NekoGuyFan: I'd read your Narumi fic if you made one! Now that you've said so, I realized he is pretty cool, haha! Kind of how you've started to think Dahn is dreamy thanks to this :)) There you go, the power of suggestion!

CallMeJack: Yeah, I wanted Narumi's input on things, plus it's boring just having the boss take the back seat when everything's happening. And there's that thing about talking to the talking cat all the time, too, heh. Never mind that it's fun just getting Raidou to give Narumi mangled translations of everything Gouto says. Victor will appear two chapters from now, yep! The doctor is too fun not to include in this story. XD

Fervour: Yeah, Satake's really old! Comparably, anyway :)) I figured he was a young yakuza boss compared to other mob bosses I imagined (my mob bosses I meant Vito Corleone as portrayed by Marlon Brando, hahaha!). Pretty weird, but considering Akane's betrothal to a bunch of bug men, I thought age wouldn't be as much to overcome (except for Kotone's father, of course, and Gouto XD). Yesss I love Jack Frost! Oddly enough I used to find him a little irritating, and I didn't understand the hype, but it's impossible not to love that little...thing. :))

Thanks again for reviewing! YOU GUYS ROCK. Alsooo. This doesn't make up for my extremely long absence, but I have two chapters up and more to come soon!

Previously on Sparks...

Raidou reached into her pocket and tossed the handkerchief to the Preta. "For your silence, a croquette."

"Oh…!" the Preta stared at the croquette before holding it to his cheek. "Is this a croquette? I love these! How lucky! I…I remember sharing these…with my son…" he stared up at Raidou with a furrow of his brow ridges, an action completely unknown to a Preta. "Huh? My son…? Did I just say something about my son?"

Gouto and Raidou exchanged glances. "Osamu?"

Sparks

Chapter 4: Road Trip

"Osamu…?" the Preta repeated. "No, my son… He's probably hungry right now. I should check on him…Kenta…!"

With a flash of light, the Preta disappeared. In his place was a man in the Kantou Haguro-gumi getup, his hair pulled back in a tight ponytail—Osamu Kogure. He blinked, the world around him different but familiar, and would have collapsed had Raidou failed to catch him. "Urrrrgh," he groaned. His temples felt as though they were about to split. "What happened? My head's pounding…Ugh, Raidou? What are you doing here?"

"You're safe now, Mr. Kogure," said Kotone, grunting as she supported him. He was much heavier than she expected. "Kenta asked us to search for you. In our hunt for Tatsumi, we found you, too."

"I see…" Osamu clutched his head again. "So Kenta found you, Raidou… Hey, you were looking for that Dahn guy, right? And you have to find Tatsumi to do it?"

"Yes. Satake informed you?"

"Uh…yeah." Osamu's eyes were filled with shame. "To be honest, I met with Tatsumi…That bastard. He knew I needed money to send Kenta to school, and he exploited it. He said he had a way for me to make a fast buck…And…Raidou, I'm ashamed to say it, but…" he grimaced. "I wavered. I betrayed Mr. Satake!"

Raidou gave no distinct reaction. Her father had taught her that giving anything of the sort, especially to anyone who looked particularly emotional at the moment, could only result in something worse. He'd gone on to add that such a rule didn't work for women, especially not her mother, but when Kotone had asked him to elaborate, he only patted her head and said his daughter would become an exception to that norm.

"You could have asked Satake to help you," she said, ignoring Gouto's constant pawing at her pant leg. "He would have been able to think of something."

"I…I know." Osamu's eyes were downcast. "I shoulda known it earlier, but I—"

"I'm sorry, but I can't stay and chat." Raidou pulled out two tubes. Two green flashes later, a fuchsia horse and a blue bull holding a lance and an axe, respectively, appeared at Raidou's side.

The horse stood from his kneeling position and bowed to Kotone with a fist to his chest. "I am honored to serve you. Welcome back, Miss Kotone."

"Duuude! Gozuki and Mezuki, to the rescue!" said the latter – Gozuki – pumping his free fist with a cheer and thumping Kotone on the back. "Who're we beating up today?"

Mezuki rolled his eyes and neighed disdainfully. "You are such a barbarian."

Gozuki raised an axe threateningly. "Who asked you?"

Osamu glanced between the two fearfully. "Wh-What…oh…" He shook his head, still too stunned to think clearly. "I've seen stranger things…"

"They make a good team when they're not bickering," Gouto remarked, watching the horse and the bull start to shove each other. "Anyway, Kotone, clock's ticking…"

"Right." Raidou returned Gozuki into his tube again before the coming argument broke out into a brawl, realizing she needed her own demon to persuade Tatsumi into returning with them, anyway. "Mezuki, protect Mr. Kogure here. I'll return for you soon."

"As you wish," said Mezuki, nodding respectfully, and smiled awkwardly at a confused Osamu before allowing his summoner to run off.

Raidou and Gouto were coming into the area where the cross-dressing man had lived. Gouto cringed when they passed by the dark room in which they had stumbled with Narumi the day previous, but distracted himself by keeping his eyes on Tatsumi. "There he is, Kotone!"

Tatsumi was resting against one of the houses, a hand clutching at his chest in fatigue. When he saw that Raidou and Gouto were gaining, he ran off again, but he didn't get as much of a head start as before. He wouldn't escape this time—

"You! Foooooouuuuuund yooouuu!"

—but he did, thanks to the distraction posed by a woman in a french maid outfit. There was a frenzied expression on her face as she tackled Raidou to the ground, her eyes wide and her jaws crunched together tightly. Raidou pushed her off immediately, unsheathing her sword to the maid's neck, but she recognized the woman and withdrew it. Hastily, she said, "You are Dr. Victor's Ippon-datara. What are you doing here?"

"Yeah, you're interrupting an official investigation!" Gouto said irritably, his paws burning as he skidded to a halt.

"Not my fault!" the maid cried out, covering her face, and then cleared her throat and straightened up. "I come message. From Victor. A message."

"Can't this wait?" Gouto groaned. "Spit it out already."

"Miss Kuzunoha!" said the maid, using Victor's voice and cackling, "Rejoice, for I have marvelous news for you! I recently have discovered a—" She stopped at the urgent flare in Gouto's eyes, and smoothed the creases of her dress down. "There's no need. Doing this in Victor's voice. Will stop now. My apologies. Victor is fusing. Sword fusion. It's a process. Very new. Very big deal, I guess. Makes swords stronger. Much stronger. Much much stronger. Very strong—"

"I understand," said Raidou, holding two fingers over the maid's lips. "Please tell Dr. Victor we'll drop by later. Thank you."

The maid followed them as they traced Tatsumi's steps, however, keeping up with their pace with relative ease. "By the way," she said, "like…outfit? In a dress. Do like?"

