It didn't take long for Natsuki to find out the details. She did a search in the police data system and a few calls to the relevant parties and found the information she needed.
Marguerite Tomoe was the younger biological sister of Wataru Ishigami but Marguerite Tomoe was given away shortly after birth. The Wataru family had a strong preference for male heirs and any female babies were considered redundant. So when Tomoe was born, she was given away to family friends who were childless as a goodwill gesture. But by then Ishigami was already five years old and knew about Tomoe. And many years later, Ishigami contacted Tomoe when she was older and kept in contact since then.
Ishigama also had a younger cousin, Wataru Kai, who was currently living with him and his family. And coincidentally, Wataru Kai fit the age range given Shizuru. He was ten years old this year. If everything was as predicted, there was a high possibility that the young child could be used by Wataru Ishigami as a medium for Black Magic.
On the other hand, Natsuki automatically excluded Marguerite Tomoe's adopted family members from the list. The medium had to be related by blood and Marguerite Tomoe was adopted. It would be impossible for Marguerite Tomoe to use her adopted family members a mediums.
But, to be thorough, Natsuki also did a check on Marguerite Tomoe's family. She was the only child in that family with no family members or children of that age range. Thus, it was quite clear that Wataru Ishigami might have used Wataru Kai, his younger cousin, to be the medium of the Black Magic.
Natsuki read the details and wondered how she should approach this. Given that all the pieces seemed to fit and the signs pointing towards Wataru Ishigami, Natsuki was pretty sure that all they needed to do now was to establish the evidence.
Either Wataru Ishigame and Marguerite Tomoe or one of them could have killed Wataru Kai and used him as a medium to conduct Black Magic. So the next step would be to visit his place and speak to him to see if they could obtain any evidence. And it would be even better if she could speak with Wataru Kai too.
A few days later…
"Ne Natsuki." Mai said as she stood at the staircase leading to Wataru Ishigami's apartment. "I can understand why we are here. You have somehow convinced me to come here. But can you tell me why Viola Shizuru is also here with us as we do our investigation?"
"Yeah… it is a long story." Natsuki scratched the back of her head. She didn't tell Mai that Shizuru was coming as well. If she had told Mai beforehand that Shizuru was going to be there with them for the investigation, Mai would have disagreed with Shizuru's presence and refused to have Shizuru around. And everything wouldn't work. So Natsuki decided to bring Mai there to meet Shizuru directly at Wataru Ishigami's place. Since they were already there at Wataru Ishigami's apartment, Mai might be less reluctant against chasing Shizuru away. Or at least Natsuki hoped as sweat beaded on Natsuki's forehead.
"Then make the long story short!" Mai said as she glanced at Viola Shizuru and Natsuki. She didn't like the vibe that Viola Shizuru was giving off. She was always smiling and being polite, completely an ojo-sama. But Mai instinctively felt that beneath the polite facade lies a different person. And what's more, the talk about ghosts and Black Magic just made her look highly suspicious like a scammer.
"You would need to speak with Wataru Ishigami right? As you know, my job is to assist the police with the investigation. So there is nothing wrong for me to be here. If you need to speak to a staff member in our faculty, I am the best person to be the bridge between the two sides. With me around, someone whom Wataru Ishigami-san is familiar with, he may be more willing to speak. I am sure Inspector Tokiha will want to solve this case as soon as possible, right?"
Shizuru's reply brought up different reactions from Mai and Natsuki.
For Natsuki, it was obvious. She was relieved. The point that Shizuru brought up was valid, at least valid from both the police and Fuuka University's perspectives. There was a reason for her to be around. For Natsuki, her reason for bringing Shizuru in was because of the hovering head. If Wataru Ishigamia was any other normal criminal, Mai and her would suffice. They could proceed with apprehending the suspect. But in this case, she wanted to be careful. She had seen what the hovering head could do firsthand. And even as she thought about it, shivers still ran down her spines. The experiences weren't something she would want to relive again. With Shizuru around, she would be more assured about the safety of everyone. And based on what Shizuru said, Wataru Ishigami didn't seem like the type that would go down without a fight.
On the other hand, Mai didn't like how Shizuru ended the explanation. It sounded like Mai herself was making it difficult for the investigation to continue.
Mai narrowed her eyes. "Of course I would like the investigation to be completed as soon as possible Viola-san. Given this, shall we proceed to find Wataru Ishigami as soon as possible."
Mai turned and led the way. Their investigation thus far about the recent spates of death on the campus had yielded very little outcome and they had explored more or less all possible angles. In other words, they were stuck. So when Natsuki told her that a lady was found struck by lightning in a secluded corner of the park and wanted to speak to the parties involved, Mai wasn't keen to think that the lady would be involved. In fact she didn't believe those two would know anything about the investigation. But Natsuki had been persistent, so much so that Mai gave up and agreed to just pay a visit to Wataru Ishigami. And it wouldn't hurt to just try their luck. But seeing that Viola Shizuru was here, Mai wondered if Shizuru played a part in influencing Natsuki's decision to come here. If that was the case, she would need to speak to Natsuki. Viola Shizuru was intervening too much into this investigation.
Fifteen minutes. Mai told herself. If they didn't find anything fifteen minutes into the conversation with Wataru Ishigami, she would get them to leave.
Mai knocked on the door and a teal-coloured hair man opened the door or at least peered out at them from a slightly ajar door. He was unshaven and his teal-colour hair fell in an unruly manner over his face. Mai flashed her card and identified herself.
"Inspector Tokiha and this is Inspector Kuga. We would like to speak with you regarding an ongoing investigation. Can we come in?"
Wataru Ishigami looked at Mai with an expressionless face. But when he saw Natsuki and Viola Shizuru, there was a pause before something flashed across his eyes, too quick for Mai to see.
This time round, his face wasn't expressionless anymore. He was smiling and something akin to glee appeared on his face.
"Sure, Inspector Tokiha, Inspector Kuga and of course, Viola-sama, please come on in." Wataru Ishigami enunciated and emphasised on the word "sama".
He opened the door slightly wider for them to enter.
Mai and Natsuki frowned the moment they entered the apartment. All the windows were closed and curtains were drawn. Even the ones in the kitchen. So even though it was daytime, the whole place was dark and dimly lit. And there was a stench in the apartment and it only got worse given that the whole place was stuffy and completely lacked air ventilation. Mai had to breathe through her mouth to overcome the stench in the place.
Clothes and papers were thrown all over the place and the whole living room seemed to be in disarray. It looked like nobody tidied up this place for a long while.
"Please have a seat." Wataru Ishigami pushed the clothes and paper from the sofa onto the floor and offered them a space to sit. "I will get you all a drink."
And without waiting for a reply, Wataru Ishigami went into the kitchen to prepare their drinks.
Mai chose to take a seat while Natsuki and Viola Shizuru decided to stand instead.
