Chapter 3. Before the Storm
The spring drizzle poured copiously but lightly on the windscreen, being swept away by the wipers. They were bottled up in traffic and Aki drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, waiting to press the accelerator, while Angel huddled in the passenger seat, watching the droplets race across the window. That afternoon they had to deal with their first investigation and Aki would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous. It didn't thrill him to have to deal directly with murders, he'd never done it before and it was better that way. It had been a week since he had been assigned the mission, perhaps the most important of his life so far, and the anxiety was devouring him. He had always been a reliable guy; it was only natural that sooner or later he would be given more responsibility, especially if he wanted to be part of the final expedition against the Devil Pistol as one of the vice commanders.
That day, Angel and him had to go all the way to the north-eastern outskirts of Tokyo, beyond the Adachi district. It was quite far from Shibuya, where the workplace was based, and from his home, which was located further out in the south-west. The rent didn't spare anyone, after all. The traffic cleared and Aki was finally able to start driving the few kilometres that separated them from their destination. Angel beside him continued to sigh impatiently, scribbling on the window covered in condensation. It wasn't cold in the car thanks to the lukewarm heating, but outside the temperature had dropped dramatically, almost returning to winter levels, despite the fact that it was in fact late March. Aki had also put on his vest and a light scarf, thus avoiding getting too cold. On the back seat lay his umbrella and his katana, which he always carried with him: he never knew when it was time to fight and it was better to always be prepared.
"How much longer?" asked Angel boredly, breaking the silence between them and hovering over the voices of the radio speakers.
"A few kilometers, we should arrive at the complex of buildings. What did the case report say?"
He had refused to read them the first time and the conviction he held hadn't gone away. There was a big difference between reading those stories in the newspaper and in a police report, so he had entrusted that task to Angel, who had accepted it without complaining too much. He seemed somewhat impassive even if slightly interested, but nevertheless completely disconnected from what he was reading; every now and then he would tell him the episodes that he found most absurd, as if he were reporting just some trivia, and Aki's response was to shush him impatiently. He did not want to know more than was necessary, like at that moment.
He put the blinker on to exit the highway as the robotic voice of the gps gave him the indication.
"A violent fight... they fell off the balcony" said Angel.
Aki glanced at him quickly but he could not see Angel's delicate face as he was slightly turning him the back - or perhaps saying the wings was more appropriate - to find a comfortable position to rest. The halo shyly illuminated the interior, it was the only source of light on that dark afternoon.
"What the hell..." with each new piece of information he received, Aki couldn't help but think how absurd the whole ordeal was.
He drove for another ten minutes or so before arriving at a lush, not-too-modern neighbourhood. It was a complex of building, mostly formed by independent houses, all facing and surrounding a large imperial fountain of grey marble, barely following its rounded shape. At the top of the third water level, there was a statue of a leaning amphora, from which placid streams of clean water, yet darkened by the gloomy day, poured down to the lower levels, creating almost a compact pool of water at the feet of the statue.
Aki parked, he retrieved his umbrella and his katana from the back seat and got out of the car. He went to the side of the passenger seat, where Angel was waiting for him still seated, not to get wet, but with the door already open. Aki covered him with the umbrella and Angel got out of the care, too. Passing by the roaring fountain, Aki looked up at the only apartment building in the middle of the neighbourhood, whose height towered above all the small houses around it. That was the place from which the couple had fallen. He then looked down into the courtyard again, in correspondence of the edge of the balconies: there was no more blood, it had been washed away, perhaps by the residents or the rain, or by both. He tried not to think about how a few days earlier, right there, a few metres from where he was walking, there were lying lifeless corpses.
Instead, he decided to think about the reason why he had come all the way there, and for his investigation, he decided that he would go in order, starting with the building furthest to the right.
They walked towards one of the detached houses, walking close together, given the small umbrella, when Aki saw that the angel was shivering and shrugging his shoulders. He had also noticed that Angel was only wearing his work uniform, which was a little soaked since, just before they had left for their job, they had been caught by surprise by a brief, heavier rainstorm. Public Security didn't even provide coats?
"Wait, hold the umbrella," Aki told him, handing him the object. Angel took it, complaining that it was heavy, but continued to cover them both. Aki unrolled the scarf from his own neck, stepped closer and began to wrap it around Angel's, even tucking a few wisps of red hair under the skein of fabric. It was way too big for him and Aki ended up covering also his mouth and the tip of his nose. Angel, in return, was looking at him with a slightly... grateful expression?