Raidou glanced to her right, refraining from imitating Gouto's exasperated expression. She had never been an expert on clothing. Comfort for her every day missions was what mattered to her, like her cousin's uniform, and she was only forced to wear her own uncomfortable skirts for school. House clothes were nice, but in the village she was usually in training trousers. "It's—"

"Or just weird? Weird, right? Very weird…weird…" the maid repeated to herself. All of a sudden, the maid began to twitch, her body contorting oddly. Raidou and Gouto had already seen this before and continued to run, looking back only when there were no more footsteps trailing them, only tak-tak-tak… The maid had returned to her true form. "BuT I'm nOt wEIrD!" it cried out in a voice flickering from its human voice to its low demon pitch. "NO mORe! LeT mE Go! WOn'T yOU sEt Me FreEeeeee?"

"This again?" Gouto led them now, and Raidou recognized the way to a deserted shrine at the heart of Mannen-Cho. This wasn't good. Such an emotional Ippon-datara could only get in the way. "I had a feeling this was going to happen…why it had to happen now is just our luck…"

"N-n-N-N-nOoooO!" the Ippon-Datara sobbed. "ThiS Is NOt MeEEEEeeeE! THis fLImsY, lAcEy…NooOOoO! nOT fOr MeeEEEEEEee!"

"At least it's no longer about walls," Raidou said optimistically, allowing the Ippon-datara to continue its wailing. After the deserted shrine, there was nowhere else to go. Tatsumi was cornering himself again, and she could only hope there were no more banana peels.

"I DON't waNT tO WeAR iT AnYMOre! I WAnt tO BurY tHIs lACey ThING iN a waLL! ForEVEr!"

"Again with the walls…" Gouto stopped at the deserted shrine as predicted. Tatsumi was standing by the donation box, clinging to the post as if it would protect him.

Upon halting, the Ippon-datara suddenly reverted back to human form. It was still wearing that dress. "I mean…" she cleared her throat. "I need return. Return to home now. Thank you very much. Thank you for letting my vent."

"Always a pleasure," said Raidou, waving absentmindedly, and approached Tatsumi. Gouto told the Ippon-datara to get a new disguise if it hated the accursed maid outfit so much before dismissing it and followed.

When Raidou came close, Tatsumi released the post and grinned. "You came, huh? Ha! What a naughty little girl…You know," he said, lifting both eyebrows, "I wasn't lying when I said it's nice to have some kid so curious about me. You're not my usual type, but if it wasn't for that bumpkin or those insects, we coulda gotten close…"

Gouto nearly choked. "Is he saying what I think he's saying?"

"He's delusional," Raidou repeated.

"Stop mumbling while I'm talking!" Tatsumi scolded, having had enough of her weird attitude. "But since you're just a little girl…okay, I give myself up."

Raidou took a step closer. "You're kidd–"

Kotone slipped on a banana peel.

Tatsumi howled with laughter. "There's no way I can be unlucky, remember? All the luck on the world's on my side! Just try and catch me!"

Raidou and Gouto froze. Another monster appeared behind Tatsumi, swishing and giggling with his feet in the clouds, hail falling from his hair. He was skinnier than before.

"Here comes my backup," said Tatsumi, crossing his arms smugly. If there hadn't been a Fiend ready to attack behind him, Raidou and Gouto might have poked fun at his pose. "I do feel bad for you, but…oh well."

The Fiend cleared his throat, tired of watching the exchange and deciding to join in himself. "I'm Biiiiiiiiinbou… Binbou-gami!"

Tatsumi turned around and almost fell back on Raidou. "Wh-What? You're not one of my minions…!"

Binbou-gami ignored him and swung to the right, tittering eagerly at Raidou instead. "I found a particular unlucky fellow…who'd have thought it'd turn out to be you again? You still owe me a good warming up!"

"Who-who are you?" Tatsumi gasped, shielding his face as though it would help.

"Oh? Who's this?" Binbou-gami finally took notice of the other human and giggled. "Hohoho! I think I've found a better candidate to warm me up! Heeheeee…please, do warm me up a bit!"

"Whaaaat?" He ran behind Raidou and peeped out from behind her shoulders. "B-But I'm Tatsumi…? I…um…M-M-Mommy!"

"Warm me up, Sir!" Binbou-gami cried needily, hugging himself as hail flew from his swishing hair. "I am soooooo cold!"

Kotone pried Tatsumi's fingers off her and stepped aside. "He is asking you nicely."

"I'd agree to this if we didn't need more answers from him," said Gouto. "You'll have to protect him, I'm afraid."

Binbou-gami swung forward. Raidou would have (reluctantly) shielded him with a revolver to the Fiend's face, but Tatsumi was still a lucky bastard. As soon as Binbou-gami came within two feet of Tatsumi's person, he slipped and fell off his cloud. Gouto looked up at the sky. Surprisingly, it wasn't raining banana peels.

"Huh?" Binbou-gami thrashed about angrily. "Gyaaaaaahh! You…! You're brimming with luck? How terribly unlucky!"

Tatsumi touched all his important body parts and then his face. "I-I'm safe? I'm alive! I am lucky!"

Gouto turned to Raidou. "The Fiend is weakened from trying to possess Tatsumi… His good luck cancels out all the bad around us. We might actually be able to harm Binbou-gami in this state. Go for it, but remember not to take him lightly!"

The 14th nodded obediently and stood in Binbou-gami's way. "I think I will warm you up now, Binbou-gami."

"Oh? How lucky of me!" Binbou-gami clapped his hands. "Come on, I'm soooo coooooooold!"

Raidou ran at him again, sword outstretched, but caught herself as Binbou-gami disappeared. She rolled to the side before the Fiend could swing at her from behind. Those were Binbou-gami's first patterns. Eyes focused on him, she waited for his next move.

"You're not even tryiiiing!" Binbou-gami wailed.

"Pyro Jack," said Raidou, taking out his tube, "let's try again. Into my arms."

"Ho no, it's this hee-Fiend again!" Pyro Jack cowered under her arm. Kotone would have scolded him—he'd faced more fearful opponents in the past—but he had saved her from Jiromaru when she was stone cold with disgust. She took him from under her and held his head with both hands. "Ko-ho-ne, what are you hee-doing? If I breathe-ho fire, you'll get burned!"

"Kotone, watch out!"

Gouto's warning came too late. Binbou-gami appeared beside Raidou and swung forward, sending her flying against the roof of the abandoned shrine. She shielded Pyro Jack from the impact with her arms. Her feet stung and her back ached when she slid off the roof, then landed and stumbled down the stairs, but she caught herself before she slipped on any more banana peels.

"Hey!" Tatsumi cried, nearly tripping as he backed into a corner, "You almost crushed me!"

"When I give you the signal, perform Agidyne," Raidou whispered to Pyro Jack, pretending not to hear the other human beside her. Kotone wished she had crushed him.

"I've heard humans enjoy teasing the ones they like," said Binbou-gami, swaying again, and gasped. "Could it be that you're treating me so coldly because…?" Binbou-gami tittered and disappeared once more, only to appear behind her.