He seemed to take longer than usual to make the drink. Had Mai not been able to see him from where she was sitting, she would have thought he had run off.
He finally came back with three cups of coffee. He fervently offered the coffee to them, insisting that they drank the coffee while it was hot.
"Please drink this Inspector Tokiha. This coffee is specially made. You will enjoy it." Wataru Ishigami placed the cup of coffee into Mai's hand.
"Go ahead!" Wataru Ishigami encouraged. "I even trained to be a barista once."
Mai accepted the coffee but only held the cup in her hand. She made no attempt to drink it.
"Thank you, Wataru-san. I will do that in a while." Mai replied and returned the cup to the table. Mai didn't have a habit of consuming things offered by strangers. And this Wataru-san seemed too insistent in getting them to drink this coffee. Mai thought as she narrowed her eyes and studied him.
That was when he didn't insist anymore and instead turned and did the same with Natsuki.
When Natsuki heard the phrase "specially made", her head throbbed. This situation was close to identical with what happened when Tomoe offered her the coffee. Knowing Wataru Ishigami's background, Natsuki guessed that he might have placed a curse on the coffee. Natsuki held the cup gingerly in her hands. Discreetly, Natsuki inched her pinkie finger down to touch the base of the cup.
Yup! The base of the cup was cold to the touch but coffee was hot.
Next, Natsuki peered into the coffee, alright, no reflection.
That's it. This cup of coffee had a curse in it. Natsuki thought calmly and placed the cup aside.
Wataru Ishigami went to Shizuru and offered the last cup to her but made no effort in getting her to drink
It.
"Shizuru-sama, please enjoy the drink."
"Ara… thank you so much, Ishigami-san. Really appreciate your specially made coffee." Shizuru smiled as she took the coffee.
Anger flashed across Wataru Ishigami's face but was quickly concealed.
Natsuki couldn't see Wataru Ishigami's expression and could only see Shizuru taking the cup and placing it on the cabinet next to her.
Once done, Wataru Ishigami returned to the sofa and sat on it, disregarding the fact that he was sitting on a stack of paper left on the sofa.
"What can I do for you, Inspector Tokiha and Inspector Kuga?" He asked as he leaned against the sofa, completely comfortable in the messy environment.
Natsuki left the asking of questions to Mai while she glanced around the apartment, checking for possible evidence. That was their usual practice.
The whole place was dimly lit without turning on the lights or opening the curtains but she could see the past image of the place, without all the mess of course.
It was a middle size apartment with a well designed interior. She could imagine that if someone had cleared up this place, she would be able to see a well designed living room. There were also small beautiful decorative items placed around the room to beautify the place. Definitely not done by Watatru Ishigami himself. He didn't seem like the kind of person who paid attention to trinkets and decorative items. Just looked at his long unkempt hair and growing beard. He seemed like a person who was totally uninterested in being presentable and more interested in practicality.
In addition to the trinkets and decorative items scattered around the apartment, pictures of a family of four were also placed all around the living room. There was even an A3 size family portrait placed in the middle of the wall. Natsuki saw it the moment she entered the apartment. She guessed the owner must have specially placed the portrait there for visitors to be able to see it the moment they enter the place. The owner must have given much thought into designing this place.
Natsuki moved closer to study the family portraits. There was an older couple sitting on the chairs. A younger Wataru Ishigami and a young child were standing behind them. Strange, Natsuki thought. If it was a family portrait, why would they include the younger cousin? If they included Wataru Kai in the portrait, wouldn't it be weird for Wataru Kai's parents? Natsuki thought. She knew Wataru Kai's parents to be alive as well.
Similar pictures were placed all around the living room. Looked like someone in this apartment enjoyed showcasing the family members. But something interesting caught Natsuki's attention. Even though Wataru Ishigami was the couple's biological son, there were more pictures of the couple with Wataru Kai than Wataru Ishigami. There were a few pictures of Wataru Ishigami but it was few and far in between. Even if there were pictures of him, he was always seen to be unsmiling and gloomy in the pictures.
Natsuki had been keeping track of the questions asked by Mai. She was coming to an end to the questioning and as expected. Wataru Ishigami answered the questions flawlessly.
Natsuki glanced at the kitchen and the two doors to the bedrooms. She took in a deep breath and nearly winced as the stench nearly overwhelmed her.
"It is the smell of blood turning bad." Shizuru whispered as she moved to stand next to Natsuki.
Surprise, Natsuki turned to look at Shizuru. "Blood turning bad?"
"Hai... And judging by the smell, quite a lot too. Where do you think the smell is coming from?" Shizuru arched her eyebrow and looked at Natsuki.
Natsuki inched closer to the kitchen and took another deep breath. "It wasn't from the kitchen."
"Correct." Shizuru smiled and praised Natsuki, seemingly unaffected by the smell. "It comes from the bedroom."
Shizuru glanced towards the two doors and Natsuki followed suit.
Based on the pictures, the older couple should be Wataru Ishigami's parents and the younger child to be Wataru Kai, Ishigami's cousin. And all of them stayed here.
But where were they?
This whole place looked like it hadn't been cleaned for a while. But she understood Wataru Ishigami's mother to be a housewife, staying at home to take care of Wataru Kai.
She glanced at the shoe rack at the entrance. There were four pairs of outside shoes, which Natsuki believed to belong to the four family members. Out of the four pairs of shoes, there was a pair of male leather shoes, the design was something suited for a more mature and older man. Looked like it was worn by the elder Wataru. Then there was a pair of female black cotton flats. It should belong to Wataru Ishigami's mother. And then the smaller white colour school shoes should belong to Wataru Kai and the last pair should belong to Wataru Ishigami. So if all the outside shoes were in the house and all the house slippers were missing from the shoe rack, did it mean that all the family members were home?
"Inspector Kuga, I am done on my side. Is there anything else you would like to ask?" Mai looked over from the sofa.
Natsuki withdrew her attention from the entrance and turned to look at Wataru Ishigami.
"Ishigami-san, are your family members home? We would also like to speak to them too." Natsuki glanced at the bedroom doors. "If they are not available now, we can always come back later."
At Natsuki's statement, the smile on Wataru Ishigami's face widened, to Natsuki's surprise.
"Ah ah… them? Oh they are home definitely. They have been home for quite a while."
Surprised at Wataru Ishigami's response, Mai looked at Natsuki. They saw surprise and suspicion in each other's eyes.
Mai was surprised that the family members were home because they didn't appear at the living room when the police came calling.
Natsuki straightened up upon hearing Wataru Ishigami's reply. Something about him didn't seem right. She had a hunch about the family members but she hoped she was wrong.
From the corner of her eyes, Natsuki saw Mai inching away, putting some distance between her and Wataru Ishigami. Mai's hunch was good too and Natsuki suspected that Mai was also thinking the same as her. There was something off about Wataru Ishigami.
"Can you ask your family members to come to the living room? We would like to speak with them." Natsuki requested.
