"I guess we can congratulate ourselves." Shinobu crouched next to the edge of the pit and peered at the blood. "You found the blood demon's stockpiles, Iguro-san."
Obanai did not answer, watching her silently.
Automated lamps hovered in the air, illuminating the chamber. Drones scurried around the perimeter of the pit, dipping in measuring tubes. A team of robots was working actively outside, obtaining fresh data from the samples.
Mask lifted to his forehead, Kanzaburo examined the walls in curiosity. Obanai occasionally gave him sideways glances, not used to the old man's regular appearance.
The snake hashira felt uneasy. His original goal was to find the bird demon, but the situation took an abrupt turn. However, even though it was not his mission, he couldn't leave, simply out of duty to his colleagues.
"The robots got some data ready." Giyuu stepped into the hole, hand resting on the hilt of his sword. Obanai looked at him.
"And?"
"The mean age of the demons obtained from the blood is around two hundred years old, though there were many outliers."
"That doesn't tell us anything," Shinobu echoed. She glanced over her shoulder. "What about the type?"
"Chaotic." Giyuu walked up to her. His eyes narrowed as he observed the blood pool. "There's no one predominating blood type. It seems they were all mixed together randomly."
Obanai noticed how Shinobu's lips draw into a dissatisfied, tight line.
"Interesting," she said quietly and turned back around. The red reflected on her face. "The demon can combine blood types without provoking a negative reaction. That's a very... curious power."
By her tone, she clearly did not like the development. Obanai's eyes shifted back to Giyuu. The water hashira was gazing unemotionally at the blood.
The snake hashira wondered once more how there was anything between the two.
Obanai crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. His head was hurting slightly from the explosion, and, closing his eyes, he massaged the bridge of his nose.
"You were searching for the winged demon, right, Iguro-san?"
His cybernetic eye connected to the eye of his snake. Through half-lidded, electrified vision, Obanai gazed at the back of the woman's head.
His fingers pressed harder against the bridge, rubbing against the bone.
"Yeah. So?"
She glanced over her shoulder.
"For Mitsuri-san?"
Even though he knew better, he got frustrated. Obanai opened his eyes and slightly scowled. Shinobu narrowed her gaze and stood up, the rim of her black coat grazing the floor.
"Just be careful. Already three people know your secret."
"I never said anything," Obanai replied dryly. Shinobu frowned, but was silenced by approaching footsteps.
"If you don't mind me interrupting..." Kanzaburo said self-consciously, hands in pockets.
"No," Giyuu replied shortly. He was still staring at the blood, observing how it ripples slightly from the measurements the drones were taking. Kanzaburo nodded, silently thanking him, and turned to the other two hashiras.
"Someone set up a block hologram around the walls. That's why my sensors couldn't detect the blood."
Obanai tightened his fingers around his arms. He wasn't familiar with this type of hologram. He gave the insect hashira a quick glance. Judging by Shinobu's face, she wasn't either. Kanzaburo sighed.
"Giyuu, you can explain."
"It's a hologram that deactivates any type of detectors," Giyuu described curtly. He finally turned around and gave the crow a puzzled look. "But they're rather uncommon to see."
"Because they're illegal," Kanzaburo barked. A slip of frustration lingered in his voice, and the crow, sighing, rubbed the back of his head. Obanai wordlessly raised his eyebrow. It seemed that the old man was personally affected by having an illicit network in his domain.
Kanzaburo crossed his arms, but uncrossed them almost immediately, as if unable to focus.
"In this city, everything is recorded and documented. Thousands and thousands of files in the cyber dimension... You guys are there too." His face hardened.
"There are millions of detectors, sensors, cameras, fingerprinting, and any other type of identity aggregators you can think of in just a square kilometer of space. Can you imagine the strength of the hologram so that it bypasses all of that?"
Obanai felt somewhat aware of the wall he was leaning on. He remembered the brief glimmer when he entered the room. Was that the hologram disintegrating?
"Were you able to capture it?" He asked, addressing the crow. Kanzaburo shook his head.
