Chapter 1 / The Null Hypothesis, Part 6
Murasame could tell that their chances of victory were very slim.
His body was in pain and he only had a few more attacks left in him. The boy, however, was an enigmatic variable in the equation. Murasame didn't know how capable this boy was, but even if his gut feeling tried to tell him otherwise, he had no choice except to depend on the boy for their escape.
The boy had to be capable of something. It felt like the masked figure was withholding important information about the boy from Murasame, so he had to bank that this hidden information would be enough to turn the tides in their favor. It was asking for a lot though.
"Let me make this clear, kid! That person over there is our enemy! If we want to escape this facility, we need to defeat him! I've already spent a lot of my energy trying to get you out, so I'm leaving this mission to you!"
"Y-Yeah! You got it, Mister Murasame!" The boy pulled his hands up, though rather anxiously and awkwardly. "How am I supposed to do that?"
"Are you kidding me!?"
Murasame knew the boy had a strong hook back at the hospital, but when he analyzed the boy's stance, it was a complete mess. His hands weren't clenched as if he was going to slap somebody, his legs hadn't been bent as if he was standing in line, and his body shape hadn't really expressed that he was preparing himself.
"I still can't let you down!" Exploding from his strange stance, he awkwardly ran forwards to reach the masked figure. "I owe you for helping me out, so I'll try my best! Here I go!"
"Wait, kid! If you don't know how to fight, you can't just—!"
It was already too late.
Even if the kid looked clumsy, his speed was still nothing to scoff at. With a few blinks of the eyes, the boy was already right in front of the masked figure and wailing his arms. No matter how fast the boy moved his arms, there hadn't been any gravitas to his attacks. The masked figure couldn't dodge them, but that didn't matter if he could simply block the assault and shrug it off.
"Is it working, Mister Murasame!?"
"[Allow me to answer that for him.]"
With one swift charge, the masked figure slammed the baton into the boy's chest, sending him backwards as quickly as he approached. A few bounces off the ground slowed his momentum, but the boy then crashed into Murasame. The two tumbled around until Murasame had the chance to push the boy off.
"[It didn't work. How could it? You are but a mere experiment to us.]"
The masked figure spun their baton in the air and caught it with the other hand.
"[Do you not think that we would know how capable, or rather lacking, you are? You were not designed to be a weapon, after all.]"
Murasame pondered about the strange choice of words.
"If that's the case," Murasame grunted, "isn't that counterintuitive of what you were preaching moments ago? You didn't want people to be used as tools."
"[You're more foolish than I had thought. No matter, I needn't waste my breath. There's no reason to speak more for a eventual corpse.]"
The boy's head was spinning, but he eventually came about to find himself on the ground. The boy seemingly had an easy time standing up, but he quickly got disoriented from the immediate rise, but he didn't look disheartened as he walked up to be in between Murasame and the masked figure.
"That was a bad attempt, wasn't it? Thanks for catching me." He got back into his awkward stance, ready to pounce once again. "I'll try again and—"
"Give it a moment, kid!" Murasame reached out to physically stop the boy. "You're not getting anywhere like that!"
"What am I supposed to do!?" the boy cried. "I need to keep swinging if I want to defeat him, right!? That's how it works?"
Murasame knew that if he left the boy to his own devices, the fight was already as good as over. Even if the masked figure was slower, their experience in combat was evidently higher, so if the boy wasn't capable of developing his own tricks to keep up, Murasame had to be the one to do it for him.
He swallowed his pride.
"Listen to me. Bend your legs. Clench your fist. Keep one hand in front of the other at all times while simulating your feet in the same manner. That's your stance that you need to center your movements around. Do you understand?"
While Murasame never had the capability of being a shinobi, that merely rested with his lacking potential. And while Murasame still fought regardless, a combination of his hotheadedness and egotistical nature made a terrible combination for him to be on the frontlines.
That did not mean Murasame was dimwitted. He once aspired to be a shinobi himself, so he wanted to learn all that he could know about the tribulations he would face. If theory was all it took to become a shinobi, Murasame would have been able to pass the exam with flying colors.
"Like this?"
"Close enough," Murasame scoffed while crossing his arms, "but knowing those basics isn't going to be our ticket out of here. When you approach the enemy this time, follow what I command."
