Arc 0: Prologue

Chapter: The Eccentric Passenger [III]

The engine came back to life and the taxi soon started to leave the police barricade. The young passenger in the backseat resisted the urge to wave at the older police woman. He was not some love struck kid, he had to remind himself. Besides, he had her number now. There would be plenty of time to kick back and relax and perhaps make an effort to get to know her better, both in and out of uniform.

The taxi driver minded his own business. A look at the rearview mirror revealed the kid was lost in thought, probably daydreaming about beautiful women in police uniforms. He saw him take out the piece of paper with the woman's supposed number and as he expected, the young man's face betrayed mild confusion, then a gentle sense of realization and finally a wry smile stretched across his lips.

"Huh."

The taxi driver thought the young man handled disappointment better than the average youth of the day. Of course, being a veteran he knew what must have taken place.

"Did Chief Fuji give you her number? Or did she write 110 on that piece of paper?"

The young man folded the piece of paper and put it inside his jacket pocket. He didn't appear the least bit embarrassed.

"I take it she does this often."

The taxi driver told the truth. "I have no idea. But Ryo likes to gossip."

"I take it he does little else." The young man remarked. He took a look at his wristwatch, took note of the time and let out a small whistle. "We are cutting it a little too close. How far is this place?"

"We are almost there." The taxi driver replied. "I hope you have exact change."

The young passenger grumbled a little to himself, took out his wallet, checked its contents and nodded his head. The taxi driver sneaked another look into the rearview mirror and found the young man was a bit more anxious than before. But the older man didn't care much for his plight. He was just another eccentric passenger who took a ride in his cab.

"Officer Kawai said something about the place being located in a safe neighbourhood. What did she mean by that?"

The taxi driver kept his eyes on the road.

"Odokawa-san, I'm talking to you."

Sometimes, he really hated the exuberance of youth. The entire generation had a problem keeping their mouth shut. And who in the world made it a job requirement of a taxi driver to engage his passenger in idle chit chat. Wasn't it enough that they drove them around and brought them safely to their final destination; apparently not.

"I don't know. She's a police officer, so she's probably talking about crime."

The young man shook his head. "Odokawa-san, you know I'm an expert at catching people who lie. Now I don't know why you are lying, but I know you are lying."

Odokawa wasn't impressed. "Everyone lies."

"Now that's the truth." The young man pointed out. "But why are you lying, now that's the question. You don't look like you are involved in any criminal activity. The way you interacted with the police is no different than how you interacted with me. In other words, you are not a two faced hypocrite. Neither do you suck up to people. You just mind your own business."

"It's the best way to live." Odokawa remarked.

"I kinda agree with you." The young man said. "But unfortunately the nature of my job makes it difficult to stay out of other people's business. And I have been doing this for a while now. Longer than I care to admit. And I have gotten really good at it. Do you know, I think people make the best mysteries? What makes a person tick? That's what I want to know."

Odokawa wasn't annoyed. "Have you thought about the fact that people might not want you to know this kinda stuff?"

The young man leaned back against the seat and stretched his arms. "Well, it's a good thing I never cared much about people." This time he leaned forward and spoke in a more professional tone. "Now what is it you don't believe Odokawa-san: Ghoul Attacks or Kira Killings?"

Odokawa has been driving taxis for over twenty years. He has had all kinds of weird passengers in his backseat, spouting all kinds of nonsense. If the young man thought he could shock him with his display of intelligence he was sadly mistaken. If you lived in this town long enough, nothing would seem to faze you. That's just how it is in Ikebukuro. But the older man knew what to say and when to say it.

"How did you figure it out?"

This time the younger man grew a little impatient. "I haven't figured out anything yet! You didn't answer my question."

Tch. Young people these days. No patience, no respect, Odokawa thought. But still he obliged the young man with a reply. "Ghoul Attacks."

Odokawa expected the young man to go on a rant and tell him how he was being stupid and careless by not understanding the threat ghouls had on society, but he did none of those things.

"You don't believe in ghouls." He repeated. "Huh."

The taxi driver mentally prepared himself. But instead of confronting him, the young man asked another question. "When we were stopped in the police barricade, you mumbled something about a scary gorilla. I thought you were talking about Officer Ryotsu, but now that I think about it, I think I made a mistake. You were talking about Chief Fuji, weren't you? Now why would you call a beautiful woman a gorilla?"

Odokawa thought about lying. He thought he could get away with some stupid explanation. Sometimes Ryo even joked that the policewoman's personality was that of a gorilla. He could go with that. It should be enough to fool the man in the backseat. But for some reason he hesitated. And then he took a chance.