"Oh… that might be kind of difficult actually. But I can always show you where they are." Wataru Ishigami grinned and stood up, seemingly gleeful at the prospect of showing his family members. "Come, I will show you." And when he said that, he glanced at Shizuru. His intention was to get Shizuru to come along.
"Ara… I would be glad to meet them." Shizuru replied as she pushed herself away from the shelf she had been leaning against earlier. "Show us the way, Ishigami-san. I can't wait to meet them."
Natsuki glanced at Shizuru. She seemed confident and comfortable with Wataru Ishigami's suggestions. She wondered what Shizuru was planning.
On Shizuru's end, she could already guess Wataru Ishigami's intention and what he wanted to show them. Judging from the sealed apartment, Wataru Ishigami practised his Black Magic here. It might get slightly dangerous soon but Shizuru believed Wataru Ishigami would not be a big threat. And she knew she could resolve the issue without endangering Natsuki. She knew Wataru Ishigami practised Black Magic under a Black Magician from Thailand. But the Black Magician wasn't anyone famous. So Shizuru wouldn't expect anything fanciful from Wataru Ishigami.
Wataru Ishigami opened the door to their left. The room was dark even in broad daylight. The curtain wasn't just drawn in. The window was covered by another layer of blanket, preventing any sunlight from coming in.
"Who stays in this room?" Mai asked as she peered in. She couldn't make out if there was anyone in the room.
"My ototo (younger brother). He is in the room." Wataru Ishigami smiled as if presenting a big present to them.
Mai narrowed her eyes and tried to see where his younger brother was.
"He is inside?" Mai asked. She cautiously stepped into the room when she couldn't find him. But at this juncture, everything seemed rather suspicious to Mai, from the dark apartment to the weird smell. And Wataru Ishigami's behaviour seemed rather accommodating, too accommodating that it seemed suspicious to her.
Mai still couldn't see any signs of Wataru Kai. From the pictures in the living room, he seemed to be a young boy, about ten years old. And a ten years old boy wouldn't be hiding quietly in a dark room unless something had happened.
"There, next to you."
"What?" Mai looked down and indeed saw a shadow just standing motionless next to her. She stumbled back, stifling a scream that nearly escaped her throat.
Thank goodness Natsuki was behind her and prevented her from falling backwards.
Wataru Ishigami chuckled at Mai's reaction, taking pleasure in seeing the look of surprise and panic on her face.
Natsuki quickly pulled Mai to the back, shielding Mai with her body. Mai didn't know what they were dealing with but Natsuki knew and it could get dangerous.
The room was indeed dark and hence, no one noticed that a boy was standing silently facing the wall, just next to the door. So when Mai stepped into the room, the boy was just a step away from her. His face was just one inch away from the wall and all the while he was staring at it silently in the dark.
Even when Mai was standing at the door and talking, the boy showed no reaction.
"What is he doing there?" Natsuki asked, putting distance between her and the boy. Her hair stood on end the moment she laid eyes on him. If Natsuki wasn't wrong, she suspected that this boy was the medium Wataru Ishigmai used as the hovering head.
"He likes facing the wall." Wataru Ishigami said and then laughed as if he found his reply funny. "Kai, you just gave the inspectors a surprise. That is very naughty of you. Please apologise to them."
The moment he completed his sentence, the boy sidestepped away from the wall and faced Mai. Like a robot, stiff and rigid, he followed Wataru Ishigami's instructions and gave a ninety degree bow before mumbling an apology to Mai.
"Good boy." Wataru Ishigami smirked as he said that, though there was disdain in his voice.
Natsuki studied the boy. He was definitely unkempt and dirty, with his messy hair stuck together in clumps. His face was also pale without blood, too pale in fact. His eyes were dark and dull, completely unlike the eyes of any ten year old boy. There wasn't any mischief inside, like what Natsuki saw in the pictures in the living room. The ten year old boy in the picture was grinning with mischief in the pictures. Instead the eyes looked dead to Natsuki. The bracelet given by Shizuru seemed to tighten around Natsuki's wrist, giving Natsuki a jolt. Natsuki touched her wrist as shivers ran up her spine and she forced herself to look away. The eyes were like sinkholes trying to suck her in.
Natsuki glanced at Shizuru and Shizuru gave her a nod. Unlike Mai and Natsuki, Shizuru's eyes were able to see quite clearly even in the dark. She had taken a quick look at the boy's eyes. She was sure this boy was used by Wataru Ishigami as the medium of the Black Magic. There were double black lines cutting through the right eyes from the top to the bottom, a sign indicating that he was a tool for this Black Magic.
This was the medium that they had been looking for.
They could confirm that Wataru Ishigami was the one who practised the Black Magic and likely killed the three students in the Fuuka University. As for Tomoe, Shizuru suspected that she was able to use the hovering head as well because Tomoe was Wataru Ishigami's sister and Wataru Ishigami allowed her to have control of the medium.
All the while, Wataru Ishigami was leaning against the wall, grinning at them. When Shizuru looked over at him, he arched his eyebrows and smiled and then glanced over at the young boy.
Shizuru knew Wataru Ishigami was trying to showcase to her his prize possession. Perhaps he wanted to tell her that he had accomplished a Black Magic that others might not be able to do, not even Fujino Shizuru, head of the Fujino Clan. He was challenging her. Shizuru thought in amusement. While it was true that this kind of Black Magic was difficult to practise and could be a powerful Black Magic, Shizuru had no interest in learning or practising it. It was just too troublesome and the medium could get dirty during feeding. Just looked at the child and how dirty he was. But it's fine. She accepted Wataru Ishigami's challenge. She only heard about this kind of Black Magic but hadn't seen it face to face. She was interested in seeing what it could do. Who knew, it might surprise her.
At this moment, Mai was pretty sure that there was indeed something wrong with Wataru Ishigami and Wataru Kai. The young boy was definitely poorly taken care of. The boy was wearing his school shirt and staying at home even though he should be in school now. There were stains, dark brown stains around the collar and top of the shirt. And the boy stank of urine and faeces. This could be a case of child abuse, Mai thought as she narrowed her eyes. She had never seen a child with eyes so expressionless and devoid of emotion.
"What about your parents? Where are they?" Mai wanted to know where the other adults were. This kind of neglect and abuse could not take place without others not knowing, especially when they lived in the same household.
Wataru Ishigami snickered when asked this question, finding the question funny. He turned to the next door which was just a few feet away, his hand resting on the door knob and said, "My parents are sleeping inside the room."
Mai frowned, feeling disturbed and suspicious by Wataru Ishigami's behaviour and reply. It was already late morning, why were they still sleeping?
Before Wataru Ishigami opened the door, Shizuru gently nudged Natsuki's hand and whispered, "Get ready."
The door swung open and an overpowering stench engulfed them. Mai and Natsuki quickly covered their noses. This was the source of the smell.