"It was already dissipating. There were too many torn connections for the hologram to hold on."
Dammit. The snake nudged him lightly in the neck, sensing his owner's discontent. Obanai distractedly rubbed its head, calming it down.
"Anyways, Iguro-kun," Kanzaburo's voice was grim. "May I inspect your snake?"
Obanai started in surprise, and the snake took this moment to curl around his fingers.
"Whatever for?" He inquired, somewhat suspicious. Kanzaburo smirked.
"Giyuu, show him your map," he ordered, slipping his hands into pockets. The water hashira threw the crow a glance full of bewilderment, but switched on his watch. A large image of the map projected into the chamber, the red clashing with the blue.
Kanzaburo squinted.
"Truth be told, I was pissed off when you called, Iguro-kun," the crow started slowly, walking up to the hologram as he spoke. "I guide the little ones here every day, so I know the sewers by heart. And," he reached out with his hand and tapped a point on the hologram with his finger. "I was justified to think this way."
Obanai followed silently with his eyes to where the old man was pointing. The hologram shimmered, the map contours wavering slightly. However, the picture remained the same: there were two tunnels and a wall.
The snake hashira returned his gaze back to the crow.
"Just to be clear," Obanai enunciated, "I was using your maps."
Kanzaburo grinned softly. "I figured. Can you project it still? Just for comparison."
Obanai arched his eyebrow, but complied with the request. He was getting a vague idea of what the geezer was implying, and if his hypothesis was correct, he wasn't sure if he liked it.
If his hypothesis was correct, it meant that they found this chamber by chance.
The map flashed next to the other hologram. They were practically identical, except that Obanai's depicted three tunnels instead of two. Kanzaburo scanned it quickly, before a gleeful, satisfied fire appeared in his eyes.
"There it is." Because of the expansive size of the hologram, he had to stand on his toes to point to the location. "N-15."
Obanai felt the light adrenaline creeping to his head. He gripped the hilt of his sword, suppressing the sensation.
The map featured a hexagonal pit positioned underneath a large grid.
"If I remember correctly, it was the waste compression compartment," Giyuu commented quietly, the hologram reflecting in his eyes. "You could see it from the outside."
"Yeah," Kanzaburo sighed. The moment of contentment passed, and his face was exhausted once more. The wrinkles clearly stood out on the dry skin.
"We can check out what's there now."
Lowering the mask onto his face, he took out a portable transmitter from his pocket and shoved several dangling wires into the slots.
"Tanizaki-kun," he said rather sternly into the speaker. "You're in sector N-15 right now, is that correct?"
"Yes," a young, slightly distorted by static voice replied; the crow turned on audio transmission. The chapped lips curled behind the mask, and the two red orbs gazed at the hashiras.
"And what are you doing?"
"Scouting," the demon slayer replied in surprise. "Did something happen, Kanzaburo-san?"
"Did you notice anything geographically weird while you were scouting, Tanizaki-kun?" Kanzaburo smirked, relaxing just for a moment. "Like a twenty-first century mausoleum protruding from a wall?"
Obanai didn't see the need of the crow to push out a joke from himself, but the voice on the other side laughed, light-hearted and warm.
"What are you talking about, Kanzaburo-san? I'm in a tunnel right now."
Obanai's eyes darted to the side, and he saw how Giyuu unnoticeably flinched.
"Tunnel?" Kanzaburo repeated in a dry voice. Obanai gripped the hilt tighter, sensing his throat tighten in anticipation.
"Tanizaki-kun," the communicator continued in a hoarse voice. "Could you do me a favor and hold your watch up to the tunnel's wall? I want to do a material check."
There was a sigh on the other hand as the demon slayer obediently walked up to the wall and stretched out his wrist. The red eyes shimmered, data reflecting within the glass, but the light disappeared almost immediately after.
"Thank you. Best of luck, Tanizaki-kun."
"Yes, sir!"
The communication disconnected, and Kanzaburo pulled the mask off his face. The transmitter nudged in his pocket, slightly drawn by the wires upwards.