"Right…"
Although the voice in the boy's tone was shaky, there hadn't been a doubt that the boy was trusting Murasame with every fiber of his body. Murasame was about to command the boy to advance, but tactics had to swiftly shift once the masked figure was the one to engage first. Murasame stepped back to give the confrontation some space.
"Keep an eye on the baton and block it with your arms!"
The boy stepped forwards some distance to intercept the masked figure, throwing out his arms to defend against the calculated swings. The boy grunted with every impact as Murasame could see the red marks and bruises showing up along the boy's arms. He looked like he wanted to cry from the pain; Murasame wasn't going to pretend that it wouldn't feel comfortable, so he watched carefully for the boy's sake.. Narrowing his eyes, Murasame caught onto the timing of the masked figure's assault.
It was currently on Murasame's shoulders to gain an advantage.
"Push that away!"
He wasn't sure if the boy knew what that would mean, but as the baton slammed against the boy's arm, the boy instantly pushed back against the force and opened up some breathing room. The masked man staggered backwards, but they recovered quickly.
"One big strike forwards!"
However, the boy was quicker.
Exactly as Murasame wanted, the boy tightened his fist even harder and lunged. The masked figure could not retaliate as quickly, being forced on the defensive for the first time. Despite even blocking with their baton, the masked figure was pushed backwards by the momentum as they needed to drag their feet to brake to a stop.
"How was that, Mister Murasame?"
"You're getting a hang of this, kid!"
As the boy caught his breath, trying to rub the pain away on his arms, the masked figure spun their baton back into its usual position. Their eyes furrowed at the duo.
"[What's going on? Was that a fluke?]"
"Hey! What are you mumbling to yourself about?" Murasame smirked. "Are you starting to get scared that we have the chance to turn the tables?"
"[Provocations won't work, but if you want to accelerate things along, then I shall let you have your wish. Be sure that you do not regret your decision so soon.]"
The masked figure tried a different approach this time. Instead of colliding head-on with the boy, the masked figure aimed for the one that was commanding him. With an encirclement of the pair, Murasame realized the switch of targets early.
"Kid! Get in his way!"
"I got it!"
Caught off guard by Murasame's shout, the boy laid his eyes on the masked figure and dashed to stop their path. The boy tried firing off a punch of his own accord, but it was noticeably clumsy again. It allowed for the masked figure to slip right by with their baton winding up for a downward swing onto Murasame's head.
It strained Murasame's body to yank himself out of the way. He could feel something in his body shattering as he slammed onto the ground, but he bit through the discomfort and pushed himself to be out of the masked figure's range. Not that it meant much considering how quickly they could close the gap, but the split second of escape gave the boy one more attempt to interrupt the masked figure's assault.
"I won't mess up this time!"
The boy launched himself back to his opponent, but another stiff punch emerged from him. The masked figure easily grabbed the boy by the wrist and slammed him onto the ground next to them, erupting in the boy's agonizing scream.
"[I suppose it was a fluke]."
The boy, however, was in a prime position for a counterattack as Murasame saw it. Murasame started running back to them as the masked figure took their attention off the boy for a mere moment. It was a mistake on their part.
"Ignore the pain and sweep them off!"
Almost immediately, the kid bit down on their teeth and spun their legs over to kick the masked figure's legs off the ground. The sudden movement surprised the masked figure and they were forced to release their grip, jumping over the sweeping legs. Their bewilderment of the contrasting quality of attacks boggled their mind long enough for Murasame to close in with a punch of his own.
"You're wide open!"
Murasame stressed most of his energy into that single punch, hoping it would be enough to even daze the masked figure. His attack certainly connected, but it was blocked by the masked figure crossing their arms at the last moment. It was still enough that Murasame's strength was able to launch them backwards, returning a suitable distance between the two sides. Murasame, however, collapsed onto a knee, holding onto the arm he placed so much pressure into.
"Mister Murasame! Are you alright!?"
"I can handle it! You focus your attention on our enemy! Don't let their presence leave your sight! The moment we don't know what they're doing, that's when they have the advantage!"
On the other side, the masked figure took a few moments to catch their breath.
"[What is going on with that thing's movements?]"
The masked figure stayed silent for a bit before a heavy breath was released.
"[Ah. I see what's happening. This is very interesting.]"
Murasame struggled to stand up on his feet.
"What are you mumbling about, bastard?"
"[No, this is far more interesting to leave this as it is.]"
The masked figure chuckled.
"[I had a change of heart, Murasame. Congratulations. It's your lucky day.]"