It was already autumn but the aircon in the room was working at full blast, spewing cold air in the room. It was freezing inside.
The elderly couple was lying on the futon and the pristine white futon was dyed a copper red colour. It was dried blood.
The bodies were already greyish green in colour, obviously in the early stage of decomposition.
Upon seeing this, Mai quickly took out her gun and pointed at Wataru Ishigami, moving backward so that she was out of reach from Wataru Ishigami.
Natsuki, on the other hand, quickly grabbed Shizuru and put some distance between them and Wataru Ishigami.
"Wataru Ishigami, you are now under arrest on suspicion of murder. We are now taking you in for investigation. Raise both your hands now!"
Wataru Ishigami shrugged his shoulders and slowly lifted his hands in the air. "Sure. If that's what you want."
The sense of nonchalantness from Wataru Ishigami made Natsuki nervous as she took out the handcuffs. She didn't think that he would give up just like this.
"Turn around slowly so that your back is facing me." Mai ordered.
"Sure, I don't mind doing that." Wataru Ishigami smirked before glancing at Shizuru. "But if I do that, I will miss the show. Right Kai?" Wataru Ishigami looked at his cousin, who all the while had been standing there motionless.
Mai and Natsuki followed his gaze and looked at Wataru Kai.
At that moment, Wataru Kai jerked his head up to stare at Mai and Natsuki. This time round, his eyes were no longer dull and emotionless. His eyes were feral like an animal ready to pounce on people.
Mai frowned and turned to look at Wataru Ishigami. The hair on the back of her neck was standing on ends. Something didn't feel right here.
But around the same moment, Natsuki reached out her hand and grabbed Mai, pulling her to the side.
"Natsuki, what..." Mai asked. But just as she was asking the question, she saw from the corner of her eyes, a black shadow leaping past her.
The boy had leaped past Mai and landed on all four, like an animal, in the empty space at the front of them.
The boy slowly stood up and gave a series of high pitched giggles. Then with an evil grin, he bent knees and leaped up onto the ceiling, clutching the ceiling on all four like a lizard.
It was like a horror movie and they were in the movie. The child turned his head to look at them and he wasn't just looking over his shoulder. A normal human would have turned his head up to a maximum of ninety degrees. But when Wataru Kai reached the humanly possible angle, he gave his head a series of push and tug, the veins on his neck protruding from the effort. And with a series of cracks, loud enough for everyone to hear, the head took a full horrific hundred and eighty degrees turn! And once he stopped, he grinned at them, saliva dripping from his mouth. His head had turned a hundred and eighty degrees!
Mai gasped and took a step back, her mind was whirling and she was trying to grapple with what she saw. This wasn't humanly possible.
Natsuki on the other hand, was slightly calmer than Mai. She had already mentally prepared herself. But she winced when she heard the cracks coming from Wataru Kai's neck.
Natsuki glanced at Shizuru and saw that she was staring at the boy in fascination, as if she was observing an ongoing experiment.
Natsuki grabbed Shizuru and Mai and pulled them to a corner in the living room. They needed to put some distance between Wataru Ishigami and Kai.
"Shizuru, what do we do now?" Natsuki asked.
"Wait for him to finish transforming." Shizuru stared at the boy. This was the first time she was seeing this. She had read about this Black Magic and it was fascinating to see it face to face. It was rare to see this with your own eyes.
"Wait… what? Wait for him to transform?" Shocked, Mai turned to face Shizuru. "What do you mean by that?"
"You will be seeing it soon. Oh and I suggest for you, Inspector Tokiha, to keep away your gun." Shizuru gave the gun Mai was holding on to, a sideways glance. "It won't work in this case. The gun won't work on the child. But if you injure or kill Ishigami-san, it will just make the child angrier and he might go on a rampage. And you will have difficulty controlling the child."
Shizuru turned to Natsuki and said, "I will subdue the head while you keep a lookout for Wataru Ishigami-san so that he doesn't interrupt me."
Natsuki nodded her head. "But keep yourself safe. Safety is the most important."
Shizuru smiled and nodded her head.
"What is the child doing now?" Mai gasped and drew their attention back to the child.
While hanging on the ceiling, Wataru Kai turned his head left and then right and then left again. Apparently, hundred and eighty degrees wasn't the maximum degree his head could go.
The sound of bones breaking echoed across the silent place.
Left again. Crack...
Right again. Crack…
Left again. Crack crack...
Right again. Crack crack crack…
The more he turned the more extreme the angle. The skin around his neck was torn apart from the motion, exposing raw flesh. A thin red line appeared around the neck and blood slowly trickled down from the neck, dyeing the white school shirt red.
Now Natsuki knew where the stains on Wataru Kai's shirt came from. It was his own blood when he detached his head from the body at night to hunt for food.
Mai stumbled back, covering her mouth in horror. Her legs would have given way if not for Natsuki holding on to her.
With a final snap by the head, it turned a three hundred and sixty degree with blood burst through the thin line around his neck, splashing the surrounding areas in red.
"Oh man. I am trying to keep the living room clean. Now he has made it dirty." Wataru Ishigami sighed. "I hate cleaning up after him."
Natsuki studied Wataru Ishigami. He seemed rather calm and relaxed despite all this. Even though the police came calling, he didn't attempt to hide the dead bodies and even took the initiative to show them the bodies. He had no intention of hiding his crime from them.
His intention was very clear. The only reason he would do that was because he intended to kill all of them. The fact that he showed everyone his crime and was calm about it, he intended to silence all three of them so that his crime would remain hidden.
Natsuki looked at Mai. She was pale but still holding on. Thank goodness. As for Shizuru, she seemed unaffected by the horror unfolding in front of her.
"Ara, you are right, Ishigami-san. This Black Magic is a messy affair. No wonder people don't practise it nowadays. But don't worry, today will be the last time it will make a mess." Shizuru commented and smiled at Wataru Ishigami.
The confident smile on Wataru Ishigami's face disappeared from his face with a flash and was replaced by anger.
"Viola Shizuru, don't be so cocky. You have not seen what I can do. Tomoe may go nice on you but I won't. You will pay for what you have done to her." Wataru Ishigami sneered.
"Detach, Kai." Wataru Ishigami looked at his younger cousin and instructed. "Show them what you can do."
The moment the head made a three hundred and sixty degree turn, it paused for a while before detaching itself from the body, blood splattering out from the torn arteries, splashing the walls and floors with blood once again.
The moment the head detached itself from the body, the body went limp and lifeless as it fell from the ceiling, like a lifeless doll, onto the floor with a splatter. Blood continued to gush out from the neck, forming a pool of red beneath the headless body.
The head hovered in the air.
This was definitely out of her job scope again. Mai thought as she watched the scene unfold in front of her. She felt like she was watching a horror movie!
"Oh my god. What the hell is that?" Mai gasped. She was undecided if fainting or screaming at the top of her lungs would be a better option.