"Just like expected. The tunnel is the same as the others, thirty years old." He rubbed his face, fingers smearing the wrinkles. "I'm so done with everything..."
The silence hung low among them. Hands in pockets, Obanai digested the information. The pit was a perfect location for storing blood, but the demon obviously didn't want it to be visible to the onlookers above the sewage system. So, inexplicably, someone switched the two locations, burying the pit deep in the sewers. It was logical, from the demon's point of view.
There was only one question left.
"You didn't mention how this is related to Kaburamaru."
"Right." Kanzaburo stepped through the hologram, the networks enveloping around his figure.
"It's simple, at least I think so. Remind me again, which sections of the snake were augmented?"
"The frontal cortex and the ocular system."
Dropping the mask back down, Kanzaburo leaned forward and looked at the snake. The creature hissed quietly, wrapping its head with its tail. Suddenly, the vision in Obanai's eye went black. He staggered back from surprise, but the crow quickly grabbed him by the arms.
"Sorry," Kanzaburo apologized sincerely. The vision blinked back on, and Obanai glared at the old man.
"Explain yourself," he said rudely, shaking the hands off his arms. Giyuu arched an eyebrow. His wrist was resting against the hilt, fingers listless.
"You think the snake altered the maps?"
Kanzaburo glanced over his shoulder to look at his colleague. His hands still hovered next to the snake hashira's shoulders. "I think it reacted to the high frequencies exerted by the block hologram."
"You think?"
Kanzaburo looked back at the young man in front of him. Obanai held his gaze, psychologically preparing his brain for what was going to happen.
His right eye switched off. The snake hashira gritted his teeth, watching with his remaining vision how the red orbs of the crow shimmer as they traversed the neurotic networks that connected him with Kaburamaru.
The snake moved abruptly across his chest, wrapping around his neck, and Obanai felt its tongue slither against his ear. The creature was angry. In a reflex measure, the hashira touched its scales. Through the fabric of the gloves, he felt the snake shivering.
"Seriously, can't you get yourself a proper crow…"
"Keep your inferiority complex to yourself," Obanai made out through clenched teeth. Kanzaburo smirked through the mask.
"I'm pulling out. Don't get dizzy."
The vision appeared a second later, and the snake hashira exhaled. Looking down, he saw that Kaburamaru was stiff across his shoulders. Cursing the crow in his head, Obanai nudged the snake's snout gently with his finger. Kaburamaru weakly bit the fabric, before closing its eyes. Swallowing down the acidic taste in his mouth, Obanai looked up at the other two hashiras.
Giyuu's gaze was somewhat sympathetic, and Obanai's lip twitched. Shinobu was standing with her arms folded over her chest.
"I'm glad I removed my augmentation," she said with a soft smile. The insect hashira eyed Kanzaburo.
"You've yet to get Uzui-san on this."
"I'll catch him at some point." Kanzaburo pressed several buttons on his temples. The map holograms flickered off on their own, both watches shutting dark.
"I'm sorry, Iguro-san."
"Get to the point," Obanai intervened. His head was aching, and the looming trip back to his region seemed even more meticulous. However, Kanzaburo seemed to not notice his rudeness.
The crow stopped next to the edge of the pit and gazed into the blood.
"Giyuu, when was the last time the sewers were reconstructed?"
"Half a year ago." The water hashira regarded the old man next to him. Kanzaburo sighed and, glancing over his shoulder, nodded towards Obanai.
"Your snake was sensitive to the block hologram since both operate on different frequencies than my system or the city sensors. Kaburamaru perceived the disturbance in the net, but he got derailed, simply due to the sheer force of the hologram."
The crow smiled, ironically.
"I doubt that your buddy knew about the chamber. Only that the wall did not belong here. And so he pulled the latest map since the update and gave you a different blueprint."
The snake's fangs dug in slowly, reaching the skin. Obanai stared silently at the crow, cold anger, not directing at anyone in general, swirling inside his mind.
A drone swam out of the pool and, shaking its metallic body from the red droplets, hopped onto the floor and scrambled towards the hole.