Raidou jumped to the side, rolling, and pointed Pyro Jack in the Fiend's direction as soon as he began to pendulate. "Now, Pyro Jack!"

Pyro Jack's head glowed as he inhaled, warming up. Raidou released his body with a hiss, her palms a little seared, but Pyro Jack didn't miss an inch. He blew a torrent of fire into Binbou-gami's face.

"Ooooooh!" Binbou-gami cried out, holding his face as though his cheeks were only blushing and not on fire. He seemed to like it, but it did slow him down a little. "So hot!"

Knowing it was her only chance, Raidou grabbed Binbou-gami's hair – trying not to cringe, because it was oilier than it looked – and swiped her sword at his neck.

"Owww!" Binbou-gami screamed and thrust himself forward. Raidou flew backward again, this time landing on her posterior (that was going to ache the next morning, but this was no time to dwell on it). He'd swung too early; she wasn't able to strike a deep, lasting wound, and unfortunately, his head was still connected to the rest of his grimy body. It seemed to have done enough damage, however, as purple blood seeped out of his neck. The Fiend's already pallid visage grew even whiter as he clutched his wound. "I felt a little warmer when you hit me…! It's so delightful being punished with your love…! Hohoho… I shall never forget the delicate taste of your love-punishment! I shall neeeeeeeever forget! Please, promise me you will share some of your love-punishment with me again, in the future!"

"I promise," said Raidou, receiving an encouraging nod from Gouto as she summoned Pyro Jack into his tube. "But only if you leave now. Otherwise, my...my love-punishment won't be as...special."

"It's a deaaaal!" the Fiend giggled, wiggling his fingers. "Fareweeeeeell…until we meeeeeeet again!"

And Binbou-gami disappeared, leaving only a flurry of hail and magnetite in his wake.

Raidou breathed heavily, closing her eyes for a second. It was heart-pounding, facing a Fiend, and such a sadomasochistic one at that. Her adrenaline rush was fading, leaving her with only shot nerves and a painful tail bone. When she opened her eyes again, there was sunlight on her pale hands. No more dusk or dawn or grey houses. Only a frazzled Tatsumi, who congratulated himself for escaping such an awful situation on his own.

"We've returned to Mannen-Cho," Gouto confirmed, seeing her relief. "To be wily enough to get rid of a Fiend that way, Kotone… I'm proud to have someone like you as my successor."

Kotone beamed, wearing a tiny smile. She still liked to hear him say it; there were days when his scathing words on their first meeting still rang in her mind. "Thank you, Gouto."

"All that's left is Tatsumi. Let's ask him about Dahn."

Raidou nodded and approached Tatsumi. Before she could speak, however, he held a hand to her face and shrugged her off. "Get lost. There's nothing you can do to me. I'm gonna be safe 'cause I'm the lucky Tatsumi."

"I'm not out to kill you," Raidou said to him. (Kotone was lying, of course, though she couldn't admit it even to Gouto. It wasn't a thought that should come across a Raidou's mind.) She showed him Dahn's picture, ever in perfect condition in her cape. "I only wanted to ask about him again."

"I told you before, remember?" Tatsumi sighed. "I don't know that bumpkin!"

"Then what about the insects?"

Tatsumi inched away. He narrowed his eyes. "You know about the insect, right… You're…you're no regular student, are you?"

Raidou glanced down at her uniform. It wasn't even hers.

"Are you…Are you the one they talk about? Wh-Who are you?" he demanded.

Perhaps honesty would beget honesty. "I'm a Devil Summoner," she replied, "by the name of—"

Tatsumi gasped so dramatically it was almost ridiculous. But then, his entire existence was ridiculous. "Wh-What? You're…Are you…Raidou Kuzunoha?" He started talking to himself. "If Raidou's after me, I'm finished. Damn my luck!"

Gouto pawed at his collar with a smirk. "Looks like our reputation precedes us."

"As I said before, I'm not out to kill you." Another lie. From whom had he learned of her? "Now, tell us what you know about Dahn and the insects."

"I don't know much about the insect," Tatsumi suddenly admitted, like the name Raidou Kuzunoha was a truth serum. Gouto beamed at that thought. "I just got it from someone else. Do you remember those masked men? They gave it to me…Th-They tempted me! The insect can steal other people's luck, y'see, and thanks to it I got real lucky…" He took out a thick red container from somewhere on his person. It was the same box one of the masked men had held out to Kotone the day before. "This cage houses the insect. Come to think of it, when I got the insect from the masked men, he was there!"

"Dahn?"

"No, the guy in the picture! I mean, yes, Dahn! He told me specifically not to tell anyone about them…" said Tatsumi with some exasperation, before suddenly gasping and covering his mouth. "I-I've said too much… Curse my luck! Are they gonna come after me?"

"Very likely," replied Raidou, thinking of how the masked men had followed her hunt for Tatsumi without even Gouto noticing.

"Wait…" Tatsumi went forward and grabbed her arm. "You said you were a Devil Summoner, right? Hey, can you help me? It's your job to protect people, right?"

Raidou removed his hold on her and glanced down at Gouto, who rolled his eyes. "It is your duty."

"Fine," said Raidou.

"Yes!" Tatsumi jumped for joy. "I knew luck was on my side! I'll give you a juicy piece of info about Dahn. Picking a fight with those masked men is the same as picking a fight with him." He glanced at her, his eyebrows bouncing. "You ready for this? Dahn is actually—huh? What's this?"

Something within Tatsumi began to glow. A sphere of light, expanding slowly from his stomach, was growing past his head. It wasn't blinding, but Kotone and Gouto couldn't stand to watch.

"So warm…so…hot…?" Tatsumi muttered, holding out to the beams of light escaping him. "Am I dying…? Hey…"

Raidou returned to her senses and moved forward, reaching out for Tatsumi's hands, but he was already fading away. She only went through him.

"If I die," he said to her, somewhat peacefully, "those masked men can't get me…! I…I really am lucky…"

Another flash of light and he was gone. Only pieces of the red insect cage he was holding were left behind, scattered on the floor.

"No…" Raidou shook her head mournfully. "He didn't finish what he was saying."

Gouto clicked his tongue. "We almost got him to spill everything on his dealings with Dahn! Could the masked men have done this…?"

"It certainly wasn't a demon," said Raidou, kneeling down and collecting the shards of the insect cage in her cape. Tatsumi's luck, shattered in an instant. Divine retribution? Kotone liked to think so. Something in her wondered if even a man like Tatsumi had deserved such an enigmatic fate, but she brushed it away. "What now?"

"Well…since he's up and vanished, we're out of leads. Let's head back to the agency."

Despite the warning of impending doom from the Yatagarasu and a masked version of herself in a blazing storm, there was something about sitting in the office and doing Shouhei Narumi's work for him that put Kotone at ease.