The boy whimpered, but Murasame ignored him, narrowing his eyes onwards.
"You're letting us go?"
The masked figure returned their baton to their coat and raised their arms haphazardly, as if to coincide. It didn't feel like one to Murasame though. "[Indeed. I didn't have much time to waste here in the first place. From the very beginning, I was on a timer because of my own carelessness.]"
Murasame frowned. He wasn't sure what the masked figure was talking about.
"[However—]"
"There's always a catch, isn't there?"
"[—I haven't demonstrated what it is that you would be missing out on, have I? I claimed this facility to be the former site where research of the Domination Branch occurred, but you wanted to see the practicality of it.]"
From another pocket, the masked figure revealed a mysterious gemstone and held it above them. A subtle gust of wind kicked up, surrounding the masked figure as if it were alive.
"[Allow me to show you absolute domination.]"
The gemstone turned dark as it radiated a shadow-like mist. The entire building felt like it was shaking, but Murasame's eyes laid on the darkness that was seeping from seemingly thin air behind the masked figure. The surrounding had turned dark, flickering with a red light like the color of blood. It was a heavy presence, a suffocating one.
"Mister Murasame! What's happening!?"
From behind the masked figure, the space had cracked and shattered as if the air had simply been a glass pane. A claw crawled out first, knocking the bounds of reality away as the rest of the body followed from a hellscape void.
The boy fell backwards as his face paled in what had revealed itself into their world.
Murasame could only describe it as a chimera of some kind.
A lion's body, a snake's head, skulls attached to its back as if they were impaled by its moving spikes. Its skin looked like there were eyes all over it, occurring like it was a kind of eldritch horror to the unknowing mind, but Murasame knew exactly what it was
"A yōma!?"
"I don't know what that is, but I don't like it!"
The gemstone flashed, as if responding to the yōma's presence and just as its attention noticed it, an unusual light was emitted from its body and that aura was sucked up into the gemstone. Once the light had died now, the yōma had stomped around the masked figure and glared at them.
"It's not paying attention to them!?"
"[Oh, it has noticed me. However, I have been recognized as its owner. In its eyes, I am its dominant counterpart and it shall respond to my orders from now on until I dismiss it back into the hell it came from. That is the research that the Domination Branch has worked on for these last years.]"
"This is what you meant by making them into your weapons?"
"[The previous director's intentions of the Domination Branch was to have these monsters controlled under possession like a puppet and to sell them off as weapons to those who needed them. I'd say that would be an excellent form of replacement for the shinobis, wouldn't you say?]"
"That's insane! Have you even looked at that damn thing!?"
"[If you ask me, I think the misguided shinobis and their misused systems are far more monstrous than the yōma could ever be, but I'd be repeating myself. So as I mentioned before, I will leave you be.]"
The masked figure turned away as a fragmented portal, hazing with a dark mist, opened up behind them. They started walking towards it, disappearing within its embrace.
"[I wonder if this yōma will do the same. Try not to die too quickly. In fact, do your best to defeat it. I await to see what comes out of this little distraction.]"
And just like that, the masked figure was gone.
Under any other circumstances, Murasame would be glad, but that couldn't be further than the truth. He could be thinking about the possible ways that their organization has been researching these yōma in more ways than this or the implications of their experiments if one could be confidently released right here, but none of that mattered right now.
Do they try to beat it? He didn't even think the boy could handle anything of that margin. He was already on the ground from seeing it. Even if it was of a lower rank, it meant nothing if the power Murasame was relying on had been quaking in their shoes.
But do they try to run away instead? That's practically impossible. Not only was Murasame still feeling injured, especially after forcing out his last attack, but the monster had been blocking the only exit from the room.
If the fight or flight response did not provide an actual result, then what was their choice here? Murasame rummaged through his brain, trying to think of a solution, but nothing was coming up. The idea of kicking the boy over to become bait as Murasame escaped with his life did cross his mind, but even Murasame hadn't been so heartless to sacrifice someone for his own sake.
"What do we do!? You don't expect me to fight that, right!?"
"That might be the only thing we can do here!"
"No, no, no! Please tell me that you're joking!"
"Do you think I'm joking around at a time like this!?"
Murasame noticed that the spikes were slowly extending themselves outwards. His instincts took control of himself once the spikes suddenly launched outwards.
"Move out of the way!"