As soon as it disappeared, Obanai turned around. There was no more reason for him to stay.
"I'm off."
He started towards the opening, but Shinobu's voice made him pause.
"I'm heading to the hospital. Do you want to come with me?"
Obanai's heart jumped, but he squelched it almost immediately. Staring at the opposite wall, he knew that he couldn't go, and not just because of his shift. Mitsu would smell the sewers, and he didn't want her to know… that he wanted revenge. She will never accept him for that.
"I'll pass."
He stepped out of the compartment.
Outside, the analysis robots continued working away, collecting the evidence. A little away from the edge of the platform, Sanemi was setting up a monitor on a portable table. A plastic bag was lying next to the keyboard. Obanai recognized the blood vessels.
That's right, there were those things.
For a moment, he hesitated, debating whether he should return back and inform Kochou about them. Before he could make a decision, though, the white-haired man glanced over his shoulder.
"Leaving?"
The decision came immediately after.
"Yes."
The wind hashira's eyes lowered on the plastic bag, and a dark shadow slipped over his face. A moment later, however, his lips curled into a sarcastic grin.
"Give my regards to Mitsu-chan."
Obanai knew that the man was lightly teasing him, spurring him to react.
"You'll do without," he said simply.
Sanemi snorted and slightly lifted his hand. Obanai smirked and turned around, walking in the opposite direction.
The wind hashira followed him with his eyes before straightening out and walking towards the hole. He reclined his elbow at the entrance, tucking his other hand in his pocket and looking in.
"I've set up the equipment for the analysis. You ready?"
Kanzaburo sighed. "I'll be right over."
Sanemi nodded. His eyes slid over the blood pit, and his lips dropped into a sour grimace; however, he didn't comment and simply turned around.
"Hurry up," that was all he tossed over his shoulder. Kanzaburo sighed again, nudging the mask on his forehead.
"You know," he said slowly, massaging his eyelids. "If you told me that Obanai would break all the rules possible… well, I guess I was always a fool in these things."
Both Giyuu and Shinobu were silent. Kanzaburo shook his head and walked past the hashiras.
"Giyuu, I received a message from Rengoku-kun. He thanks you for the clothes and says they should've been delivered to your apartment."
"Sorry?"
Kanzaburo waved his hand, simultaneously ducking down to pass through the hole. His tall height didn't allow him to easily go through.
"Don't worry about it. Both your and Kanroji-chan's clothes had the bird demon's fingerprints on them, so I shipped it straight from the hospital to the labs."
There was a tired grin in his voice.
"Dunno if they stitched it up, though."
The two hashiras were left alone, the silence disturbed by the humming robots scurrying across the floor. The shadows molded on Shinobu's face as she regarded the pool.
"I'll have to do a proper report on this," she said quietly. "And let everyone know as soon as possible."
Giyuu gave her a quick glance, before looking at the blood with her. It was unnatural to see so much of it in one space, viscous and scarlet.
"We said we'll ignore the demon's motivations for now." The red reflected on his face. "But this level of intricacy—"
"I know," Shinobu answered, her shoulders briefly rising in an instinctual movement of exhaustion and aggravation. "I know."
A drone ran up to the female hashira's feet, and the young woman crouched down, stretching out her hand. The drone jumped into the open palm, and Shinobu gazed at it, eyes steadily becoming cold.
"I was thinking of placing a tracker into the pool." A threat echoed in her voice. "That way, if the demon begins extracting blood, we can find him."
"I'm so glad you came," Mitsuri sighed, dipping the spoon into the soup with satisfaction. Leaning on the window frame, Kyojuro smiled.
"I remember what they fed me the last time I was here. I thought my bowel wouldn't stomach the plastic."
Mitsuri giggled as she took another spoonful.
"It's not that bad; we're just spoiled, Rengoku-san." The young woman chewed slowly, savoring the taste. "Did Huifang do this?" She asked through the full mouth.
"That's right." Kyojuro watched how Mitsuri made her way hungrily through the bowl. Her cheeks were sunken in, but her eyes seemed refreshed.