She was sorting out and rewriting case files on the dining table. Narumi had done a poor job of it, but at the moment was too busy to bother with something so clerical as filing folders correctly. The boss had undertaken the tedious task of putting the insect cage shards back together, warning Gouto beforehand that if he jumped on his desk as he worked one more time, he was likely to cut the old soul's current tail off.

Gouto prowled about the agency impatiently. Tatsumi's obscure fate had left him hanging, and sitting around, waiting for Narumi to figure something out was too taxing on his nerves. "Kotone, choose a case file. Maybe one of them will give us an idea of what to do next."

"Yes, Gouto. Allow me to finish rewriting this last case file…" the devil summoner mumbled busily. She scribbled a little, then stopped, the right side of her lip shooting up in amusement. Her eyebrows furrowed before she grinned.

Gouto jumped to her table and tilted his head. "What's that?"

Kotone shook her head and sat back, facing Narumi. "Boss, a missing Mahjong set doesn't qualify as a special case. Although, sending yourself a case file might."

Had Narumi not been so focused on the puzzle of the insect cage, he would have replied with a sheepish or sarcastic remark, but at the moment he was practically kissing the red splinters on his desk. Gouto laughed a little before saying, "Now you know how I feel."

Kotone shrugged. "I suppose we should be glad of the chance to see the boss in action…?"

"Watching his reactions to different types of demons is more entertaining," Gouto sighed. "Pick a case file, Kotone."

Kotone understood that her great ancestor was anxious to get out and find new leads again. She pulled out a neatly written folder. "How about this one? Dr. Victor needs a child of Lilith for one of his experiments."

"Didn't you promise Lilim you would never fuse her?"

"Oh, yes. Too bad," she said humorously. She and Lilim had known each other since childhood. Her clan hated the demoness's mother. Clan training permitted Kotone to use only her father's demons, and Lilith forbade her children to approach the Raidou Kuzunoha line and any of its allies. The newborn Lilim became curious about the up-and-coming summoner her brood so urgently chattered about, however, and approached a then nine-year old Kotone. They warmed to each other in an instant and played together in secret, both knowing the enmity between their families, but when Kotone turned thirteen, the clan uncovered their friendship and ordered the 14th to capture her, despite it being too early for her first demon. Kotone obeyed, as was expected of each Raidou Kuzunoha, but not before swearing to her friend that she would never harm or release her, as doing the latter would unleash the full extent of the fury of the demon girl's mother (under Kotone's bidding, her mother could do nothing). After that they were kept apart for two years and a half until she officially became the 14th. And now they were working together again; with such a history it was probably best if she didn't turn her over to Dr. Victor. "How about—"

There was a rush of air and noise from the street as the door opened. The shoes that clacked into the agency were so familiar that Kotone could almost see their pink hue.

"Hiya, guys!"

Kotone got to her feet and bowed appropriately. "Good morning, Miss Asakura."

Tae hung her jacket on the rack and smiled. "Hi, Kotone, Gouto." She blinked expectantly. When Narumi's sour greeting didn't fill her ears, she stepped deeper into the office with a quirked brow. "Narumi? Oh…"

Narumi was so concentrated that his tongue was sticking out of his mouth, rather childishly in Kotone's opinion, but she couldn't tell what Tae thought of it. The woman's eyes glazed over a little, watching the detective with a gentleness foreign to her personality. For a moment the devil summoner wondered if the reporter was possessed, but Tae snapped out of her reverie before Kotone could test her theory.

Tae put her hands to her hips. "So, even little splinters rate higher than me nowadays, huh?"

"It isn't that," Raidou explained, coming up beside her. "This is ruined evidence from our investigation so far. Boss is only trying to put it back together."

Tae laughed at Kotone's alarm. "I was only kidding. Besides, there's nothing wrong with being passionate about an investigation—I'll forgive him this time. By the way, do you remember that 'spiriting away' at Mannen-Cho I told you about?"

"Yes, of course."

"The missing people came back," the reporter said, almost sounding disappointed. "The police have called off the search, too. Still, no one's seen Tatsumi—so it looks like the case isn't quite closed yet."

Raidou debated in her mind if Tae had the right to know of Tatsumi's indeed mysterious disappearance. "Miss Asakura—"

The screech of Narumi's chair as he slammed it against the wall cut her off. "Holy smokes, Raidou, take a look at this!" the detective exclaimed, pointing at a now complete insect cage. Even Gouto had to admit it was amazing. "Right here, there's—"

Narumi glanced up to grin triumphantly at his protégée, only to lay eyes on his favorite journalist. He straightened abruptly. "T-Tae? Since when did you get here?"

Tae's quirked eyebrow returned. "Swell greeting there, Narumi. You obviously have your hands full, so why don't I go pour myself some coffee?"

Narumi pouted. "This isn't a café…" Still, he turned to Kotone. "Raidou, could you make sure she doesn't break anything?"

"Hey!"

Kotone made a beeline for the coffee in the kitchen and poured Tae a cup, ignoring her indignant huffs and making her sit on the sofa. Gouto spoke to his descendant from the shelf by the rails. "You know, that was only another way of telling you to serve the dame."

"I am aware," replied the devil summoner, whispering as she passed by the cat, "Such is the existence of an errand girl..."

Gouto laughed, prompting a narrowing of the eyes from Narumi, but was ultimately ignored. When Kotone handed Tae her coffee and returned the case files into the shelves, Narumi said, "Thanks, Raidou. Anyway, I tried putting these together, and look what you get…"

Raidou knelt before Narumi's desk, on eye-level with the cage. With the box on its side, she could see a circle at the bottom—a crest.

"Hah!" Narumi snapped triumphantly at the end of another Investigational Meeting, during which they had completely ignored Tae. She didn't actually mind; she found it entertaining, watching how others dealt with the detective, who continued: "I'm hitting on all sixes today! I remembered something during the meeting. I knew I'd seen that pattern on the insect cage before, in some document or other. It's called the Tento Crest."

Gouto gasped. "The Tento Crest?"

Narumi caught the surprise in his meowing. "Did I alarm you?"

"It seems he's heard of it, too," Raidou replied for the cat. "What is this crest?"

"I'm not too familiar with it, but I do know it's the family crest of an old clan known as the Tsukigata."

Tae nearly sneezed the coffee from her nose. Raidou sat back a little; it seemed the boss was saying all sorts of shocking things today. She wondered what had caught the reporter off guard. "Narumi," said Tae, "did I just hear you say Tsukigata?"

"Tae?" said Narumi. Kotone wondered why they said each other's names so often. "You know something about the Tsukigata you wanna share?"

"Of course!" Tae grinned. "There've been a pile of suspicious VIP deaths in about every area of society through the years…If you dig deep enough into those kinds of cases, a certain name comes up nearly every time."

"Tsukigata," said Narumi, Raidou and Gouto in unison.