Murasame threw himself out of the way as the boy leapt out in the same direction. The spikes were unrelenting though, despite missing and digging themselves into where they were standing. Murasame could hear the ground rumbling from underneath him and once it was cracking, the spikes lunged upwards to pierce Murasame. He staggered backwards to barely dodge out of the way, but the answer was clear that they couldn't stay in one place.
"Keep moving!" he shouted to the kid. "Don't stop if you don't want to die!"
"Fwehhh?!"
The both of them were scrambling about, barely dodging the spikes coming at them from all directions by a hair's length. Without a chance to breathe, Murasame's head started to spin as one of the spikes finally caught him. Blood spurted out as it stabbed into his gut, but he grabbed onto it to stop it from going any further. It didn't matter much since there were more spikes falling down on him.
"Mister Murasame!"
A split second to make a decision.
How does he get the spikes to not impale him all over his body?
How does he escape with his life?
"Let him go!"
"Kid! What the hell are you doing!?"
The kid ran at the monstrous creature, closing in with a tightened fist. He struck against the body cleanly, pushing the yōma away a few feet. The boy surprised even himself as he looked backwards to see if the spikes were retreating from Murasame.
"I did it! Did you see that, Mister Mura—!?"
"Don't get distracted!"
Murasame's shout was too late.
The spikes did retreat. Murasame was able to take out the spike that dug into him. However, the spikes immediately turned onto their assailant. Without hesitation, the spikes impaled the boy. Ten spikes equaled ten piercing wounds, opening up gaping holes in his body.
Blood splattered all over the ground as the boy coughed up more of it.
The spikes lifted the boy into the air, letting the blood drip right in front of Murasame's eyes. A gulp was drained down as he wasn't prepared to see such a gruesome scene. He knew that fighting a yōma could mean death, but his exposure had made that sense trivialized. After all, he was able to escape from them without a problem, while his sister was able to fight them off without breaking a sweat.
"It… It hurts… It hurts… so much…"
The boy murmured something as Murasame felt like time was stopping.
With one motion, the spikes threw the boy downwards onto the ground, resulting in one blood splat. The human body would not be able to sustain such a blunt trauma, not to mention the loss of blood, and the brutal scene made Murasame's stomach sick to the sight. A human body was not meant to turn in such a grotesque way nor was it built to take an agonizing abuse. The world felt like it was spinning, but his feet were frozen still as color was sapped from the environment. Was he nauseous because he watched someone die or was it because he was the reason why that death happened?
Wincing at his injuries, he stared blankly as the spikes started hovering before him like a predator watching its prey. He didn't want to forfeit his life and fight back with everything he had left, but the fear of death climbed his spine and made him pale. Soon, he would be the same as the lifeless corpse he saw before him.
There were still too many things he hadn't accomplished yet.
He slowly closed his eyes, thinking of his parents and his sister. Never before would he expect that those three would have been the ones he would want to see in his final moments, but that would have been a thought made by a Murasame from the past. He held his breath and prayed.
"Arise, O' Phoenix—!"
"That's…!"
He turned around to see a bird, blazing with blue flames, flying towards the spikes.
"Oukaensen!"
The bird flew through the spikes and burned them right off. The yōma flinched as the spikes, or what was left of them, recoiled back to the main body as the snake head hissed at the sudden presence that revealed themselves to the room.
"Ha! You sure took your time, Sister!"
"You did an excellent job on holding out!"
Standing by the door, Ikaruga sheathed her sword back to her neutral stance. She was in her shinobi outfit, consisting of a white gold-trimmed jacket, resembling its design to something like an uniform of an imperial army.
"How did you even get here?" he asked.
"I thought you knew your phone had a GPS tracker."
"Wasn't that lost in the hospital?"
"This location was the last known place it was detected until the signal was lost."
Murasame frowned, but when he looked over to the boy's corpse, he saw that a device had flung itself away from the bloodstains. It was, in fact, the phone that he thought he dropped back at the hospital. As he remembered it again, he had given the phone to the boy to calm him down, but since they were interrupted by the attack, Murasame must have forgotten to take it back. It worked out in his favor though.
The masked figure must have figured out their time limit based on that.
"That boy…"
Coming over to Murasame's side, Ikaruga couldn't ignore the corpse either.
"We can worry about that later." It was a cold statement, but it was the truth. Whatever was needed to be done to mourn, it can be done when everyone else was out of danger.