"Keep the volume down. We don't want to attract people. We don't want any possible casualties." Natsuki cautioned as she motioned Mai to move back.
The eerie green eyes of the hovering head shone bright beneath the unruly brown hair. And his wild eyes were locked onto the three of them.
"Duck!" Natsuki said, moments before the head gained momentum, moving towards them at an incredible speed.
Natsuki leaped to her left crashing into the chairs and table in the living room. She grimaced. She was definitely going to have some bruises tomorrow.
Natsuki picked herself up immediately and grabbed a fallen chair and swung it against the head that was hovering just a few feet from her.
There was a huge 'thud' sound as the chair came into contact with the head. She could feel her hands going numb from the impact.
The impact had the head flying in another direction, hitting the wall with a splatter before rolling onto the floor and lying motionless there. Natsuki raised the chair and took a step toward the head, preparing to deal more blows to it. But she stumbled as she realised her left foot was caught onto something.
"Natsuki!" Mai screeched as she frantically pointed towards Natsuki's left foot.
Shit
Natsuki looked down towards her left foot and saw the headless body clutching his hand tightly around her foot.
She had her attention on the head all along and had thought the body to be just a shell abandoned by the head. But somehow during the commotion earlier on, the headless body had crawled its way towards them.
"Shit shit shit." Natsuki cursed as jerked back and kicked at the body with her right foot. She was sure she heard bone cracking from the headless body as her foot made multiple contact with the body. Blood splattered onto her shoes and pants. And some pink flesh too.
God she was so going to puke soon. Natsuki thought in disgust and horror.
She used all her might as she stamped her foot at the body.. "Let go! Argh… Let go! "
The grip around her ankle tightened instead.
Shizuru turned her attention from the hovering head to Natsuki. She took out a rectangular piece of paper, said a quick chant and threw the paper onto the hand that was grabbing Natsuki. Blue flame engulfed the hand immediately, the moment the yellow paper made contact with it. The body quickly jerked its hand back as if in pain and shook its hand vigorously trying to put out the fire.
Natsuki quickly scrambled backwards, away from the headless body.
The body began to roll around mindlessly, banging onto chairs and tables, tripping over clothes and paper in an attempt to put out the blue flame. The body seemed to be in pain.
Wataru Ishigami quickly took off his shirt and wrapped it around the burning hand. The blue flame quickly engulfed the shirt. Surprisingly, it didn't burn the shirt and the shirt remained intact as the flame burnt over the shirt.
Wataru Ishigami frowned as he studied the flame.
It seemed that the blue flame wasn't an ordinary flame because the flame was only concentrated on the hand and refused to be put out easily despite the many attempts.
Did he underestimate Fujino Shizuru's ability? He knew the spell that Shizuru used, it was useful when used against the hovering head. But he knew it wouldn't be easy to cast this spell and the casting time was long. So his Black Magic would still be at an advantage. But he didn't expect Fujino Shizuru to be able to use this spell so easily and quickly.
Wataru Ishigami quickly took out a yellow talisman, said a quick chant and slapped it on the bundled hand. The flame fizzle off.
There was a satisfied smile on Wataru Ishigami's face when he saw the result.
Looked like his source of information was correct and he didn't underestimate Fujino Shizuru's ability. While Fujino Shizuru could cast it easily and quickly, the power was weak. So in other words, she compromised power for speed.
But just as Wataru Ishigami was happy with the result, the flame returned in full force, burning brightly once again, causing the body to toss and turn around in pain.
Wataru Ishigami frowned, obviously displeased by the reappearance of the flame. He wasn't expecting this. He took out a few more talismans and picked one out. He chanted the spells and threw it on the headless body. If one didn't work, he picked another.
Finally, Wataru Ishigami seemed to have chosen the right talisman and the flame fizzled off. Once the flame was put out, the headless body collapsed lifelessly onto the floor.
"Useless idiot." Wataru Ishigami cursed and gave the body a hard kick, causing the lifeless body to roll on the floor.
Just as Natsuki was about to turn to check on Shizuru, a sharp screech pierced through the quiet room.
Oh my god… What's happening now? Natsuki thought.
Everyone's attention was refocused on the head, which a few moments ago, was lying motionlessly on the floor.
It screeched as it shot up from the floor, dashing through the air towards Shizuru, with its lips pulled back showing its sharp teeth. But Shizuru simply stood there as the head charged towards her.
Natsuki's eyes dilated when she saw that. It was moving too fast and she wouldn't be able to get to Shizuru in time. She could imagine the sharp teeth tearing into Shizuru's skin!
But just as it was about to reach Shizuru, she sidestepped to the left, causing the head to miss by a wide margin.
And because of the mad dash towards Shizuru and the missed attempt to bite her, the head hit the walls with a wet smack and rolled onto the floor, splattering blood everywhere.
The head rose again, apparently angry at Shizuru. It made another attempt at biting Shizuru.
It missed Shizuru.
Another attempt.
Another miss.
Fourth attempt and a miss too.
Had it not been a dangerous situation, it would have been quite comical. Natsuki thought as she looked at the hovering head dashing around the living room in an attempt to bite Shizuru, only to have Shizuru sidestepping the attack easily.
Natsuki scratched the tip of her nose. Did she miss something? She thought Shizuru mentioned this was a more powerful spell?
"Is that all there is, Ishigami-san?" Shizuru glanced at WataruIshigami while sidestepping another attack, obviously mocking him. She was hoping for more but it seemed that this was all it had. Was she expecting too much? Shizuru wondered. Or perhaps he didn't have the ability to fully utilise this kind of powerful Black Magic.
An obviously upset and embarrassed Wataru Ishigami stood there with clenched fists as he watched his prize possession missing every attack.
This wasn't what he was expecting! He wanted to use this Black Magic to pressure Shizuru and get her to beg for her life.
He wasn't going to go down like this! He was going to kill her for what she had done to Tomoe! He took a deep breath and decided to change his strategy. His Black Magic wasn't suited for direct attack. "Kai, summon!"
The head stopped its movement suddenly and let out a loud and sharp screech. The screech was so piercing and high pitched that everyone was forced to cover their ears with her hands.
Suddenly it stopped and turned to face Natsuki. It opened its mouth and instead of screeching, it called out Natsuki's name.
"Ku-ga Nat-su-ki. Come here. Ku-ga Nat-su-ki."
Natsuki widened her eyes as her legs suddenly weakened. For a moment she felt dazed and she was seeing double.
"Nat-su-ki. Ku-ga Nat-su-ki." The head continued to call out.
Natsuki felt giddy and her legs finally gave way as she kneeled on the ground, clutching her head. Her heart was beating too fast and her chest was tight. She couldn't understand why she felt giddy and weak all of a sudden.
And at the same time, the bracelet on her hand tightened around Natsuki's wrist.
Shizuru frowned. The head was trying to call out Natsuki's soul. Because of the previous incident, Natsuki's soul was the least stable among them. So it made sense to target Natsuki.