Tae nodded, tapping her temple as if it would help her memory. "That name's practically a boogeyman to us journos… Everyone knows you don't get involved with the Tsukigata. Word is, if you so much as let their name slip, men in strange outfits will come for you."

Gouto and Raidou frowned at each other. Black ninja garb, bug-like masks, red insect cages and katanas — strange enough.

Tae continued. "For their crest to be found in the Capital…Well, I…!" The shiver was obvious in her shoulders. "I…I'm…"

"Yeah. The idea that these creeps are lurking somewhere in the Capital… Well, it puts something of a damper on the idea of going for a stroll, doesn't it? But don't worry, Tae," said Narumi, his voice suddenly gentle, but at the same time, firm. The arrogance Kotone and Gouto knew he slipped in there purposely was gone for a moment. Narumi lifted a hand as if to touch her shoulder, but his eyes darted to Kotone and Gouto—especially Gouto—and he withdrew it instantly. He placed both hands on the table and cracked his knuckles. "We have Raidou. And heck, if worst comes to worst, I'll… I'll…"

"I'm interested!" Tae said suddenly, an excited giggle escaping her throat. "You're investigating the Tsukigata? Count me in!"

Narumi sat back. So much for chivalry. "Huh?"

"The Tsukigata clan's the stuff of rumors, folklore, and old wives' tales…" Tae explained, her eyes brighter and brighter by the second, "but you've found a Tento Crest right here in the Capital! This changes everything—they really exist! You've said so yourself, Narumi—hard evidence doesn't lie! Now do you get it?"

Narumi scratched his head. He wasn't warming up to the thought, though he knew Tae wasn't one to be swayed from her crazy ideas. "Well…I suppose."

Kotone watched the exchange with a small chuckle. The boss's exasperation was always amusing. "So," said Raidou, slipping into the conversation, "where do we begin our investigation?"

"Oh! I read somewhere that the Tsukigata are supposed to be in the San'in region."

Narumi's eyes bugged out. "The San'in region? You can't get there without several train transfers out west, further and further…" Narumi rubbed a hand over his face. "Ugh…I get dizzy just thinking of all the time it'll take…"

Tae rolled her eyes. "Come on, Narumi! You're acting like an old grump." She clasped her hands together, sighing dreamily. "Doesn't it sound romantic? A trip to the country?"

"We can bring pillows," Kotone suggested, an index finger positioned thoughtfully on her chin. "Our fellow passengers will be too weary of their own travels to spare us scandalous glances."

"Sorry, Raidou. Pillows aren't going to cut it."

"You know, Kotone," Tae said, her eyes flickering between the devil summoner and her boss, "I'm craving for some strawberry shortcake. Do you think we should pack some for the trip?"

Kotone couldn't understand why Tae's eyebrows were bouncing. Unsurely, she replied, "If that is your wish, I suppose…?"

Tae was expecting a lukewarm answer like that from her; Narumi had admitted that she was the first he'd shared his secret with. "Great! Strawberry shortcake, then. Yum!" She licked her lips and smirked, greatly reminding Raidou of Lilim before an easy battle.

Narumi sighed. He got up and dumped his chair near the bookshelf by his desk, then propped himself on it and reached for a dusty suitcase at the very top. He clapped the webs off of it with a huff. "To the Tsukigata Village…but only because I want to!"

Tae laughed. "Atta boy."

Kotone's eyelids opened slowly. She felt her legs stretch themselves out, and in her arms something fuzzy stirred. The room was constantly moving, shaking, like…

"Earthquake…?" she gasped, shooting up in her seat, the fuzzy object still ensconced in her arms.

From across the table, Narumi and Tae glanced at each other quizzically. "Raidou?" said Narumi, an eyebrow raised, "We're on the train to that village, remember?"

Kotone's vision settled as soon as Narumi's calm voice reached her ears. The place was covered in different hues of red. The walls were bright, the scratchy curtains maroon, and the floor looked to be splashed in fresh blood. They were taking this train into the San'in region and a bus to Tsukigata Village. Narumi and Tae had given her other half of the booth to sleep on when she started yawning earlier on, and Gouto was the fuzzy object in her arms. In surprisingly deep sleep, he moved about, but didn't awaken.

"Yes," she said, her uncharacteristic rubbing of her eyes reminding the two adults with her that she was still a little girl. For Raidou, however, it was a pity she had to wake up all of a sudden. Her wonderful dream was just reaching its climax – Tatsumi was about to slip on his 35th banana peel. "Yes, the train. Of course, boss." Catching sight of the tiny space between Tae and Narumi, the devil summoner felt a little guilty. She was trained to withstand the most uncomfortable circumstances, and yet she had allowed her position as the "child" in the group to acquire this entire half of the booth. "Would…any of you like to switch places?" she asked, though she still wanted to return to her dream. "You both deserve rest."

"It's all right," said Tae.

"It's fine, Raidou," said Narumi, at the same time.

Kotone couldn't help but raise her own brow at the hasty manner in which they'd replied.

"It's real gracious of you," Tae explained, glancing at Narumi as though requesting for support, "but you're the one who does most the fighting, Kotone. You should rest in case anything happens in the village, y'know?"

"You know, I do some fighting, too," said Narumi.

"I didn't say you didn't, I just said she did most of the fighting. You really do have wax in your ears…"

"Hey!"

"Good night," Kotone said, but to herself, really, because they weren't paying her much mind anymore, and gave Gouto's fur a slight brush before her head hit the pillow and she fell back asleep.

Kotone awoke next to Gouto's grumbling.

"Gouto…?" she yawned soundlessly, stretching her legs out again. "Is something the matter?"

Gouto rolled his cat eyes but shook his head and sighed. "It just bugs me, not being able to have an intelligent conversation when you're not around. Or when you're asleep."

"I'm awake now," Kotone offered in a whisper, still lying on her side. Narumi and Tae were speaking in hushed tones. From her position across and below the table, she could see that they were sitting awfully close to each other. That couldn't be very comfortable. She would offer her spot to them, but she knew they would simply refuse because she was the "child" in the group and they felt they needed to care for her. Even though she was much more capable of defending herself on a few hours of sleep than them on enough hours of rest. "Why, Gouto? Did you just come to a realization?"

"Not really," Gouto shrugged his cat shoulders. "This train ride is just boring."

Kotone couldn't help but grin. "Yes, that is why I've been sleeping through it. We slept through almost the entire trip from home to the Capital. Is something keeping you up, Gouto?"

"Just a feeling is all," Gouto replied, twirling at his whiskers. "I haven't actually seen anyone yet, but call it summoner's intuition when I say we're being followed."

"Those strange men in masks followed us without us even realizing it," Kotone remembered, feeling vulnerable all of a sudden. She remembered the Fukorutsubo and whatever they had done to her in there, with that bright light and her feeling empty, and how she had been walking into doors and tripping over completely flat floors lately. "My own damn luck, they said… If we are forced to battle here, I hope the boss and Miss Asakura have enough sense to stay away."

