The weretiger yawned as he stretched in his seat.

It had been about a week since the President had given them their previous orders on the murder case. The Agency had been instructed not to pursue it until further notice, so they had been filling their time with other errands and small missions like escorting or delivering files to officials.

Atsushi had just finished writing up a recent report and decided to take a small break. As he looked around he noticed everyone else was just about doing the same, either writing reports or doing research. Dazai was asleep, making the tense Kunikida across from him mumble in anger as he typed a little more aggressively than normal. Kenji was working next to Tanizaki, Yosano was talking with Kirako about something, and Ranpo was snacking on his desk without a care in the world.

He looked around and wondered where Kyouka had gone before remembering she had an errand to run earlier.

Atsushi stood up to stretch when he suddenly felt a cold chill go down his spine.

What was that about?

"You alright, Atsushi?" Tanizaki asked.

Before he could answer him, the door to the Agency opened, and in stepped a boy who looked no more than seventeen years old.

Atsushi stared at the stranger with raven black hair. He had on blue jeans, a white shirt with red trimming, and a black sweater over it with red and white shoes.

He looks foreign.

A shiver ran up his spine as he locked eyes with his arctic blue eyes.

Kenji stood up and smiled. "Good morning! And how-"

Before the rest of his sentence could be let out, a green energy wave surged through the room, making all the lights flicker and the laptops go completely black.

Atsushi quickly got into a fighting stance, Tanizaki getting up from his seat to do the same.

"DAMN YOU!"

Atsushi jumped as Kunikida flung himself out of his seat and made a beeline for the boy.

His co-worker went to grab the shirt collar, but the boy somehow managed to dodge the man's attempt and used his momentum to send him flying into the closed door behind him.

While the rest of the younger members were frozen in awe, Kunikida didn't miss a beat as he recovered and immediately began berating the shorter male.

"DOYOUHAVEANYIDEAHOWLONGIWASWORKINGONTHATREPORT?! NOWMYENTIRESCHEDULEHASTOBEREARRANGEDBECAUSEOFYOURDAMNABILITY! YOUKNOWYOUNEEDTOSTARTASKINGPERMISSIONTOUSETHATDAMNTINGBEFOREYOUJUSTWALTZINTOAHIGHTECHAREA!

The teen simply rolled his eyes and continued further into the room. He stopped by Kirako's desk and whispered something to her, pulling away with a small smile. The brunette stood up and walked away with a slight blush.

What… is happening? Atsushi thought as his eyebrow twitched.

"Hey ghost kid!"

Atsushi's jaw dropped as Ranpo walked over to greet the stranger.

'Ghost kid' smiled brightly, "Ranpo! Good to see you!"

Ranpo smiled back and leaned against one of the desks. "So how's the family business coming along?"

"It's doing pretty good. Mom has been handling the numbers and shipping more since Jazz left, Dad's been working on making the orders, while I've been working on some new prototypes."

"Sounds like you've been pretty busy for someone still in school," Dazai chimed in with a knowing smirk.

The teen turned and rubbed his neck nervously. "Yeah, but honestly I prefer working in the lab than having to sit in a classroom for eight hours every day."

Dazai chuckled. "I don't blame you there. How's your sister?"

"Probably touring college," Ranpo interjected, waving off the question.

'Ghost Kid' sent Ranpo a teasing look. "Wow nothing gets past you, Sherlock. But yeah, she was headed towards Harvard last time she checked in."

"Harvard huh? Not bad. Are you still looking into going into the space program?" Dazai asked with a smile.

The raven-haired boy chuckled nervously as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Wow, still that bad at math huh?" Dazai teased.

"I'm sorry but uh-" The entire room turned towards Atsushi. "Who are you?"

The room stilled and after a beat, Dazai was the first to move.

"Oh right!" He laughed before clearing his throat. "Atsushi, Tanizaki, Kenji, this is Daniel Fenton. He's a friend of ours from America."

"America?" Atsushi muttered aloud.

"Nice to meet you, Daniel, I'm Junichiro Tanizaki," Tanizaki smiled stepping forward to offer his hand, something he learned was common practice overseas.

The teen winced. "It's Danny, and it's nice to meet you too." He offered politely while accepting the hand.

Atsushi took a step forward and offered his hand as well, copying Tanizaki. "My name is Atsushi Nakajima. Welcome to Yokohama," he greeted with a nervous smile.