Murasame tried to stand up, but his injury pushed him back down.
"Don't move, Brother. I can handle this myself."
Ikaruga placed her hand on Hien's handle as her eyes focused on her opponent.
"What is a yōma doing in a place like this?"
The yōma cried out as it lunged forwards with its entire body this time.
"Ikaruga! Watch out!"
The blade of the nodachi revealed itself for a brief moment and as the yōma came into her range— "Hien Hosen : Mode One."
A flurry of slashes came from Ikaruga, leaving behind countless afterimages in its trails. She then followed up with one final slash going through the yōma. With the blade returning back to its sheath, the afterimages sunk into the yōma's body and exploded as it collapsed into pieces in front of Murasame.
It caused Murasame to wobble backwards, spooked by the head that was lifelessly staring at him.
The light from its eyes disappeared and after another moment, so did the rest of its body as it faded into dust. Murasame can only presume that it was vanquished and it was fading away from this world, either to return to its own realm or disappear into nothingness.
"W-Well…" Murasame took a deep breath, finally getting some room to breathe in safety. He dusted off his clothes. "That's the end of that. That wasn't a half-bad display, Sister."
"You were the impressive one. Anyone in your position might have already succumbed to the yōma's brutality. Even if it was of low ranking, a yōma is still dangerous."
"You don't say…"
Murasame didn't need to question that. The proof was already before him. Ikaruga noticed where Murasame had been looking, but she chose to not talk about it. However, Murasame's conscience would not allow for blatant ignorance. His hand balled up into a fist.
"I don't understand why the kid threw his life away for me."
"He protected you?"
"I didn't tell him to! I had the situation handled, but then he just…"
Murasame shook his head. Even he couldn't act like his prideful self over this sight. Any excuses or meaningless pointing would mean disrespect to the one that sacrificed his life for him. Trying to hide behind the idea that this wasn't his fault was nothing more than a tasteless defense.
"This isn't my fault."
"I never said it was."
Murasame's hand shivered as the image of the impalation flickered. His hand fell down to the wound he received in his gut.
"Death is something that comes with being a shinobi, isn't it? The risk is always there. I always knew that and nothing about that will change, but when someone else gets involved and suffers the ultimate consequence for it, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth."
"Brother." Ikaruga's words were soft. "Let us depart. We need to treat you for your wound. We'll make sure this person receives a proper burial. It's the least we can do if they were able to protect you."
Ikaruga gestured for Murasame to leave, but he ignored her request, at least for the moment. He slowly walked up to the body's corpse, casting a solemn glance at his mutilated condition.
"I did all I could, but it wasn't enough. Such a familiar feeling."
"Brother…"
"I'm fine, Ikaruga. I don't need sympathy. Let's go."
Murasame was about to turn around, but he noticed something strange. He asked for Ikaruga to wait a little longer as he knelt down to the boy, trying to inspect the body. This is no longer out of guilt, but it was out of utter confusion. Murasame could have sworn that the boy was impaled.
Where were the injuries then?
"What the hell…?"
He reached out for the boy's bloodied hand instinctively and pressed his fingers against his wrist. There was a subtle pulse beating ever so slowly.
"How is this possible? He's still alive?"
Ikaruga immediately rushed over. She conducted a few checks on the boy and nodded to confirm Murasame's discovery. She knew the basic first aid procedures, but she didn't know how to do it if the person in question looked like they were in good health, aside from the blood. It was only that they were unconscious.
"What do you want to do?"
"Isn't it obvious? We can't exactly leave the kid here if he's alive."
Murasame was willing to count it as another miracle, but this one was inexplicable.
Ikaruga lifted the boy off the ground, finding him to be extremely light.
"How about for you? I can still lend a shoulder to you."
Murasame winced, being reminded of his injury. "I'd rather not. If I can't make it out by myself with something as little as this, how can I be seen as a proper shinobi to the Houou Name? Don't make me laugh; I'm more durable than I look."
"As long as you're not pushing yourself."
Murasame turned around and started to drag his feet towards the exit. Ikaruga giggled a bit, knowing Murasame is putting on a bravado for an audience of one. Though, his words weren't entirely a lie, since if Murasame was left alone, he would probably be able to take care of himself fine. Ikaruga simply couldn't help herself in worrying about her brother.