"You say that like their company is a bad thing."

"It's much appreciated, even by you," whispered Kotone, defensively. "But they don't understand how it is to be a Protector of the Capital. Only you and I do, Gouto. If they enter battle not knowing what is at stake – their lives – if only for my sake and are injured, that would be foolish, wouldn't it? They aren't trained warriors. Although the boss was able to pick up on how to handle my gun and the powers the demons could lend it, he is still shaken by the strange, sometimes hideous sight of them. Nezha isn't half as terrifying as Rangda, for example. We can't afford to think of that in battle."

Only she could recognize the twirl of Gouto's mouth as a smirk. "Narumi was shaken by those Fury Nezha…the way you were petrified by that oversized grasshopper, Jiromaru?"

Kotone stopped for a moment and frowned. "There's a difference, Gouto."

"No," Gouto said, "there isn't. Now stop worrying about those two; they're grown adults. Besides, if there's a possibility that Tae'll come to any harm, Narumi'll be right on the case. You should focus on defeating whatever it is that attacks us. If we come under attack at all. You worry too much sometimes, Kotone."

Kotone blinked. "It was you who said we were being followed."

"True, but—"

"Kotone?" came Tae's voice from above. "You're awake?"

Kotone lifted herself with her left arm and peered up at the two adults now staring at her. They seemed very guilty, though she couldn't think of why. They didn't hear her speaking with Gouto, did they? "Oh, yes." She straightened herself up and peeled the curtains back to see outside the train. Lots and lots of countryside, with hills rolling and forests coming in and out of view. "Are we there yet?"

Narumi and Tae grinned at each other, and the former replied, "Nope. A few more hours, I'd say. Go back to sleep, Raidou."

"It's all right," said Gouto, patting her hand with a paw. "I'm going to look around for anyone who might be following us."

"But Gouto—"

"Good night, Kotone," said the first Raidou Kuzunoha.

"Good night," she sighed.

Kotone awoke next when she finally tired of sleeping.

The devil summoner sat up, completely refreshed. She checked herself for her belongings. Schoolcap still in place (of course), cape on her back, shoes and socks on her feet, gun in its holster, tubes on her chest, antd Narumi had hidden her sword in his tall suitcase. And yet there was something wrong…

The seats before her were empty. Raidou stood up slightly and glanced around the passenger car. The boss had earlier mentioned the existence of a bar on one of the cars, and in response Tae had invited him to see how like the Shin Sekai it was. Upon failing to see her companions, she shrugged and slid back into her seat. Her eyes landed on something white against the stark brown from across the table. It was a note that confirmed her suspicions and calmed any fears she might have had of her companions being transported to the Fukorutsubo. In any case, the latter was a silly theory. The masked men had fought her, not the boss, and they didn't even know Tae. Or perhaps they did, what with all the stalking they had done to the members of the Narumi Detective Agency lately.

Raidou shook her head. This did nothing for her nerves, and Tae had already said, in her distinctively curly handwriting, that they were off to the bar. This didn't count for Gouto's absence in their booth, but the devil summoner figured her ancestor was still off searching for pursuers. She hoped he hadn't been captured.

There was also a clump of curls just below the doorway. Its owner was staring directly at her.

Raidou froze, staring at the hat of the man behind the other side of the booth. At the far end of the passenger car, his body she could barely see because he was wearing predominantly red clothing that blended with the train's inner red walls, was a man with chaotic, curly hair. She could see him from the corner of her eye, his eyes glaring into her existence.

When she moved to make eye contact, he disappeared behind the doors.

Was this a challenge? Raidou stood, swiftly enough to suit her tastes but slowly so as not to startle the rest of the passengers. She followed him out the door after slamming her nose into it and into the next passenger car where the bar was, though she barely noticed the purple bonnet and the white hat which turned in her direction when she bolted and nearly tripped past them and out the door again. She jumped and lifted herself to the car's roof, thinking she could see him from above if he were to run from car to car, but there was no one. In her haste, Raidou failed to notice the oversized grasshopper flying in the opposite direction of the train.

"Young man," called a man's voice from below, "young man! Get down from there. Don't you know you could die?"

Raidou peered off the edge and saw one of the train company's employees. "Yes. Forgive me," she said in a deliberately low voice, and dusted her pant legs off once she climbed down the ladder, almost slipping off. It simply wasn't her week. "I thought I saw a…a rare tree in the distance. I'm an avid tree scholar."

The employee rolled his eyes. "Stay in your seat, kid," he said, opening the car door and shoving Raidou inside. "Damn hooligans…"

Raidou ignored that bitter member of the work force and continued to dust herself inside the train. Two familiar figures entered the passenger car just as she looked up: Narumi and Tae.

"Raidou," said Narumi, grabbing her by the shoulder.

"Kotone!" Tae exclaimed, pulling her by the arm. The two adults dragged her past the car with the bar and back into their booth.

"What just happened?" asked Narumi, forcing her back into her seat.

"I thought I saw Dahn," replied Raidou, smoothing out the creases on her cousin's uniform when they released her. "But whether or not it was really him, he disappeared. Didn't you see the man in red running past your passenger car?"

Tae shook her head. "There was only you, Kotone."

Narumi gave her a badly concealed look of worry and said, "Maybe you should go back to sleep, Raidou."

The Tsukigata Village was extremely gloomy.

For all the hard work and pain the Kuzunoha Village put Kotone through, it was never this depressing. It was lively, even, with the presence of demons, though sometimes to the point of being chaotic, and almost always hot and sunny. Over here in the San'in region it was cold – not only the weather, but the people, too. The Kuzunoha village was wary of outsiders as well, but they at least masked it with warm smiles and kind words, however ready they were with the swords on their hips. If not the Kuzunoha Village, then the Dark Realm. At least there the sky and the demons were colorful; here everything was grey, from the sky to the houses to the people's clothing, except perhaps for the green and red masks hanging on the front doors of the poor villagers' houses that reminded her of watermelons.

Lilim was having great fun reading the minds of the locals. "Listen to this one, Kotone," she giggled, flying over to an old woman. "She thinks that just the sight of you outsiders makes her stomach churn! Oh, isn't it ridiculous?"

"Please be quiet, Lilim," said Raidou, waving at her dismissively, which actually defeated the whole point of her summoning Lilim. So much for entertainment.

"Yeah, so much for entertainment," said Lilim, rolling her eyes. "You're becoming as boring as these villagers! Then again, you've always been a little dull…"

Kotone straightened up and crossed her arms at Lilim. "You were reading my mind? I thought we agreed that you would never trespass. Do you want me to fuse you?"

Lilim grinned. "Well, that got a rise out of you, didn't it? Which is more than I can say for these weird villagers…and it really is sad how you don't even try to deny that you're boring."