Obanai's image appeared in his mind.
Kyojuro looked away. He was unsure if he made the right decision.
"Rengoku-san?"
Kyojuro turned back around, raising his eyebrows in a wordless question.
"Mmmm?"
Mitsuri blushed and slightly lifted the tray with the empty bowl. To his shame, it took Kyojuro a moment too long to realize what she was indicating. He laughed at his own awkwardness, and, stepping away from the window, took the tray from Mitsuri's hands.
"Sorry, that was stupidly long."
"No, it's okay. Besides, who are you to apologize? You brought the food, so I'm the one thanking you."
Folding her hands neatly on her lap, the young woman reclined against the pillow. Kyojuro placed the tray on the white counter and, turning around, sat down at the edge of the bed. He gave her a deep, warm look.
"Does Iguro-kun visit often?"
Mitsuri didn't drop his gaze, but her fingers tightened against each other.
"He tries the best he can."
Kyojuro's eyes traveled to the vase of tulips standing at her bedside. He regarded them for a second, apprehension rising inside his chest, but forced himself to look back at Mitsuri. He couldn't doubt himself in her presence. She was perceptive, and he had to honor Obanai's wish.
"What about Kochou?" Kyojuro switched the topic. "She must barely have time for you with the entire demon business."
Mitsuri laughed, brushing the braid past her shoulder. "Is this why you actually came, Rengoku-san? To discuss something with Shinobu-chan?"
He should've known that it would be useless to trick Mitsuri.
"I can't say you're wrong."
Mitsuri sighed, the mirth fading in her eyes. She shook her head.
"Something happened again. Shinobu-chan left a while ago."
"I see. Well, it's not critical. I wanted her solely to get faster through the hospital logistics."
Mitsuri tilted her head, examining Kyojuro with her large eyes.
"Did you conduct some tests or something?"
Kyojuro gazed at her. On one hand, he wanted to avoid telling Mitsuri the details so that she can take this time to rest. On the other hand, she was his partner, and he knew she wouldn't appreciate being held in the dark.
"I looked into the bird demon's profile." Kyojuro scooted closer to her. Mitsuri moved her legs to the side to give him more room. "The only statistics we have is the one reconstructed from Tomioka's camera. Other than that, the demon is not in our database."
A crease appeared on Mitsuri's forehead.
"Did someone erase him from the records?"
"Either that, or he found a way to avoid detection." Kyojuro was quiet for a moment, considering the possibility. The more he thought about it, the less probable it seemed: even some areas in the sewers had cameras installed.
Mitsuri nudged his arm, pulling him out of his thoughts.
"And? What did you decide?"
Kyojuro looked at her. "I asked the hospital to give me your and Tomioka's clothes for analysis. The demon had contact with it, and I thought I could trace it that way."
Mitsuri instinctively wrapped her arm around her bandaged waist, but her eyes were fixed at the man in front of her. They were intrigued.
"Are you sure it will work? He had talons instead of feet. His hands resembled claws, too."
"But there was still skin under those nails, right?" Kyojuro's hand tightened into a fist as he looked into her eyes. "We won't know until we try."
Mitsuri smirked softly. "I know."
Kyojuro smiled. "I'll go then. Get better, Kanroji." He lightly ruffled her locks, and the young woman giggled, blushing under his touch.
"Okay."
Picking up the tray on his way, Kyojuro walked across the room and quietly closed the door. Mitsuri sank into the pillow. She stared at the ceiling, the smile disappearing from her face. Emotions flurried inside of her: she was worried for her companions and upset that she couldn't join them. Mitsuri lifted her hand in front of her face and gazed at the callouses.
Just a few days without using the sword, and they already hurt to touch.
Mitsuri closed her palm and lowered it on the bed. The fan hummed at a steady pace, swishing through the air.
Kyojuro handed the nurse the tray. There was no smile on his face.
"Is the analysis complete?" He asked in a low voice.
"Yes, Rengoku-san." The nurse gestured with her head. "Northeast wing, lab room twenty."