This Black Magic wasn't suitable for direct confrontation but more suited for indirect attack. Meaning it wouldn't work well when Wataru Ishigami used the hovering head as a form of physical attack on Shizuru. For someone with good agility and reflexes, she could easily escape and avoid such physical attacks. But if Wataru Ishigami used it as a stealth attack, secretly calling out the soul of the victim, it would be more successful. Meaning, Wataru Ishigami shouldn't have shown them Wataru Kai. He should use the hovering head in a stealth attack, secretly calling out their names and souls.
This Black Magic would be powerful if used correctly. But it was too late now that Wataru Ishigami had flaunted his prize possession and shown all his cards, losing the advantage of this Black Magic. He wouldn't be able to win this fight. And all he was doing was to delay the inevitable.
Even if he wanted to pick on Natsuki, this attack won't work on her anymore because the bracelet ensured that her soul stay locked inside her body despite the attempt to call it out.
Though Natsuki's soul would stay in her body, Shizuru knew Natsuki was in pain. Natsuki's soul was still unstable and though calling Natsuki's soul out wouldn't work, it would still cause her pain.
Shizuru glanced at Natsuki's pale face before looking at Wataru Ishigami. There was a smirk on his face. Obviously he was taking pleasure from the fact that Natsuki was in pain.
Wataru Ishigami was going to pay for this. Shizuru thought as she narrowed her eyes.
She had been dragging her feet earlier because she wanted to know what this Black Magic was capable of. But now, the hovering head didn't seem interesting to Shizuru anymore. It just looked distasteful and useless to her.
If she wanted to, she could have easily recreated this form of Black Magic and with better ability and power. Not this kind of trash that Wataru Ishigami created.
And if she could have her way, she would just turn this trash into ashes. But she wouldn't. She knew Natsuki wouldn't want this to happen to the child and Natsuki wouldn't want the child to be implicated because of Wataru Ishigami.
She would end this now. Wataru Ishigami was getting ahead of himself.
Shizuru picked up a shirt from the floor, bit into her fore and middle fingers and used the blood to write a series of ancient words on the clothes.
With the cloth in hand, Shizuru ran towards the head who was hovering in the air. Using the coffee table as a leverage, Shizuru stepped on it and leaped towards the head. With the flick of her wrist, Shizuru scoped the head into the shirt. The moment she landed on the floor, Shizuru quickly bundled the screeching head and tied it inside the shirt, preventing it from escaping. All the while, the head was screeching and thrashing around. But Shizuru's nimble fingers ensured that the knots were tight amidst the struggle.
Shizuru turned to look at Natsuki. But the smile on her face faded as her eyes widened. At that moment, her heart clenched in fear, not for herself but for Natsuki.
Natsuki was in trouble.
How could she be so careless and leave Natsuki open to attack?
"Natsuki!" Shizuru shouted her name, wanting to warn her of the impending danger.
While Natsuki was temporarily dazed by the attack, Wataru Ishigami took the opportunity and swiftly moved to stand behind Natsuki. He raised a wooden chair, ready to swing it on Natsuki.
His strategy was simple. Take one of the police officers out first while Shizuru was busy with the hovering head. The short hair police officer was already paralysed with fear while the blue hair officer wasn't. So it made sense to target Natsuki.
Wataru Ishigami used all his might and swung the chair downwards.
The impact was so great that the chair cracked, smashing into pieces.
With her quick reflex, the chair missed Natsuki by an inch as she rolled to a side, moments before the chair came crashing down. Lucky for Natsuki, she recovered from the pain and dizziness the moment Shizuru had the head sealed and the effect it had on her ended. This allowed her to roll away just before the chair could hit her.
Shizuru finally let out the breath that she had been holding. She unclenched the fist that she had been holding in front of her chest.
Natsuki was safe.
Shizuru could feel the weight on her chest lifting and she could breathe easily now.
Natsuki looked slightly pale but seemed to be holding on pretty well. Shizuru observed. She would tear into Wataru Ishigami if he hurt Natsuki. Shizuru thought as she narrowed her eyes.
At least Natsuki seemed to be feeling better now that she had sealed the head and it wasn't calling out her name.
Natsuki swung her leg and kicked Wataru Ishigami's feet from beneath him. Natsuki might be clueless and at its mercy when it comes to Black Magic. But when it comes to humans, she was more than capable of handling it, even against a full grown man.
Wataru Ishigami landed on the floor with a grunt. And before he could recover, Natsuki quickly picked herself up and leaped towards him. She grabbed Wataru Ishigami's right arm and twisted it behind his back. But he struggled and jerked Natsuki off his back. She slipped and fell, landing against the cabinet behind her.
Natsuki's attention was so focused on the fight that she didn't even feel the impact of the fall.
Both of them quickly got on their feet. But Natsuki's reflex was much faster. She was already on her feet while Wataru Ishigami was still trying to steady himself after the fall.
A series of punches from Natsuki, directed towards Wataru Ishigami's stomach had him doubling over in pain. He wasn't the athletic kind of guy and exercise had never been on his schedule. Thus, even though he was a guy, his strength and endurance were poor compared to Natsuki.
And the punches from Natsuki practically rendered him incapable of reacting. Natsuki took a swipe at his leg and he fell onto the floor, groaning in pain. She quickly leaned down and pressed her knees against his back.
Wataru Ishigami attempted to struggle and jerk his body, trying to dislodge Natsuki from his back. But the struggle was futile and weak as Natsuki leaned forward, pressing down on his upper back using her knee. She grabbed his hair and pushed his head down against the floor hard.
Luckily by then, Mai managed to recover in time and quickly scrambled over to help Natsuki. Her hands trembled slightly as she snapped the handcuffs over Wataru Ishigami's wrist.
"Asshole… you are freaking… under arrest…" Natsuki said amidst her panting as she jerked his legs together.
Thanks to Wataru Ishigami's messy living room, Natsuki was able to find a pair of pants nearby and used it to tie his legs, further preventing his struggle. She then took a newspaper, crumbled it up and stuffed it into his mouth. This would keep him silent and stop him from giving instructions to Wataru Kai.
At the end of all this scuffle, Natsuki sat on the floor panting.
Shizuru strode over to where Natsuki was. At the same time, she took the head and threw it to Mai. "Hold on to it. Don't let it go."
Mai squealed when she saw the head being thrown at her. She didn't want to touch it. But the head landed nicely onto her arms. She gasped as she felt a movement within the bundle and quickly let go of the head, letting it drop onto the floor with a thud. The head rolled around the floor, trying to untangle the bundle.
"I suggest you hold on to it. If the bundle comes undone, we will have difficulty catching it again." Shizuru glanced over at Mai before returning her focus on Natsuki again. With much gentleness, Shizuru pushed the hair away from Natsuki's face to check on her.