Raidou shrugged her off and sent her back into her tube. At any rate, a devil summoner had no business looking for entertainment when they were on a case. She and Gouto (who had turned out to be asleep on Narumi and Tae's side of the booth) caught up with Narumi and Tae up the village steps. They came upon a house of brown and white – the most color she had seen since they arrived – surrounded by greenery and the inviting smell of hot springs to the right. An apron-wearing old woman whose hair was pulled into a bun met them on their way toward it.

"Hey there," she said, giving them a crooked smile. Raidou didn't need Lilim to know that she was just as wary of them as the rest of the villagers. "Whatcha lookin' for?"

"The Fukuroku Inn, ma'am," said Narumi, tipping his hat. Tae gave one of her winning smiles while Raidou and Gouto inclined their heads.

"Well, yer in luck," said the woman, keeping up her crooked smile, though she seemed to be having a hard time with it. "The building yew see right in front there is the Fukuroku Inn. Came to stay, right? Go on in."

"Thank you, ma'am," said Narumi and Tae in unison, and entered.

"The town may be…rustic," said Gouto, looking up at the establishment with a step forward, "but the inn seems pretty solidly built."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" the innkeeper cried out, stepping forward as if to kick Gouto. Raidou stepped in the way, a hand to her sword's hilt already. The old woman backed away, recognizing the protective flash of her eyes, but still frowned. "Keep that cat o'yers on a leash, y'hear?"

Raidou released her sword and bowed. "Yes, ma'am."

"And don't ever…ever…fool around with this mask, understand?" the old woman motioned to the mask that reminded Kotone of watermelons hanging in front of the door. It looked so familiar, and not because it was making her hungry. The innkeeper continued, "Didja think the mask looked like a tasty watermelon?"

Raidou didn't reply. Were the people here secretly Pagan-order demons? Surely not. She would have sensed it.

The innkeeper smirked, as though reading her mind again. "Smart girl. Yew'll catch hell if yew don't think before yew talk. Yew'd better not touch Lord Shinado's mask. It's very holy."

"Thank you for the warning, ma'am," said Raidou, bowing again, but felt the triumphant one as the thought of touching the mask behind her back crept into her thoughts. Her father and Gouto had always said that Lilim was a terrible influence.

Later that night, Kotone listened to her boss and Miss Asakura exchange friendly banter about the five star Fukuroku Inn and whatnot. She would have joined the conversation, but there were other things on her mind. The lack of battles since they arrived here, for instance. She was the Protector of the Capital and should like peace, but from time to time she liked a challenging battle, or at least something on which to take out her frustrations; an outlet, her mother called it. Frustrations due to the way that innkeeper had addressed Gouto, for example, as though he were a mere alley cat. She wanted to step outside and order Mezuki to spar with her, but she needed her energy in case there was an attack. She hoped there would be an attack soon, because there was a fire in her at the moment that could only be extinguished by a good battle.

"Kotone? Kotone?" Tae's voice called from a land that seemed far away.

Or right beside her. Kotone glanced to her left and caught Tae's worried smile. "I'm sorry, I was deep in thought. What was it, Miss Asakura?"

"Did the inn's hostess snap at you?"

"A little," she shrugged. "She was quite cranky."

"I bet you tried to touch the mask out front, huh? I caught holy hell for doing the same."

"Actually—"

"It's all over town, if you haven't noticed," Tae continued. "There's a custom here of hanging up a green mask. That's Shinado, an indigenous god. Hanging the mask is a form of reverence…"

"Yes, the innkeeper told me. She was extremely ornery about it."

Tae giggled at that. "That might've been my—hmm?"

Narumi and Kotone followed Tae's eyes towards Gouto. "There's something caught in Gouto's collar here…"

Having been relaxing by himself, Gouto's eyes bulged as Tae reached into his collar. "H-Hey! Wh-What are you…!"

Kotone recognized the little object Tae had pulled out as her mentor's Detective Notebook. "Oops," she muttered, giving Gouto a sheepish upturn of the lips when he glared at her as if to say, Why didn't you warn me?

"Holy cats!" Tae exclaimed, flipping the notebook open, "Some kind of notebook…? Oh, how cute!" She nuzzled Gouto's chin as if to say Good job!

Gouto didn't appreciate it, however. "G-Give that back!" he snarled, clawing at it though it was far beyond his reach. "That's my detective's notebook!"

"I've never seen such a small notebook before. Which department store sells these…?" Tae pondered. Narumi didn't need Kotone's mangled translations to understand Gouto's pitiful protests, but the two members of the Detective Agency were far too entertained by Tae's wonder to intervene. Before anyone knew it, Tae had written her own entry into Gouto's notebook and the cat looked almost as depressed as the rest of the townspeople.

"Th-This is an outrage…" said Gouto, flipping the notebook open to the page Tae had written in and feeling very tempted to claw the page out. He read through it, however, and found the entry useful. Unfortunately. He really wanted to claw it out, chew it up, spit it out, and bury it forever. His cat eyes narrowed to slits. "That notebook contained records of every Kuzunoha Devil Summoner I've watched over… That notebook has a history! And…someone else wrote in it…"

"I'm sorry, Gouto," said Kotone, brushing her hand over his head.

"What did he say?" Tae asked.

"Your entry was…informative, but he would appreciate it if you didn't write in his notebook again," she answered, leaving out the parts where Gouto probably wanted to summon a demon at her at that very moment.

"Oh, okay. Sorry, Gouto," said Tae, a cheerful smile on her face. "I'll get you some catnip to make up for it next time, hmm?"

Narumi cleared his throat. "Now, Tae, sorry to break up your little tête à tête with Gouto, but…" he gave Gouto, who still looked to be murderous, an apologetic look. "It's time you spilled it. Tell us about Dahn's house."

"Oh, yeah, of course," said Tae. "The Tento Crest tipped me off, actually. Long story short, the Tsukigata clan are the rulers of the Tsukigata Village! Earlier, I started asking around about the Tsukigata Mansion, and I found out what the chief's son's name is. Care to guess?" Before anyone could venture a guess, Tae's excitement got the better of her. "It's Dahn!" she exclaimed, waving her hands a little as though that would make her less jumpy. "The very same man you're after!"

"I see," said Narumi. "Our Dahn, the one Akane wants us to find, has some connection with the Fukoshi and the Tento Crest… While Tae's Dahn is the scion of the Tsukigata clan, a clan of Fukoshi whose family crest is the Tento. Same name. Same associations. And that means…"

"I wish he wouldn't go around and around like this," Gouto grumbled, still sulking.

"The Tsukigata Mansion you scouted out is the home of the same man," Narumi finished.

"Right as rain. Well done, detective," Tae grinned.

"And you think we'll find some more leads or Dahn here, do you?" Narumi said to her. "Well, it's worth a shot… Right, Raidou?"

Kotone was surprised to be included in their conversation – they had been having many of their own recently – but replied quickly. "Yes, boss." It was certainly better than sitting around here and waiting for the cranky innkeeper to visit and scold her about whatever came to mind again.