-/SK-EV/-
The reason why Ikaruga knew about Murasame's disappearance was rather elementary. His chauffeur had noticed the sudden takeover of the hospital, but he had been knocked out the moment some of the thugs noticed his presence in the parking lot. A damaged limousine was proof that they were able to blindside the chauffeur before he had a chance, but the moment he woke up, he contacted Ikaruga to see if she was able to track down where Murasame had been taken to. She had evening classes to attend to, but her family's safety was far more important.
The police had arrived with Ikaruga to lock down the area, but there was only a small sub-section of them that were sent out. They had been the ones to be informed about the existence of shinobis, so they didn't need to hide anything regarding that from them. Murasame watched as they investigated part of the building, finished off some procedures and blocked off the perimeter. There may not have been a crime scene here, but it was a good way to ward off unsuspecting eyes.
After Ikaruga laid the unconscious boy to the side, she went to help Murasame cover his wounds.
"Thanks," Murasame reluctantly said.
He held onto the bandaged wound lightly with his scroll in his other hand. Ikaruga had stumbled across his weapon thrown to the side when she was investigating the facility and making her way down to the basement and it was returned to him as soon as the opportunity presented itself.
"It doesn't seem like I'll be able to walk into the office like this for a while."
"I hope you'll take a break now."
"My hands still work and I can still think pretty rationally, so I can just do my job remotely at home. I won't have everything on hand, but there's no reason for progress to come to a grinding halt."
"That does sound like something you would do, but I will advise that you should take it easy until you make a full recovery. You don't want to put more stress on your body since a hospital trip will do more than stop your productivity."
Murasame clicked his tongue, unable to argue against Ikaruga's reasoning.
"You haven't taken a single vacation since you've joined Father in the Phoenix Conglomerate, nor have you taken a sick day for yourself. I think you've deserved a little rest."
"I'll think about it later." Murasame turned his head, hiding his embarrassment of being reprimanded by his younger sister. His leering eye tried to change the subject. "Hey, wait. Don't you still have classes? Shouldn't you be heading back to the campus soon?"
"Are you sure you'll be fine by yourself?"
"Depends on how well this wound was patched up," Murasame sarcastically responded. "If so, I'll be fine. If not, then too bad. I'm not trying to be the reason why my little sister skips her classes."
Ikaruga was amused, but she could tell that if he was acting like that, he could certainly handle himself from this point onwards. The chauffeur had been parked around the corner, ready to take Murasame home whenever, so there hadn't been any point for her to stay here.
"Of course. I'll see you when I get home, Brother."
Ikaruga made a quick and formal bow to make her departure, but as she turned around, one more thought popped into her head and enunciated itself aloud. "Oh, and please ensure you talk to the person in charge of the police here. He typically works with Father to ensure that nothing of the shinobi world is able to leak out to the public and since he isn't here right now, I'm sure you'll be able to be a suitable replacement to help cover up whatever happened."
"I'm not in a real rush to go anywhere. I might as well tie up these loose ends."
"You'll have to mention about the yōma that you encountered there as well."
"I'm not a kid. Don't patronize me."
"Ah. I apologize," Ikaruga giggled.
As he watched Ikaruga leave with her own limousine waiting for her, Murasame's gaze drifted back to the mysterious boy. To be tying up loose ends was a bigger problem than he let on. Of course, covering up everything was the easy part, but loose ends needed satisfying answers to finally tie it up to set it aside and forget about. Without those answers, Murasame's mind would be gnawing away at them. No stone should be left unturned when it comes to a business deal—it should be the same way here.
The boy's chest raised itself subtly. It sank down at the same rate.
"Why do I even care?"
"Mister Houou. Glad to see you again."
"Hmm?"
With the sudden call, Murasame turned his head to see a familiar face. It was the detective that was assigned to the boy's case from yesterday, but Murasame merely narrowed his eyes.
"I'm sorry, but do I know you?"
"Surely, you jest."
It took a moment for Murasame to remember. "Ah, you're… Masago."
"As delicious as a masago sushi would go right now, I'm afraid you've got my name wrong. It's Detective Masanori. I'm the one who's been dispatched to watch over everything here and make sure things get wrapped up enough for the public to dismiss."
"Oh? So you're the guy that my sister was talking about?"
"I was surprised to hear about such a situation. I didn't think that there would be an attack on the hospital, much less one during the time of your visit. I must apologize for the one who prompted you to head over when you had the time."
"Cut to the chase already. I'm not interested in pleasantries."
