I'm not overwhelmed would be a lie- She's a monster, well in regards to her mana at least.
If I were to compare her to Yoshikage, then I'd say they're almost neck and neck.
I could take her on a fight and probably win right now but it's not like she wants to fight me, and it's not like I want to either since after all, we are both members of the association so why bother fighting? Unless she's trying to kill me, then I'd retaliate of course- And the scary thing is, it might happen to others considering how most of them are all lunatics, but the present seems to be calmer than what it used to be, besides it's all history at this point.
Now if someone were to look at us right now, they'd assume that we were a couple having a moment but that's far from the truth.
"Hikigaya-kun don't tease me like that, onee-chan will get the wrong idea you know." She whispered into my ears, then she let go of her demonic strength of a grip and lifted her head up.
She skips ahead of me, and turns around to look at me.
Giving me the same fake smile, however for some reason it felt more genuine than the ones my classmates during middle school showed me, and her eyes seemed to be warmer than before.
Maybe it's just my imagination…
I walked past her and continued what I was doing before she arrived.
Majority of those who are involved in major incidents like this will die by our hands, those who are unlucky enough to live another day would receive special treatment just like witness protection but in the worst way possible, they would be treated like a lab-rat and are subjected to work for the association without any objections and if they were to die, everything that they own and are worth for including their own bodies will be in possession by the association, at least that is what I heard from Yoshikage.
And the recent case of the port tower, namely the Youkai of Darkness is no exception to this also, even if she is in that place called Gensokyo, where it's a paradise for creatures like them.
I doubt that it's all rainbow and sun shines over there, and I guess that's the reason why I felt that way for her when it was time for her to go.
Maybe because she reminded me of my sister once that I've gained an ounce of sympathy towards her but in the end.
Rumia is nothing more than a Youkai, nothing more than a monster
-And I am nothing more than an asshole to her…
So then, what of the victims of said incidents? Of course the standard procedure for this is for us to interview them and get as much information regarding of what they have experienced, only the ones who still has the ability to speak and remember are given interviews but the people in the association aren't normal per say, they might go to the extent of just harvesting the victims brains and extract the raw information from it, such case has already happened during the world wars and I'm not surprised by that fact.
The interviews, or interrogations as I like to call them are taken in an isolated space, the victims or witnesses- It depends really, would take turns to testify then we would note the important details for our reports.
After that they'll be treated for their fatalities or injuries.
See, even though we are part of a secret organization that deals with the occult, our line of work is very similar to the law enforcement, well in the first place our quarters is literally the Chiba Prefectural Police Headquarters and one of the core foundations of the Easter Association is to enforce law and order.
However if in a circumstance that most of the victims are dead, we could only do nothing more than pay our respects to the them as they are dead, and with that in mind I'm sure that most of us are eager to solve this case, so that the dead will finally find their closure, and that their deaths will not be in vain.
That much I could understand, after all I'm not a heartless bastard, and unlike our counterparts in the normal side of this world which would be the police forces such as detectives and what not.
We tend to close all of our cases not leave it unsolved where it starts to collect dust on the shelves.
When we arrived inside the temple, the first thing I saw was Yoshikage talking to Matsuda about something whilst simultaneously conducting some sort of spell.
Their backs are against us and they didn't seem to notice us approaching them, it's understandable since they are preoccupied.
Besides me was Yukinoshita-san, she now wore a cap.
I didn't even bother asking why but she caught me glancing at it.
She told me that she looks 'cool and stylish' whenever she wears it, but I could tell that it was some sort of magical artifact so I didn't pry any further.
"Yo." It is only when I said that they finally stopped doing the procedure and turned to look at us, their eyes jumped from me to Yukinoshita-san.
I came up to them to talk about the info they gathered but when I saw an unconscious priest on the ground, I could tell that we might've wasted our time.
"I already called in some guys to take care of him, they'll be arriving shortly." Yoshikage said nonetheless.
"I see, then we'll talk later about what you guys have gotten out of him. I've already checked the perimeter. We'll be continuing our way northwest." Then both of them looked at Yukinoshita Haruno, Yoshikage and Matsuda were confused so I had to explain to them why she was here and how she was able to do so, at the end of that, Matsuda had something to say to me.
"You see, there's a problem," After he said that, he took out the compass.
It was spinning rapidly and it annoyed me for some reason.
"My tracking device seems to be going haywire." He continues.
I narrowed my eyes at him, and made him elaborate on what happened to it.
"It's right around after we took care of Takane-san-" Must be the name of the priest here,
"-As we were looking around inside the temple, I felt a strong interference coming from my pocket. I noticed that the device discharged a large bit of mana, even Yoshikage felt it. The only explanation for this would be that the person we were looking for has gone off the grid." There was a pause after he said that, I closed my eyes and pondered deeply.
What he meant by off the grid was that the ones we are looking for might have entered an area where it could block the detection but he had told me beforehand that it could pierce through a bounded field…
So this would mean that they have entered a much more reinforced domain.
Now that the compass is broken in a sense, our main way of getting hold of their location is gone.
It would take longer for us to find them now and if things escalate any further then we are fucked…
We are running out of time, but thankfully I had already thought ahead since after all this was one likely scenario that might happen.
I opened my eyes then words began to pour out. "Yoshikage, call in HQ. Tell them to gather the latest data of any sub-spatial displacement activities that happened in the last hour on; Nagano, Gunma, Niigata and Toyama. Make sure to tell them that we need it now." I ordered him with a sense of urgency.
And without any hesitation, he called HQ.
"Yukinoshita-san, I need you to- before I can say anything else she cuts me off.
"Don't worry Hikigaya-kun, I'll get the data from Tokyo." Yukinoshita-san seems to understand what I'm trying to do, so I just nodded at her.
Turning around to Matsuda, I met his eyes. "Can you do enhancement spells?" My words were blunt and rude to a point but it seems that the exorcist doesn't care.
"Energy enhancements are the only things I could do right now, Mana and Spiritual Energy Enhancement to be exact." It's good enough for me, I should keep that in mind.
The two that were tasked were busy.
I asked Yoshikage if he had something but sadly he was still waiting.
I turn to Yukinoshita-san and call her, "Yukinoshita-san, anything from Tokyo?" She shook her head at me, I guess Tokyo is a no-go.
Suddenly, Yoshikage blurted out my name so I look at him, "It seems that the Nagano Branch has detected movement on a village called Kawakami, it's in the Minamimaki district, the other branches had nothing on them..." Yoshikage informs me, though his voice seems to drift at the latter end, his face stiffens and I could tell he was visibly worried about something.
I wondered what was in there that made him like that.
So I asked him, he first looked at me with a terrified expression then said.
"Gensokyo." I was confused when he mentioned that place, then my stomach churn in realization of what was probably going to happen.