"Are you alright?" Shizuru frowned and bent down to study Natsuki's face, checking for signs of injury or pain. "Are you hurt anywhere?"
Shizuru gently moved her thumb over her face, brushing away the dirt and sweat on her face. But when her thumb accidentally brushed against her check, Natsuki winced.
"Gomenei…" Shizuru whispered and gently touched the sore spot with her forefinger. "You will have bruises here tomorrow."
"Yiyeah… it's alright. I get that often in the course of duty." Natsuki scratched the back of her head, suddenly feeling kind of embarrassed under the intensity of Shizuru's stare. Shizuru's stare was getting too intense and her own heart was beating too fast. "So don't worry."
"I…" Shizuru was about to say something when she was interrupted by Mai's scream.
They turned and saw Wataru Kai's headless body untangling the bundle which was holding its head.
As Shizuru was checking on Natsuki earlier on, Mai held the bundle with two of her fingers and her hand stretched out so that the bundle was furthest away from her. It was a torture for Mai to look after the head while it was still moving inside the shirt.
As she was struggling to keep the head as far away as possible from her, she felt a hand grabbing her ankle and pulling her feet from beneath her. She fell and let go of the bundle. And that was when she saw the headless body next to her, holding her ankle.
Apparently, the body was still "alive" and took advantage of their distraction to retrieve its head. The moment it had its head, it unravelled the cloth and freed the head.
The moment the head was freed, the body and the head quickly moved to the other end of the living room, putting some space between them and Shizuru.
The head hovered in the air and bared its fangs at the three of them.
"Ara… We are back to square one again. It is frustrating ne…" Shizuru gave Mai a sideways glance, obviously displeased that her interaction with Natsuki was interrupted. She hoped to end this quickly but now they had to start from scratch again. " Inspector Tokiha, why don't you redeem yourself by taking care of the body while I go after the head again. That's the least you could do right?" Shizuru instructed.
Natsuki opened her mouth to speak and Shizuru knew Natsuki wanted to volunteer to help Mai with it. But Shizuru interrupted and said, "After all, Natsuki took care of Ishigami-san earlier and she has to ensure he doesn't escape."
Shizuru turned to Natsuki. "Natsuki, make sure Ishigami-san stays there. I think we can leave the rest to Inspector Tokiha."
And Shizuru returned to Mai, a smile on her face, even though the smile never reached her eyes. "Would you be able to do that at least, Inspector Tokiha?"
If Natsuki was going to involve herself again, she would likely get injured again. And she was already bruised from the scuffle just now. Shizuru was hoping that Natsuki could at least rest by the side for a while. That was what Shizuru thought as she looked expectantly at Mai.
"Of… of course Viola-san." Mai agreed, though her face turned a paler shade when she laid eyes on the headless body. She heard the undertone. It was obvious that Viola-san was upset that she screwed up earlier on. Well, she felt guilty about it though. She knew she hadn't been pulling her weight here and Natsuki was the one who dealt with Wataru Ishigami. But the problem was, the whole situation here was beyond her understanding! As a police officer, she had seen dismembered bodies but now she was facing a dismembered body that was still moving! That itself was scary to see!
Mai tried her best not to wince when she approached the headless body. It was literally like a horror movie. For the first time in her life, she was dealing with a live headless body. And an agile one. Mai thought as she saw the body jumping around like a monkey.
This was a monkey. This was an irritating monkey that was harassing the public. All she needed to do was go catch the irritating monkey. Mai tried to tell herself as she took out her handcuff. She would go there, grab the hands and handcuff the hands. Easy peasy.
On the other side of the room, the head was moving around, avoiding Shizuru's attempt to catch it. The same trick that Shizuru used just now, wasn't going to work on it again. It learned from the mistake just now. It wasn't going to stay in one spot for long. The head bounced around the room like a ball, zooming past Shizuru at various junctures, trying to take a snip at Shizuru's flesh. Shizuru tried to catch it with the cloth but it flew past her too quickly for her to put the cloth around it. And it tried to come at Shizuru at different angles, making it hard for Shizuru to anticipate the angle of attack. It was like a ball bouncing everywhere at different angles.
Shizuru narrowed her eyes. This was like an irritating mosquito flying around you, trying to get a taste of her blood. Well, if she couldn't catch it, then she made sure it was going to be smashed to pieces.
"Ne Natsuki, pass me a bat or something." Shizuru instructed as she watched the head gunning at her with his mouth wide open. She sidestepped the attack. "Something like a baseball bat."
Something like a baseball bat?
Natsuki thought about it before realising what Shizuru wanted.
Natsuki looked around and spotted the broken wooden chair Wataru Ishigami threw at her earlier on. The chair had broken into two in the middle. The top part of the chair, where a person could lean back on, might be useful for Shizuru. Natsuki thought as she picked it up and slided it to Shizuru.
With her eyes on the head, Shizuru moved closer to the broken chair. She wasn't in the hurry to pick up the chair. The timing had to be right. The learning ability of this head was fast and Shizuru didn't want it to be on high alert should she miss the first try. She wanted to catch the head in the first try.
Once again, the head bounced off the wall, gunning towards her.
This was it. Shizuru thought as she quickly bent down, picked up the broken chair and swung it towards the head with all her might.
There was a shocked look on the face of the head as it was propelled into another direction.
However, Shizuru's eyes suddenly widened when she saw Natsuki leaping towards the head, with a shirt in her hand. Natsuki wasn't supposed to do that! It was dangerous. Natsuki didn't fully understand what the hovering head could still do! Shizuru thought as her face paled. She wanted to call out and ask Natsuki to stop.
But Shizuru knew it would only distract her and the situation would become more dangerous for Natsuki. Shizuru bit the back of her teeth to prevent herself from calling out.
And at the same time, Shizuru snapped out another talisman into her hand, ready to burn the head if needed. Traditional fire was the best way to kill this medium. And by traditional fire, Shizuru meant those fires that burned with wood. But Shizuru didn't do that because she knew that by burning the head into charr, Natsuki would have problems answering to the police.
Shizuru could only hope that nothing would happen to Natsuki.
Sensing someone behind, the head turned in mid propel and bared its teeth at the oncoming attacker, ready to take a bite off her if she came any closer. But Natsuki's reflex was good and nimbly avoided the sharp teeth and did what Shizuru did earlier, she engulfed the head using the shirt. It was the same shirt that Shizuru used earlier to capture it.
"Shizuru! Now!" Natsuki shouted the moment she landed on the floor, crashing into tables and chairs on the way down.
Shizuru would have wanted to rush over to check on Natsuki. But she knew she had to deal with this Black Magic once and for all. To avoid any more uncertainty, it would be better to destroy the Black Magic. With a flick of her wrist, Shizuru swapped the talisman and the new talisman quickly caught fire.
The head screeched, thrashing around the shirt like some wild animal caught in a trap.