It was hard to tell when the only thing left uncovered were the big red eyes, which were observing him straight into his blue ones.
At such a close distance, covered by the narrow umbrella that seemed to have carved out a space just for them on that rainy day, in that green little park.
That glance he was giving him, the way his eyelashes folded gracefully when he blinked... it was so endearing.
He felt his heart beat a little slower but stronger.
Aki realised he had been staring at him too long and too insistently when he saw the angel adjust himself, freeing his mouth and nose - he was cute doing so- and when he noticed, lowering his gaze, that he was still holding in his hands, covered by his gloves, the ends of his scarf. He released them, smoothing them over Angel's suit. He then retrieved the umbrella from Angel's hands.
"Thank you," the other said softly. Then with one hand he hung onto Aki's arm with which he was holding the umbrella, moving closer to him.
"'Can I? Otherwise I'll get wet?" asked Angel, pointing to the metal tips at the edges of the umbrella, from which heavy drops of rain were falling.
"Yeah... sure" he replied, not at all flustered by that sudden contact.
They walked back to the two-storey detached house. It was made of dark wood and stone, it looked as if it had been built many years ago but was still kept in very good condition. In front of the doorway covered by a small porch, there were two large pots in which shrubs were planted. Aki recognised them as roses, although they had not yet bloomed.
He lowered his umbrella and knocked a couple of times with enough vigour to be clearly picked up.
He heard some heavy footsteps walking towards the front door, which, after a few minutes, barely opened, revealing only part of the face of a dark-haired, brown-eyed man.
"What do you want, kid? If you're a journalist, scram" he asserted impatiently, already closing the door again.
"We're Devil Hunter, we're here for some investigation regarding the death of the two guys that occurred in this complex" he promptly showed his badge.
"Devil Hunter, huh? I was hoping not to hear those words again since I quit the job."
He opened the door, looked over Aki from head to toes and revealed himself completely. A scar slashed across the entire right side of his face, his eye was closed, probably missing.
"Leave that hell before it's too late" he continued until his attention was completely captured by Angel, who had been covered by the door until that moment and thus couldn't be seen by the man. The resident stared at him too, but when his eyes landed on the shining golden halo, his face contorted into an angry grimace.
"I see that in ten years they've become even crazier at headquarters to have devils running around! And you're even carrying it around, what an asshole," he barked.
Angel looked at him apathetically but said nothing, as if to test his patience.
"My partner is harmless and we work in an honestly" replied Aki politely, although a certain annoyance clearly showed from his tone.
"You and your beast scram! I don't have to tell you anything" he truly slammed the door in his face this time.
"A bit rude, he didn't even let you speak..." commented Angel.
"Rude? Just rude? He just insulted us, that asshole" he repeated, raising his voice at the last words to make himself be heard. He then immediately recomposed himself. "He doesn't know anything and he judges like that, doesn't that piss you off?"
"I'm used to it - he shrugged - and I don't mind it. It's normal for him to behave like that if he was killing devils, and on an ordinary day he finds one knocking at his front door."
"He's still an idiot. We're here for investigations and he won't even listen to what we have to say..."
If everyone there reacted like that, they would be in more trouble in no time.
"Don't think about it, let's move on to the next house."
They headed to the next house. It was also built with wood and stone but in slightly lighter shades. Under the porch, in front of the door was a doormat decorated with a welcome sign. Hung at the wall, there was a small vase with flourishing flowers inside.
Aki knocked again. He was angry and worried; he did not want to be insulted for no reason by other people. He feared he would not be able to carry out the task that he already disliked. A middle-aged woman with long dark hair, somewhat grizzled, opened the door.
"Good evening, we are Devil Hunter. We are here to ask you a few questions about the two dead guys" he pulled out his badge again.
"Good evening..." she replied meekly, shifting her gaze to both him and Angel who at that moment was so close to Aki that he was practically glued to him.
"He is harmless" Aki clarified before the woman could say anything else. He felt Angel's eyes on him and shot a fleeting glance out of the corner of his eye. The angel looked as calm as ever, but Aki guessed he did not like being treated that way. He certainly wouldn't have liked it. Neither did he like acting that way; he hardly ever did so with him, compared to the beginning of their acquaintance. Later he would apologize to Angel.