"But it's getting late," said Narumi, checking his watch. "Let's start fresh tomorrow, okay?"

Kotone nodded, and Tae pointed to the door. "All right. Narumi, Gouto, get to your own room."

"Already up," said the boss with a slight upturn of the lips, but his face became stern as he called Kotone to the door. Gouto was already at his feet, ready for some rest after a disappointing night. "Raidou, can I talk to you for a second?"

The girl was at his side in an instant. "If things turn bad, I don't mind if I take a few lumps, but I'd rather Tae not get caught up in this," said Narumi.

"Of course, boss," said Kotone. "If you can keep Miss Asakura out of the way, I can take care of any problem that might arise."

Narumi blinked. He meant to be the one to battle, of course, to keep Tae safe, but apparently he'd forgotten that his youthful apprentice was a great Devil Summoner with one world-saving feat under her belt already. "Yeah. Yeah, of course. Good night, Raidou. Good night, Tae," he called out to the reporter.

"It's Kichou!" Miss Asakura yelled right before Narumi closed the door with a smirk. Dismissing him with a shrug, Tae turned to Kotone. "You two are thick as thieves. So what were you two whispering about, hmm?"

"Nothing so secretive so as to be thick as thieves," said Kotone, thoughtfully. "He was only worried about you. But he trusts I can keep you safe."

Tae's face went red. "O-Oh. That's very nice of him."

"Don't be angry, Miss Asakura," said Kotone, who wasn't quite in the mood for another of Tae's feminist rants. She enjoyed hearing them often and usually agreed, but the night wasn't going by quickly enough and she wanted to sleep (no matter how energized she felt) just to reach tomorrow. There was something about this village that made her anxious. "The boss respects your, er, independence, but allow him this one worry. It isn't often he shows his concern for others."

"Oh," Tae smiled in amusement, the color of her face returning to normal. "I'm not angry! Don't worry. Good night, Kotone."

For the fourth time that day, Kotone nodded off into her pillow and said, "Good night."

"Stop the fretful baby's wail

Take from the earth the moon so pale

Feed the baby his meal frail

Ma in the sky is watching you

When the sky is pierced right through

You'll sleep at Great Ma's bosom too

Don't let the fretful baby cry

Ma'll cut you to shreds and you'll die

Ma'll rip you apart and you'll die."

Raidou shook her head once she finished the song. Narumi had taken just about forever ("And I know forever," said Gouto) to get up and go, so Raidou had taken the time to speak with the few villagers who didn't glare at her and hiss as soon as she was five feet away. That was a song she had just learned from two relatively friendly little girls from the village. "That was a mite morbid, don't you think?"

"Not just a little," Narumi snorted. "And not very appropriate considering it's a children's song."

Now she, Narumi, and Gouto were on their way to the Tento Woods, the only thing standing between them and the Tsukigata Mansion. With the exception, perhaps, of a girl by the entrance of the Woods. She was standing beside what seemed to be a weathered old supply cabin. As they neared her, Raidou realized how white she was. They were pale – most of her countrymen were – but this foreign girl, if she would only step into the sunlight, Kotone was sure the light would radiate off of her. And her ice blue eyes were interesting.

She thought of that handsome foreign boy, that Louis, but while his eyes, too, were cold, they were a deeper shade of blue, and he wasn't nearly as pale. In fact, in the heat of that first day she met him, his cheeks were rather pink. Though a suspicious character, he really was very handsome. Or it could have been that great power of his that made him appealing, the same way Gouto and the wisdom he emanated usually made strangers act foolishly or unsurely around her.

When Raidou was finished staring at her and thinking, she realized Narumi had already begun to speak with the girl. "Hello there," he had said, tipping his hat off to her and taking out the Tento Crest portion of the box he had pieced together, "Say, do you know anything about this crest? It's supposed to be the Tsukigata family crest, but…"

The blue-eyed girl said nothing. She only brushed her long, jet black hair and stared back at Narumi. When she noticed Raidou, she decided to stare at her, instead.

Narumi cleared his throat. "Well then," he said, tipping his hat again and turning away, "Sorry to bother you…"

Before Raidou could break eye contact and follow her boss, the blue-eyed girl spoke. "Go straight through this forest," she said in perfect Japanese, her eyes burning into Raidou's. The Great Summoner didn't mind; she had gained Gozuki's respect when she was able to keep eye contact with him, unintimidated, so it was very likely that this was the way to convince the girl to speak, too. She continued, "After you pass through to the other side, you will see a mansion in the basin ahead. That mansion is the Tsukigata residence you seek."

Raidou inclined her head gratefully, but she couldn't bring herself to smile just yet. "Thank you."

Before they could enter the thickets, the blue-eyed girl called after them. "I can offer you one warning," she said. "It's why I was waiting here. Your arrival is within the bounds of their conjecture."

The members of the Narumi Detective Agency turned around and met eyes. Gouto spoke their collective thought: "They're expecting us…?"

The girl paused for a moment, and then nodded. "Exactly."

Kotone's mind raced. The girl could understand Gouto. She couldn't be a mentor herself. And that sword on her hip…could she be…? A girl her age? A Summoner, too? How…interesting.

"My words are particularly directed towards the…student there," said the blue-eyed girl, staring at Raidou again. "The process you have chosen is, in theory, filled with peril… I would prefer it if this goodbye does not become an eternal farewell." After another short pause, she said, "Goodbye."

The three watched her saunter out of the Tento Woods. Once she was gone, Narumi smirked. "She went from clamming up to practically gushing… I don't get young girls these days." He frowned. "Wait, does that make me sound old?"

Raidou furrowed her eyebrows at him, as if to ask why his thoughts were so trivial compared to what she had in mind, which she expressed soon after. "Gouto, she understood you. I think she may be a Summoner. Like me. A Summoner my age, can you imagine?"

"It's possible…" Gouto said, still unnerved that another young girl had understood him.

"I've never seen you so excited," Narumi said of her hurried speech, no matter how slight. To those who knew her like he did, that was a big enough change to cause alarm. "I never thought excited could even be placed in the same sentence as you, Raidou."

"It isn't every day I see another female Summoner my age," Kotone explained.

Narumi shrugged. "We'll figure that little tidbit out another time. C'mon, we know where we're going now. Let's be on our way to the Tsukigata mansion. She said it's just past this forest, right?"

"Yes, in a basin," said Raidou, regaining the little composure she had lost. "We should get going. We don't want to stay here until dark, after all, when it's most dangerous."

Narumi almost laughed. "Raidou, it's barely noon. What makes you think we won't find that basin before the sun sets?"

Oh, Narumi, you haven't been on enough adventures with Raidou and Gouto to know any better.

Next chapter sneak peek time!

"RAIDOU GREAT SUMMONER. RAIDOU GREATEST SUMMONER. YOU DOUBT RAIDOU? FOOLISH GIRL!"

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