Kyojuro nodded in thanks and walked briskly down the hallway. He noticed a departing elevator and, running up to it, managed to walk in. There were at least five more people there.
"Which floor?" The bodiless voice.
"Central." Kyojuro held out the doors to let a hospital worker with a medical cart roll in. The elevator rang softly, registering the request.
His stop was the first, and the hashira stepped out onto a clean, marble-white station.
The ceiling was made of glass. Kyojuro took a glance at it and had to squint his eyes; the afternoon sun was still high in the sky. Fountains and neatly-trimmed plants adorned the bronze statue of the Buddha, and the sound of gurgling water tinkled with the pausing train.
In one stride, Kyojuro crossed the platform and stepped into the cabin. He had to admit, the transportation system of the city was nothing compared to that of the Kaunan District: the seats were stitched up and clean, there were no rain or dirt smears on the windows, and the walls were lacking traditional graffiti.
Looking around in satisfaction, Kyojuro sat down and placed his coat on his lap. Closing his eyes, he arched his neck back and rubbed the nape. He had no need in hurry; the lab block was at the periphery of the bustling district. He could take this moment to relax.
He felt a knot in the muscles adjacent to his neck, and he dug his fingers in. The strain melted reluctantly.
There was a loud shuffling, and Kyojuro opened his eyes in curiosity. It was just more passengers boarding the train. Continuing to massage his neck, the hashira examined them without thinking, before swinging his hand over the seats and looking out the window.
The doors swiped close.
The subway moved without sound. Passengers talked quietly among each other, tucking the bags under the seat. It smelled of antiseptics and the washing powder that was used for all medical gowns.
The different facilities flashed behind the window, always too short to observe fully. Kyojuro lowered his chin into his palm. There was a foreboding from the upcoming tests, but he didn't let it enter his consciousness and simply absorbed the passing views.
It became loud in the cabin when they stopped at the orphanage level, and a group of arguing teenagers tumbled in. Kyojuro threw them a brief glance: Shinazugawa's little brother was not among them.
Overtime, the amount of people thinned. The passengers who were patients departed around the main block, scattering to respective appointments. The med staffers dispersed randomly, while the orphans left at the front lobby. Kyojuro continued gazing out the window.
The facilities became stricter, darker in color. There were glimpses of testing equipment, of people wearing protective coats and apparati, of robots, looking nothing like the stylized, human-like models, appearing and disappearing in the hallway.
The doors swooshed once again.
Letting the coat swing over his elbow, Kyojuro stepped out and looked around.
The station was small, just a slip of concrete next to the train. Long tunnels stretched on both sides. A singular door was against the wall, and Kyojuro, walking up, pushed it forward.
The room was bare save for a rectangular machine in the center. Slipping the badge off his neck, Kyojuro walked up to the machine and tapped the screen. It responded swiftly, displaying several options.
Reason for coming
Glancing at the various responses, Kyojuro chose the one that said "Data Analysis Checkup." The machine processed it almost immediately and showed a new prompt.
Please show your authorization.
Kyojuro lifted up his badge. A laser clicked, scanning his information.
Rengoku Kyojuro. Data analysis checkup for samples sent 20 June, 2503, under the authorization of Kochou Shinobu, employee of the Kaunan Central Hospital.
A green light blinked on the top of the machine, and the opposite wall disappeared, revealing a hallway of offices. A protective hologram. Kyojuro smirked. The security was pretty tight in here.
Please proceed to office No. 3. We thank you for using our services.
Kyojuro slipped the badge in his pocket and walked around the machine. The hologram weaved together into a wall behind his back.
The door to the office was open, almost inviting the hashira in. The monitor was also on, the data already pulled up. Kyojuro firmly closed the door and sat down on the hard chair. His palm landed on the mouse.
There were two clusters: the fingerprints and the indentations left by the demon's talons. The fingerprints were blurred. Kyojuro wasn't that surprised; data taken off clothes was often shaky.
Taking the speaker from his breast pocket, he inserted it into his ear and typed in the code into his watch.
There was a loud crash, and Kyojuro jolted from surprise.