"Yes yes, you don't have to worry, he doesn't scare me. He works with Public Safety and he is an angel, I believe in angels" she replied all in one go, slightly excited.
"I heard Mr. Mori's shouting, he has a bit of a grumpy manner but he's not mean, it's just that he can't stand everything related to the Devil Hunters. It wasn't something personal against you two" she then added.
Aki would have liked to disagree because, on the contrary, his hatred toward them had seemed very personal to him and, frankly, he couldn't care less about the motives of someone who had insulted him only moments before. But for the sake of the investigation, he decided not to make any comment. The lady seemed to be in a good mood and prone to small talk; it was best not to spoil this propensity of hers.
"Can we come in and ask few questions, madam?" asked Angel taking the initiative.
"Sure, sure! - she opened the door for them - And please call me by my first name, I'm not old enough for these formalities, I'm Miss Inoue" she reached out her hand toward Angel to shake his, almost grabbing it. Aki stepped in, taking the handshake instead of Angel and moving him away gently. It was a close call...
"I'm Hayakawa, this is Angel. Nice to meet you."
"I don't like physical contact" Angel explained, lying.
"Excuse me... come inside, let's go to the kitchen" she led the way through the house, arriving at a small room with light-colored parquet floors and white walls, decorated with cherry wood furniture. In the middle there was a rectangular table of the same wood material, surrounded by four green cushioned chairs.
"Please have a seat. Would you like some tea?"
"Yes" Angel replied as he sat down, not letting it be asked twice. Aki was not surprised: if there was a chance to have a snack, Angel would always take it. Madam Inoue smiled happily at him.
She quickly filled the kettle, started it, and then prepared the teapot infuser, emptying several teaspoons of loose, dark leaves inside. She had then sat down as well, opposite to where Aki had taken his seat, at the side of the table adjacent to the one where Angel was. She looked at him pleased, almost as if she had become obsessed with him. Angel turned and looked at her with a doubtful expression. At least that was how Aki interpreted it, and he had spent enough time with Angel to imagine that he was right.
"I could never imagine I would see an angel, this could be my lucky day!" she exclaimed suddenly, she was very excited by the situation.
"Or maybe not..." replied Angel defensively, annoyed and slightly uncomfortable. "People are afraid of angels, they say that seeing one is a premonitory sign of death, that they were disowned from Heaven to be angels of death on Earth" he continued, fleeing with his eyes from the lady's gaze.
Aki had also heard about that story and assumed that was where the power of life absorption came from. He, in any case, did not believe it; he had long since stopped to believe in anything: yomi, heaven or hell that was. Even more so in deities; they could not be true with all that was his life.
"Instead, I do believe in those who say that angels are people's protectors and each of us has one. You, Hayakawa, right? You are lucky to have a real angel standing beside you! And I'm lucky to have seen him because he gave me confirmation that angels do exist" she concluded, smiling at them in satisfaction not accepting any objections, just in time before the kettle began to whistle. She stood up and prepared the three steaming cups. As she had her back to them, Aki observed Angel again. He seemed to be very uncomfortable with the conversation. Aki asked him with his eyes and moving his head a little if everything was all right, and Angel rolled his red pupils blatantly.
Mrs. Inoue turned around and placed the three green ceramic cups, decorated with flowers and brown squiggles, in front of them. Aki began to speak before she could resume her earlier conversation.
"Were you here the night of the accident, madam Inoue? Did you hear anything?"
"Again with this 'madam'... I won't answer if you don't start calling me by Miss"
"M-miss Inoue, were you here the night of the accident?" he felt very awkward having to use such an informal form with a stranger older than him.
"Yes, I heard everything. To tell you the truth, it was so sudden. I remember seeing the lights of the boy's car, his name is Jun" at the realization of what she had just said, her lighthearted expression broke to give way to one of sadness. She resumed the story in a somewhat trembling voice.
"His name was Jun... he was coming back and it was late. But it always happened because he worked as a waiter and always had the evening shift, so it didn't seem strange to me. At one point, I heard screams from the girl, Akane, and loud noises from their apartment" she blinked a few times; she was fidgeting, playing with her fingers restlessly.