Danny smiled at him and shook his hand, however, something made the hair on the back of his neck stand up as his hand made contact with the raven-haired boy. Something in the back of his mind wanted him to run as far away as he could from the person in front of him.

"Are you alright?"

Atsushi blinked and saw Danny had raised an eyebrow. He quickly released his hand and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Yeah, I just spaced out for a second, sorry about that."

"No problem. And you are?"

Danny had turned to Kenji who then proceeded to introduce himself as well. "It's so nice to meet another friend of the Agency's. So what brings you to Yokohama, Danny?"

"Mr. Fukazawa invited me to take a look at a recent case you guys received."

It finally clicked in Atsushi's mind that the person in front of him was the person that the President wanted to send for.

But… he's just a kid…

"Nice to see you again Danny. How was your flight?"

The room went still again as they turned to see the President had emerged from his office. Along with the two office clerks, Naomi and Kirako.

The teen smiled as he started walking towards the President. "Not too bad, you'll have to thank Katai for me later."

The older man nodded. "I'll be sure to send your gratitude. Do you need time to settle in?"

Danny's smile dropped and the room suddenly felt cold. To say it unnerved the silver-haired teen would be an understatement. "No. Do you still have that conference room?"

The man nodded before turning his attention to the other members. "Will everyone please gather in the conference room? I'm calling an urgent meeting."

Everyone quickly made their way into the conference room. The president and Danny were towards the head of the table, with the following sitting across from each other; Dazai and Kunikida, Naomi and Atsushi, Tanizaki and Kenji, and lastly Yosano and Ranpo.

Once everyone was settled, the president brought everyone's attention to the board.

"This is what we know so far. There have been six murders within the last few weeks. Each showed no external injuries and with no previous medical records. Autopsies reported that each person was in perfect health at the time of their death and that there were no signs of toxins or poisons within the body. After attempting to examine each case thoroughly and trying to follow any leads via witness reports and visiting the victims' homes, we still are no closer to solving this than the beginning. That was until Ranpo proposed that perhaps this was not the doing of an ability user or the average serial killer, but rather something with a more supernatural origin. That is why I have requested Danny's help on this case, as this would be his area of expertise."

Supernatural? Expertise?

"Danny, if you would."

Danny nodded and walked to the front of the board while Fukuzawa took a seat at the other end of the table with Kirako standing by his side.

"While some of you know how I prefer to operate, the newer members may not. So here's a short summary for you. First, while in public, you will only refer to me by my first name. My full name does not leave this building. Second, when I tell you to do something, just do it. The second you take to question it is the second that can get you killed. And, last but not least, do not stand close to me during a fight unless I tell you otherwise."

Atsushi blinked. That was… unexpected.

"Now about what I've uncovered-"

"You already found something?!" Kunikida asked incredulously.

"I had 18 hours to look over the case files," Danny deadpanned.

"Anyways, after looking over victims two, three, five, and six's case files I noticed a slight pattern with how the entity may have been targetting its victims. Something, I'm sure, Ranpo noticed but didn't voice."

"Yeah yeah yeah just get to the good part already," Ranpo waved off.

Danny sighed but continued. "The entity has been targeting its victims using areas that don't have a lot of access to sunlight. That gives us an advantage during the day and a disadvantage at night. As for the acts themselves, the first was spontaneous, while the fourth was timed and calculated. There are a few theories given the signs and evidence, but I'll need to look at the most recent scene to play the elimination game to narrow our search. Fukazawa do you have a map of all the reported sightings in the area?"

Atsushi suddenly remembered the order that the president had given Kenji and Dazai. Had the president predicted that Danny would ask for them ahead of time? How many times have they worked together in the past?

He was brought back to the present as Kirako handed over a folder with a slight blush.

"Thank you," Danny smiled appreciately before opening the folder and skimming through it before pulling out a printed picture of a map.

"Can you put this on the board please?"

The clerk looked towards the president who in turn nodded his approval. She took out a laptop and quickly pulled the map onto the board behind Danny.

He turned and looked at it for a solid minute before nodding and muttering to himself.

"Looks like this just got a whole lot harder…"

Atsushi tilted his head as his voice sounded odd to him, like hearing an echoed whisper from afar.

"Harder how?" Atsushi asked.