"Urara?" He asked after a moment of hesitation. There was a sniff on the other side of the line.
"I'm sorry, Rengoku-san... I just dropped... some stuff..."
"Are you alright?" Kyojuro frowned. Mitsuri's crow, due to her fidgety nature, tended to knock down everything in her vicinity. She often got hurt as a result.
"Yes, I just hit my elbow." The hashira heard the woman sit down in the chair. "What can I do for you?"
"I'll send you a certain fingerprint," Kyojuro said slowly, gazing at the reconstructed image on his screen. The lines were ruptured and chaotic. "I want you to trace it through the city detectors."
"Will do."
Listening to the typing in the speaker, Kyojuro leaned back and loosened his tie. The anticipation was catching up to him. There wasn't a cooler in this facility, and he felt the shirt clumping to his skin.
"Rengoku-san?"
"Mmm, Urara?"
"Nothing shows up. That is... the detectors don't have this fingerprint."
Kyojuro sat up abruptly and, placing his elbows on the desk, intertwined his fingers. He stared at the screen, quickly thinking.
"Then feed it to them."
"I can't. It's giving me an error."
"Error?"
"Yes." There was a nervous and slightly panicked hitch in her voice. "I just get redirected back to the prompt. It's as if the computer refuses to take the fingerprint."
"Alright." Kyojuro agreed easily and pressed the mouse. "I'm sending you a new sample. It contains an indentation pattern. Use this."
"B-but... Rengoku-san..." Urara said, perplexed. "Our databases don't have these kinds of records. I'll have to mobilize the scouting drones in each district to scan the various surfaces."
"Exactly. Think you can do that?" Kyojuro asked softly. Urara stuttered and fell silent. He could sense her reluctance and felt guilty for overwhelming her. Still, he was prepared to argue back in case she disagreed.
"I'll try, Rengoku-san," Urara finally conceded. Her voice carried defeat. "But it'll take some time... it'll take a long time."
"I'm in no hurry. Just stay on the line."
The crow hummed something in response. Closing his eyes, Kyojuro crossed his arms and slouched in his chair.
The fact that the fingerprints would be absent from the records occurred to him in the train, which is why he wasn't that surprised with the results. If the demon was cautious enough to delete his presence from the cameras, he probably would've done the same for identification scanners. However…. there were no detectors for footprints.
Or claws, in this case.
It was a hefty task, creating a new dataset, but if there was one unifying feature among the hashiras, it was their dogged persistence.
Kyojuro's head dropped, thoughts slowly disintegrated. He had to remember to buy some sake bottles on the way home for his old man. It was better to keep him quiet while Senjuro was studying for his exams... Hearing the steadying breath, the female crow quieted her typing, allowing the young man to drift asleep.
"Rengoku-san? Rengoku-san?"
Kyojuro woke up with a start, hearing his snore halt midway. He shook his head; his mind was clear, but somehow more tired. It was dry in his throat, and his shirt was rigid from sweat. Kyojuro unclasped his arms, bones cracking in the wrists, and scooted in the chair forward.
"Urara?" He rubbed his eyes, shaking off the sleep-induced grogginess. "How long was I out?"
"Three hours."
He was lucky he didn't get kicked out. Suppressing a yawn, Kyojuro clicked the mouse several times to revitalize the computer.
"How's the progress?"
"I... I finished." There was a glint of pride in her voice.
Kyojuro immediately tensed and crushed whatever sleep left in his body. He straightened in his chair and pressed the speaker to his ear.
"And? What did the drones find?"
"I'll send over the results to you."
The monitor flickered, and the map of the city appeared on the screen. Kyojuro slightly moved back, eyes momentarily unfocusing from the abundance of stark colors. Peering closer, he told out red dots, scattered all over the map.
"The red dots you're seeing right now are the indentations the drones found on various surfaces that share resemblance to the data samples."
The entire Lower Level was saturated with red. Kyojuro glimpsed indifferently at those districts: if the demon was around since the city's foundation, it wasn't too surprising to see him everywhere. Irregularities were more important…. Kyojuro blinked and leaned forward, making sure he wasn't seeing it wrong.