"I looked outside the window and they were on the balcony. He was against the railing and was holding Akane pinned by the wrists to pull her away from him, she had something in her hand. I ran inside to go to the phone and call the police when I heard that ... noise" she was starting to gasp for breath.
"Don't worry, madam, no need to go any further. We were more interested in understanding the relationship between the two victims. Did they fight often?" asked Aki.
"'Earlier, no, Jun and Akane were considered a perfect couple by everyone, however, lately I often heard them bickering in the courtyard. But never like that night, I'm sure the whole park heard them" her way of speaking had become more confused and hurried.
"Do you have any idea why they were fighting?"
"Not really, I know there was another guy involved, they mentioned him a lot, a guy named Ryu. But he wasn't a lover or anything like that, Akane was fond of her boyfriend; they had been together for six months but were already planning to get married. And when they talked about this other person, she always seemed alarmed; Jun, on the other hand, was worried. Then ... the night of the accident ... I'm sure I heard her screaming his name at the top of her lungs. She sounded terrified, she kept shrieking 'Ryu, go away, go away'."
"When did this Ryu arrived here?"
"This is the thing I don't understand: I didn't see any other car approaching, and in the building there is a doorman even at night. He would never have been able to get upstairs by himself, and especially when Jun had come in."
"So he had entered earlier?" speculated Aki.
"That doesn't make sense... the girl was afraid of him, she wouldn't let him go upstairs" Angel answered him contemplatively. The two of them exchanged a look of understanding; something didn't add up about that story.
They had just said their goodbyes to Madam Inoue, who had closed the door behind them. It had stopped raining but the sky was still cloudy. Angel yawned, barely stretching his wings and arms.
"Are you all right?" asked Aki, as he lit a cigarette.
"Sort of, it was creepy how she was obsessing over me."
"Yes, I noticed. It bothered me, too."
Just before they had left, as Angel made a quick start toward the front door, Madam Inoue had blocked Aki by whispering something in his ear about him and Angel and some other nonsense about angels. He was annoyed. Angel couldn't wait to get out of that place, he was fretting at the front door, and Aki was of the same opinion. The woman had gotten far too familiar; she had tried to touch Angel and now she had held him back, too. He was by no means on Angel's level, he was not prevented from touching others by any devilish curse, however, even Aki was not the expansive type and was reluctant to physical contact, especially from strangers. He only allowed Denji and Power to invade his personal space. He had gotten used to it by now; it was impossible with the two of them to live in peace, and indeed he would have felt uncomfortable if it had been the other way around and set a distance with him.
With everyone else, however, he cared that his person was respected. He was always polite and he expected to receive the same treatment from other people.
"I don't know if it's worse like this or when the other old man insulted me. I just want to be treated decently, not like a monster or a sideshow" Angel commented, expressing all his discomfort. It was rare for him to talk about his feelings like that.
" I'm sorry too... for before..." whispered Aki, feeling called out.
"'Well, you're the only one who treats me in a normal way. You shouldn't have to apologize. If you really want, make it up to me by paying for my dinner" a slight mocking smile sketched on his face.
"Alright..." Aki's lips stretched just upward in an imperceptible amused grin. Angel didn't even have to impose on him like that, really; Aki would go along with any of his requests of that sort. Seeing the angel a little more relaxed or happy because of him made him feel good.
"There's another thing that puzzles me-something doesn't add up in the story of this murder" the angel changed the topic.
"What?"
"It was explicitly mentioned in the report that there was no sign of break-in or tampering on the door. Where would this third guy have come from?" he reasoned bringing a hand to his chin, closing his wings on his back in a contemplative pose, lowering his gaze.
"He could have been lurking putside..."
"And then what? How would he have gotten away? It also said that there were no biological traces of any other individuals in the apartment except those of the two victims. So nothing about this story adds up..." the angel finally sighed.
"Maybe we should try to find him. This guy has something to do with this story, if the girl started screaming his name, just before she was about to kill her boyfriend. This could be a key to getting us closer to the truth" Aki concluded, throwing away the now finished cigarette, crushing it with the sole of his shoe, before heading back to her car.
Author's Note:
Hi! Welcome back to this story. I just noticed that I did not mention this in the previous parts but the fic takes place between the Bomb Girl arc and the International Assassins arc, just fyi. Thank you for reading this far, any kind of feedback is welcome :)
See you tomorrow with the fifth chapter 'Bloody Good Gut Feeling'!