The room looked towards the weretiger with either confusion or surprise.

"You can understand him?" Dazai asked with an intrigued look.

Atsushi blinked. "Well yeah, I mean, he was just talking to himself, but it was pretty clear to me."

Danny looked at him curiously before a small smirk appeared. "How do you feel about tea on rice?"

Atsushi blushed. "How did you hear about that?"

"Just answer the question," Danny said with an eye roll.

"Um… well… I guess I still really like it since it was something I grew up with, in a way."

Danny smirked and sent a knowing smirk to the President. "Got to admit, you never cease to surprise me Mr. Fukuzawa."

The president's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I'm afraid I'm unsure what you are referring to. Would you mind elaborating?"

Danny frowned and looked towards Ranpo, who in turn shared a look of boredom with him.

"They don't see it?"

Ranpo shrugged. "Guess not, though I had my suspicions, I wasn't able to confirm anything until I saw you two interact with each other."

Atshsui turned to the others in the room who seemed just as confused as him. "Um… am I in trouble?"

Danny let out a bark of laughter before quickly calming himself and shaking his head with a smile. "No, Atsushi, you're okay. To sum it up, let's just say you have an affinity for the supernatural, and it may be due to your special ability."

"An affinity for it?"

"I can explain more later if you remind me. For now, let's adjourn this meeting. I need to investigate the most recent crime scene as soon as possible."

"Very well then. Given the circumstances, I will hand this case over to you Danny."

Atsushi's jaw dropped.

He was just handing over a case to a teenager!?

"Feel free to use any of our resources should it help your investigation. Please report back anything you find post haste, there are families that are requesting answers. Oh, and one last thing…"

The President gave the teen a stern look. "You are required to bring an escort at all times."

Danny frowned and had an intense stare-down with Fukuzawa. After a few beats, the teen sighed in defeat. "Okay fine!" He whined. Danny turned his attention to the rest of the table. "The sooner I see the crime scene the better. Dazai, Tanizaki, and Atsushi? If you aren't busy, I need you to come with me."

The weretiger blinked. "Huh me?"

Dazai smiled knowingly. "Sounds like a plan. Let me go grab a few things first. "

Danny nodded and the president dismissed them.

Atsushi saw Ranpo run up to Danny and seemed to want to show him something before the president stepped in his line of sight.

"Is something wrong, Atsushi?"

"N-no, I was just curious as to why Danny wanted me to come along?"

"Danny usually has his reasons… but it could be because he cannot read Japanese."

His mind went blank.

"Huh?"

The president didn't comment further, rather he just left it at that and went back to his office.

The four quickly gathered what they needed and set out, Tanizaki leading the way toward where the most recent crime scene occurred.

At first, the walk was quiet, but eventually, Danny commented how Tanizaki looked like a student and they got onto the topic of how their education systems differed.

As they walked Atsushi thought more about their strange visitor and about what the president had said.

"Hey Dazai, what did the president mean by Danny couldn't read earlier? He speaks it pretty well for being a foreigner."

Dazai blinked before letting out a quiet laugh. He smiled and nodded towards the two boys in front of them. "Focus on everyone's mouth when they're talking."

"Huh? But how does that answer my question?"

"You'll see," he said with a knowing tone.

He turned and watched the two talk back and forth. At first, it didn't seem like there was anything off, but it was when Danny went to comment on something, that his mouth moved and no sound came out. The weird part was that the sentence continued smoothly as though there were no interruptions at all.

"His mouth moved but no sound came from it," the silver-haired teen awed.

Dazai nodded. "Right, that's because Danny's special ability is in effect right now."

Atsushi almost stumbled as they walked. "What? But how-?!"

"Remember that wave from earlier?"

Atsushi recalled the strange green wave of energy from when Danny had first entered the Agency's office. He remembered seeing it, but not necessarily feeling anything amiss. Oh wait-

"Didn't it wipe out all the electricity in the room?"

The other nodded, "That wave wasn't just acting as an EMP, in fact, it was never intended to be one."

Huh?!

"You see Atsushi, part of Danny's ability is that he's able to share his ability with people or objects surrounding him. In this case, he used his ability to have us understand his original language, which in this case would be English, even if it doesn't sound like it. That's why, unless you're looking for it, you wouldn't notice right away.

"So he has a language ability?"