"I called her a gorilla because she is a gorilla."

The young man grew quiet. This wasn't an interrogation. He was just making polite conversation.

"You don't understand ghoul attacks because ghouls prey on humans. But you don't see the world as full of humans. No, you see them as full of animals. To you, the entire world is a zoo."

Odokawa neither confirmed nor denied anything. "Always wanted to work at a zoo when I was little."

The young man ignored him and started to rifle inside his suit pocket for his phone. He thought he could help the older man. But his actions were misinterpreted.

The taxi driver grew annoyed. "Oi! Don't take my picture and share it online. I don't want my story to go viral."

The young man seemed offended by the mere suggestion. "Please. Do I look like some attention hungry teenager who wants to make a quick buck off your pain and suffering? Absolutely not. I just want to help. Quick question: Have you experienced some kind of trauma?"

Odokawa grew a bit uncomfortable. He gripped the steering wheel tightly and gave a non-committal response. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"I will take that as a yes." The young man said offhandedly.

The taxi driver couldn't care less now that he knew the young man wasn't taking his photo and posting stuff about him online. He seemed to be engrossed in his phone, typing away something which seemed rather important.

Odokawa didn't want to bother him, because he was starting to treasure the peace and quiet. The taxi had entered the smaller lane which would finally lead them to the café, the ultimate destination of his passenger. The young man didn't seem to notice or care. He was busy writing an email:

[Dear Doctor,

Hope you are doing well. I am currently in Ikebukuro, Japan. I am sure you have heard of the reputation of the place. As luck would have it, I have stumbled onto an interesting case which might fascinate you.

The subject is a man in his early forties, a taxi driver by profession and he seems to view the entire world as full of animals. I am being quite literal here. He sees humans as animals. For example, he described a normal policewoman as a gorilla. I had my suspicions and they were confirmed when he told me that he has endured some kind of trauma in his past.

The case fascinates me and I think it will fascinate you as well. If you would care to shed some light on the matter I would be much obliged.

Kind regards

Hick.]

The young man finished his email and clicked onto the list of contacts. Now here he faced a short dilemma. He scrolled through the names and two names popped out – Dr. Daniel Peirce and Professor T.

He clicked Daniel's name without much thought. The man liked a good puzzle. But he was wary about the professor. He might not take kindly to such an approach.

"We are here."

The young man looked up from the screen and accidentally hit send. Now instead of looking out of the window and checking for signs of the café, he quickly searched the sent box and as he suspected, the email was dispatched to both professors.

"Oi! Get moving." The taxi driver barked.

Well, no use crying over spilt milk.

The young man got out of the taxi and looked at his wristwatch. Just on time. In fact, he had a few more minutes to spare to do another good deed. It should be worth some karma chips.

As he paid the taxi driver in exact change, he asked for his contact details. But the man wasn't as forthcoming.

"C'mon! I don't have a car yet." The young man said. "I need a ride around town."

"Take the public transport like everybody else." Odokawa said.

The young man blinked. "Should a taxi driver really be saying that?"

But it was no use and as the taxi driver put the keys back in the ignition, the young man decided to go with the honest truth. "Look, Odokawa-san. I really want to help you. Now I know a man of your age won't go to a doctor and tell him what is really going on. When I was growing up, there was a stigma surrounding mental illness and I know that hasn't changed yet. All I want to say is, it's not crazy to ask for help and it's pretty much insane to refuse free help. Now before you blow a bloody gasket, I should tell you that I have shared details of your unique condition with a university professor. He's an American neuropsychiatrist." The young man omitted to mention the fact that he had sent the details to a British criminologist too. "I expect to hear back from him soon. And when that happens, I need to get in touch with you. So, I would like your number."

The taxi driver listened to everything the young man had to say and afterwards turned the keys in his ignition. The engine came back to life and the young man gave up hope. But finally the taxi driver let out a world worry sigh and reached into the breast pocket of his tee-shirt and produced a business card.

"If you tell me I have adolescent syndrome, I will block you." Odokawa said with a huff.

The young man smiled as he pocketed the card. "You are too old to have adolescent syndrome, Odokawa-san. But don't worry, there is something definitely wrong with your head."

The taxi driver shook his head and drove away without even wishing him 'good luck'. The young man didn't mind. Besides, he didn't need luck. He was confident he would ace this interview. And with the false bravado of a soldier, about to face an uphill battle, he marched inside the café and mentally prepared himself for the interrogation of a lifetime.