"Of course. We're in the middle of suppressing any information that might come out from the attack on the hospital, but that does not give us any leads as to who was behind the attack. Were you able to encounter any evidence that leads to a possible culprit?"
Murasame crossed his arms, as Masanori whipped out his notebook. It was a different one from yesterday, a way to organize between the normal cases and the shinobi cases.
"I'll tell you what I know."
After another round of questioning, Murasame was already tired from speaking with Masanori. He told him about how the group that attacked the hospital merely hired arms from the real organization behind it. He told them about the objective of the attack, that being the boy. He told him about the masked figure that he encountered, the head of the organization. And he told him about the yōma that appeared within the facility.
However…
"Were you able to hear why they were doing all of this?"
Murasame paused for a moment.
"What's going to happen with the information I provide to you?"
"It will go into the investigation report. There isn't much to it, but since this is a matter that deals with yōma, I believe it may need to be forwarded to the shinobi clans."
Was there any point to it?
The masked figure knew about Murasame's shinobi life, something that is closely kept to the family's secrets. The only ones who could have possibly known about Murasame's misfortune in his younger years were those higher-up in the shinobi clans. Rumors might be able to circulate around, but the masked figure spoke with conviction. They absolutely knew that the rumors were correct and gambled that Murasame would want to help them in taking down the shinobi world. Not only that, but the masked figure was also rather confident that if he had spread their plans to the shinobi clans, it wouldn't amount to anything that could stop them.
Murasame would have to assume there was an insider, a mole hiding among the shinobis. Anything with weak evidence would have been snuffed out, while his future word would become susceptible to criticism. Saying something right now would prove to hurt him more if he was right.
"I'm not sure what they're trying to do. They didn't mention it."
"... Is that right?"
"Is that all you've got for me?" Murasame rolled his eyes. "I'd like to leave now."
Masanori closed his notebook.
"There remains the situation of the boy."
Murasame grimaced. He was hoping that he could leave without making a second thought on it.
"It will be difficult to put him back into the hospital. We have the ability to suppress the staff's memories, but it is not a complete wipe. We'll be able to change whatever motives they had against the hospital to whatever is convenient for us, but it means that bringing the boy back is inconvenient."
"You're offloading the decision to me as to what we should do with the kid."
"To put it in less savory terms," Masanori nodded. "You were the one to come across him."
Murasame wanted to swear; he'd have to make do with doing that under his breath.
"The police can keep him with us for a bit, but because he seems to be of adult age, we can't keep him around without too many questions. The more questions there are, the more suspicious it would be. However, he would be safe there, for however long we would keep him for. The police station isn't a place where that organization would try to siege if they wanted to try and kidnap the boy again."
"All that organization has to do would be to wait. They don't have to act with risk."
"That is true. Any other thoughts?"
Murasame racked his head over it. He really wanted to say that he didn't care and leave the boy to whatever the detective had in mind, but the boy had been waking up from his dreams in the meanwhile. The subtle groan caused Murasame to look over his shoulder.
"Nnnh…"
His red eyes opened up to the dark skies.
"Where… Where am I…?"
"It's nice of you to finally wake up, kid."
"Huh? Ah…" The boy turned his head towards the voice. "Ah! Mister Murasame! Gah!"
The boy immediately tried to stand up, but just as quickly, he fell over from the dip in blood pressure. Murasame could only grumble as the boy tried to dust himself off.
"Can we not do this right now?"
The boy pushed himself up onto his feet, still feeling light-headed. "What's going on right now? Did you beat that scary monster!?"
"Obviously, the monster was dealt with. How do you think we're outside?"
"That's so cool! I knew you were strong enough to take care of that monster!"
"Of course! Who the hell do you think I am?"
As the boy's eyes sparkled with Murasame's nose growing longer, the detective watched as he saw the two of them interact. A thought came to him.
"What don't we ask the boy to see what he wants to do?"
"Me? To do what?"
"That's fair." Murasame crossed his arms, turning to the boy. "I won't be taking you back to the hospital since you don't like it there, but that means you don't have any other place to go. You'll need to decide on what it is you want to do from here on out."
The joy in the boy's eyes suddenly disappeared as it was panned downwards to the ground. It was clear to anyone that the boy was as unsure as the others participating in the conversation. Without any memories, it was a stupid question to ask in the first place.
"Never mind. We'll figure something out when—"
"I want to help you out, Mister Murasame."