A trail of red dots spun from the Lower Level through the Middle Level and into the Upper Level. It ended with a red clutter in a rough rectangular area of space.
"Urara?" Kyojuro's voice rang in the room. "What's this place?"
"It's the Hasu-en Apartment Complex, Wakayama District. Apartment Number 404."
His finger traced the path of dots. "And this?"
"... an airway duct."
Kyojuro stood up, pushing the chair away. His thoughts were racing.
Even if the demon was in an airway duct, the sensors embedded into the walls would still pick up his presence. How in the world was he able to mask it, let alone enter an apartment in the Upper Level?
The chair swiveled wildly as the hashira grabbed the coat from its back seat.
"Clean the disk and turn off the computer," Kyojuro ordered as he walked out of the office.
"Yes, sir!" Urara piped.
The wind flapped his tie and coat lapels when he stepped outside the hospital, but the young man didn't notice it. Brows knitted above his eyes, he caught a taxi and curtly told him the address. The sun was dipping into the horizon, flashing in a myriad of orange hues on the windshields.
He took a detour only once, stopping at his apartment to take his sword. He was brief: neither his father, lounging in the kitchen, nor his little brother, studying in his room, noticed him.
Shutting the taxi door behind him, Kyojuro placed the wooden case with a textile strap on his lap and looked out the window. Dosages of adrenaline stung his muscles, but his mind was cold.
The taxi hovered in front of a pleasant-looking apartment complex. The buildings were painted in warm, pastel colors, and Kyojuro could tell a homely-looking patio beyond the arch entrance. Fingers tensing over the case, he leaned over the passenger seat and passed the driver several tokens.
"No change."
He stepped out on the platform and briskly walked down the platform. He eyed the open windows and balconies, flowers entwining the railings.
A pond with lotuses was in the center of the patio. Several children ran around, laughing and tossing a ball to each other. A woman, most likely their mother, sat on the bench and read a book.
This place was so commonplace and peaceful, it was disquieting.
"Urara," Kyojuro said almost inaudibly to the speaker. "Directions."
"Turn right and up the stairs to the fourth floor."
Trying not to catch attention, Kyojuro did what he was ordered. Running up the stairs, his eyes passed the various doors, and his heart clenched at the sight of amiable welcome mats, lines of shoes drying up from the dirt, and large pots with exotic plants.
"What is the data on the apartment?" Simultaneously, he unclasped the case and took out the red katana.
"It was occupied until three years ago by a family of five. They then moved out to a different region in the Upper Level. The complex managers are currently leasing it to a woman named Oryo Inori."
"Identity?"
"She's a cyborg, eighty-three years old. She conducted the surgery ten years ago, after a stroke. Oryo-san rides in her wheelchair three times a day around the patio, likes listening to classical music, and has completely lost her mind."
"How do you know all of this?" Kyojuro asked, swerving on the fourth flight. Was Oryo an ally of the demon? Who knew, the demon may have been her relative in human life. His fingers tightened on the hilt. Or was she just a dummy facade meant to conceal the true inhabitants?
"The apartment's survey app," Urara promptly quipped back, unaware that the hashira wasn't paying attention. "Rate Your Neighbor."
Kyojuro roughly halted in front of the door. His eyes lingered on the numbers. 404.
Unlike the other doors, this one had neither a welcome mat nor a pot with aloe.
His hand hovered, uncertain whether he should just get to the action. Manners won over.
The knock resonated quietly across the hallway. Kyojuro tensely waited, muscles prepared to spring in case of a sudden attack.
A second passed. Then another.
The hashira roughly hit the door with his leg. It flung open and crashed against the wall. With lightning speed, Kyojuro darted forward. His eyes widened.
A/N: I'm back!
Happy 2022, everyone! I hope the new year has been treating you all well.
Even though it's been only two weeks, it feels like a very long time to me. Well, here's another big chapter with many events going on. No notes for this chap, so hope you've enjoyed it, and thanks for reading!