"Not exactly."

They turned to see Danny giving them a smirk.

"If you're done chatting, there's a crime scene to investigate," Danny teased.

Atsushi hadn't even noticed they had stopped right in front of the alleyway from before.

He got shivers staring at where he remembered the body had laid.

"Tanizaki."

"Yeah, Dazai?"

"Would you mind using your ability to create an illusion of us not being here?"

"Uh, sure? But why?"

"I'll explain more later. For now, go ahead and replicate this alleyway to where people passing by won't see us and will simply see the alleyway."

Tanizkai shared a glance with Atsushi before clearing his throat and turning around.

"Light Snow."

Atsushi watched as his ability surrounded them and then faded out, everything around them not seeming to change.

"Thanks for that," Danny smiled before turning to the alleyway with a focused look. He began inspecting the walls and ground, oddly, similarly to how Ranpo did. Only, there seemed to be something different about the way the raven-haired teen did it that Atsushi couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Got something."

Dazai's expression suddenly turned dark. "Kunikida is not going to be happy about this."

Danny let out a chuckle, his tone bitter, "And you think I am? I'd rather be sorting shipments and dealing with Skulker than this."

Dazai's expression lightened. "Is that so? I'll have to let Ranpo know."

The teen rolled his eyes, "That's not how I meant it and you know it, ass."

"Um, I'm sorry to interrupt, but what exactly did you find?" Tanizaki inquired,

Danny got a knowing twinkle in his eyes before standing tall with a smirk. "Let's find out."

He turned and faced the back of the alleyway. Two faint green rings of power surrounded him much like how Atsushi's ability did.

"Haunting in the Mist."

The rings pushed outwards, like the wave from back at the agency. Only this time, as they pushed out, they revealed glowing green spots and markings on the wall and ground next to Danny.

The waves of green disappeared, but the markings didn't.

"What is that?" Tanizaki asked with wide eyes.

Dazai hummed in thought as he approached the closest glowing green marking. "These are ectoplasmic residue spots. Usually, they can't be seen with the naked eye, or average eye, I should say. These kinds of markings can only really be seen by powerful mediums or psychics."

"Wait, psychic as in ghosts and stuff?" Tanizaki awed.

"So Danny is a physic?" Atsushi asked with a frown.

"Yes and no."

Atsushi was startled as the teen in question turned to look at him, his eyes no longer an artic blue but a glowing acidic green exactly like the ectoplasm residue.

Danny smiled apologetically before turning back to the marking he was observing on the ground, and beginning his explanation.

"'Ghost' is a broad term used for certain supernatural entities. I deal with the ones that are more spiritual in nature. My special ability allows me and anyone near me to see anything that has traces of ectoplasm. That includes the ghost or spirit themselves. However, my ability only works if there is no direct sunlight in the area I'm in."

Danny frowned as he rubbed his hand along the ground and managed to rub some of the ectoplasmic residue onto his hand. He stood up and turned to Dazai with a focused look. "Looks like it was only one, which does help narrow some guesses down. Based on the color and the way it dragged her, could be looking at a corrupted vengeful spirit."

"Corrupted?"

"Yeah, the ones we dealt with a few years ago were the norm. They attacked anything within the house as it was seen as a sacred place being desecrated. This spirit is killing without reason and without a stationary haunt. There's no family connections, no work connections, and no lovers quarrel between any of the victims."

"Alright then, how do you think we should go about this?"

Danny sighed as he wiped his hand on his clothes. "Unfortunately, I won't be able to track them easily, seeing as they are not attached to a haunt. I would try to track them using some of my equipment, but this is way too stale to use."

Dazai sighed disappointedly. "Well darn, I was really hoping we could solve this sooner. Oh well, best not to get bent out of shape about it. Let's go catch everyone up then shall we?"

Danny nodded and snapped his fingers, the green residue disappearing from sight. The teen's eyes also returned to normal just as Tanizaki let down the illusion.

As they began to make their way back Atsushi cleared his throat.

"So, the President wasn't joking when he said you couldn't read?"

Danny faulted in his step, making Dazai laugh at his expense.

The teen rubbed the back of his neck as he sported a bright red blush. "He said that huh? Well, it looks like the President and I need to have some words."

Atsushi shared a look with Tanizaki as they both attempted to hide their amusement.