Murasame raised his eyebrow. Masanori rubbed his chin.
"I know you're an important person and you don't have much time to waste on people like me, but I owe you a lot. I can't forget your kindness! Not only did you save me from the river, but you saved me from that monster as well! There has to be something in your world that I can help out with!"
"You've already done enough to—"
"What!? I haven't done anything yet! Without you, I wouldn't have been able to escape!"
One person felt like they had debts. One person felt like the debts were already cleared.
No—if he had to consider things objectively, Murasame was still indebted to the boy. Without him, there would be no chance of him escaping with his life. Then again, if the boy wasn't there to cause the problem, none of this would be happening. Does that even it out? He couldn't tell.
What was the compromise then? How would both Murasame and the boy be satisfied with the relationship of debts that they built up for each other? The answer was much closer than he had realized and once he saw it, a sudden laughter bursted out. Although this boy was a complete stranger, there was something about this boy that made Murasame want to gravitate towards. The reverse appeared to be the same, leaving him with a clear decision.
"Mister Murasame? Why are you laughing?"
"I'm fine. I'm fine." A smirk emerged from him. "Hey, kid? How would you like a job?"
"For what?"
"As it works out, I've been looking for an assistant for my workplace for a while now. I haven't come across anybody that could fit what I'm looking for. That is, until today. I've come to realize that the perfect candidate is standing right in front of me."
The boy turned around to look. Murasame deadpanned.
"I'm talking about you."
"M-Me!?" The boy almost jumped at the declaration. "Really? I couldn't! This is an important job, isn't it!? Being the assistant of an important person is a big responsibility!"
"Didn't you say that you wanted to repay me?"
"I-I mean, I did, but to this extent…!? I don't know how to do anything though."
"You don't have to. Learning is part of the job. Everything else will fall into place after."
"So then…" The boy nervously twiddled his thumbs. "You want me to work with you?"
"Don't make me repeat myself. I won't force you if you don't want to. That being said, once you're my wing, we can sort everything else out, including your housing and new lifestyle." Murasame pushed up his bangs, trying to make himself look cool. "A man of my prestige can't be seen throwing a kid off to the side once I'm done with them."
The boy was silent for a moment.
"So what will it be?"
"O-Of course! I want to work with you, if that means I can repay you!"
This way, Murasame could repay the boy by giving him a new life, while the boy could repay him by fulfilling his role as an assistant. Who needed past memories when you had a new life anyways? It was quite an ingenious idea, if Murasame had to say so himself, but that was merely the surface level of the interaction.
For once in his life, even if he hadn't noticed it yet, Murasame genuinely enjoyed an outsider's company. Having the boy stick around was a nice thing. Perhaps one could call it a blooming friendship, if only Murasame had any other friends to put reference to it. In Murasame's twenty-three years, this might have been the first person he saw as a friend.
"That does it, Masago."
"Masanori."
"I'm giving the boy a job. I'll take care of the details. You can just worry about the cover-up. I don't want to hear anything else about this, alright?"
"You'll hear no quarrels with me. This might be the most ideal situation."
As Murasame looked back at the boy, there was a radiant smile of excitement coming from him. The energy was so contagious, Murasame had to smirk to let out a bit of that spirit as well. He would have to think more about his abrupt decision as he returned home, but for now, this was probably enough.
"There is one issue with that," Masanori interrupted. "If the boy is to take up an actual job in a position that is quite public, mind I add, then there has to be a name that we must refer to him by."
"A name, huh?"
Murasame was never good with remembering names, but this was the first time he had to give a name to somebody. The boy looked up to Murasame, blinking ever so curiously.
"Your first name will be Isayuki, using the kanji of [achievement] and [good fortune]. Your family name shall be… Kagura." He couldn't think of anything, so since the topic of shinobis was brought up, that was the first name to come to mind. "Indeed, that is fitting for someone that will become my assistant! You are Isayuki Kagura!"
"Isayuki… Kagura…?"
With a subtle smile, the detective started to walk away to finish his role as the newly named boy held his hands to his chest, as if his heart was pounding with a new beat.
"Yes…! From now on, I will be Isayuki Kagura!"
Isayuki welled up with tears.
"I shall do my best to become the best assistant for you, Mister Murasame!"
"Alright then," Murasame chuckled. "Let's head back. I'm getting tired of this forest."
Isayuki nodded. "Right away!"