The screeches and thrashing got even more violent and shrill as it struggled to get out of the shirt when Shizuru dropped the burning talisman onto it.
The shirt was engulfed in a blue flame but the shirt wasn't the one burning despite the flam. The blue flame wasn't the normal traditional flame and physical items would not be affected by this blue flame. Something else was being consumed by the blue flame.
The head continued to struggle. But as seconds passed by, the struggle got weaker and weaker as the fire burned. And finally the struggling stopped.
Natsuki could feel the tension in her body easing off the moment the fire finished burning. She heaved a sigh of relief as she leaned against a table to rest her sore and tired body.
At this point, Mai already had the body pinned under her. But as she was about to snap the handcuffs on, the body went limp and lifeless. It stopped moving the moment the blue flame finished burning. That blue flame had burnt the soul of the child into ashes. Once the flame had burnt the soul to ashes, the Black Magic would be broken and the child would no longer be a medium of this Black Magic. This was the only way to end this, unfortunately for the child.
It was also at that moment that Wataru Ishigame let out a loud scream as he rolled around the floor in pain. He was screaming and banging his head on the floor.
That gave Mai and Natsuki a shock as they quickly rushed over and checked on him. They had to suppress him and yet prevent him from self harming himself.
"Don't worry. He won't be dying anytime soon. He is suffering now because his Black Magic is broken. He is suffering from the repercussions of a broken spell." Shizuru glanced at Wataru Ishigami, completely unsympathetic.
Under normal circumstances, Shiziru might just throw in another talisman to the burning head to amplify the repercussions of the broken spell as a form of punishment, punishment for all the trouble that he had caused them and the injury he inflicted on Natsuki. At the thought of it, Shizuru's hand itched to take out another talisman again. But she knew Natsuki wouldn't like that she takes things into her own hands. And so Shizuru held back on this.
"And we have more important things to worry about. How are we going to explain this to the police?" Shizuru glanced at the room.
The whole place looked as if war had broken up within the room. Blood was splattered all over the wall and the floor and tables and chairs were overturned and scattered all over the place. And not to mention the headless body of a young child and a head wrapped in a shirt.
It would be impossible to be completely factual. Though it went against the ethics of being a police officer, it would be impossible to write in their report that Wataru Kai detached his head and used his head to attack them. If they really wrote that, they would be given a warning for writing unprofessional reports and be sent for counselling.
So it took the three of them about an hour to iron out and agree upon the details. They would stick with the facts as much as possible. Meaning, they would report everything up to when Wataru Ishigami agreed to show them his family members. After which, the narrative would change.
Wataru Ishigami knew he couldn't escape. Hence he attempted to kill the three of them. Struggle ensued before they finally had him under control.
As for Wataru Kai's body and head, they would explain that Wataru Ishigami showed them the body and the already dismembered head. It wouldn't make sense to say that the head tore itself away from the head.
Wataru Ishigami could give a different account from them. But it wouldn't carry weight because it was three similar accounts versus one account by the criminal and the police wouldn't accept Black Magic as a possible reason for the deaths.
Shizuru sat in the car as Mikoto drove her back to Natsuki's place.
Natsuki and Mai were still at Wataru Ishigami's place to investigate the crime scene. They would have to report back to the office later to write their report. Hence, Natsuki suggested to Shizuru to go home first and she would be back tonight.
To go home first and she would be back tonight.
Shizuru liked that phrase. It sounded like the two of them have a home together, a place that belonged to two of them.
But she knew her stay at Natsuki's place was coming to an end. Wataru Ishigami was under arrest and Shizuru suspected Tomoe would be next. So there should be no more threats to Natsuki. It would be weird if she insisted on staying at Natsuki's place. Unless she could find another reason to stay at Natsuki's place.
Having said that, she really enjoyed the time spent with Natsuki. The thought of parting ways and going back to her house alone made Shizuru feel restless and empty inside.
Shizuru shifted restlessly in her seat and looked out of the window, her fingers tapping on the seat.
Ever since that night, she had been sleeping on the same bed in the same room with Natsuki. Though Natsuki had a guest room, Shizuru insisted on sleeping in the same room and sharing the same bed as Natsuki. Of course on the pretext of ensuring Natsuki's safety. And Shizuru didn't like that room because it had been used by Tokiha-san.
She was getting used to waking up next to Natsuki every morning, to know that she was next to you. Habit could be a scary thing. Shizuru thought. It wasn't just waking up next to someone but waking up next to Natsuki. She enjoyed waking up to see Natsuki still sleeping, a slight pout on her face. It was rare to see the ever-ready-for-action Inspector Kuga pouting in her sleep. Or how Natsuki struggled to wake up every morning, looking confused and disoriented with a slight frown on her face. It just made Shizuru want to kiss Natsuki and chase the sleepiness away.
"Shizuru-sama, we have arrived." Shizuru's musing was interrupted by Mikoto.
Shizuru glanced at the surroundings. They had indeed arrived at Natsuki's apartment. Time sure flies when you are thinking about something good.
Shizuru entered the apartment and sat down on the sofa. She took out her handphone and sent a few messages to Mikoto.
She didn't want to talk to Mikoto about it in the car, in case there were hearing devices embedded in the car. There were simply too many pests hovering around her and it pays to be more careful.
"Someone from the Fujino Clan leaked the spell. Identify the rat."
Right after the message was read by Mikoto, Shizuru deleted the message from the phone.
And within seconds, Shizuru's iphone vibrated signalling a new message had arrived.
"Hai Shizuru-sama."
Similarly, Mikoto did the same and deleted the message after Shizuru had read it.
In Black Magic, there were standard requirements and procedures to cast certain types of spells.
For example, in the case of Wataru Kai, to turn him into a medium, the standard requirements would be a young child between the age of three to eleven and the child had to be related by blood with the caster. This would allow the caster to control the medium. Hence Wataru Ishigami and Tomoe were able to control Wataru Kai because the three of them were related by blood.
The standard procedure to create a medium for this Black Magic would be to slit the throat of Wataru Kai and as the child was dying, circle around the child and chanted the spell to seal the soul within the body. Afterwhich, Wataru Ishigami would have to chant another spell seven times a week for seven days before successfully turning Wataru Kai into a medium.
That would be the standard requirements and procedures. But humans are always greedy as they hunger for greater power. Thus, along the way, clans and groups adapted and developed new techniques to increase the power of the Black Magic.
Fujino Clan had their own unique technique for this type of Black Magic. Though this type of Black Magic wasn't used by the Clan members anymore, someone had leaked it to Wataru Ishigami. But that person was being careful and only leaked part of the spell rather than the complete version so he wouldn't be easily caught or identified.
Though it wasn't obvious, Shizuru caught sight of the ancient symbols engraved onto the skin of the young boy, just at the back of the neck. These symbols had to be carved onto the skin while the child was still alive.
Such a cruel but powerful spell.
If not for the incomplete spell, the hovering head would not be subdued that easily.
