Shibuya at Night.
January 14, 2096 AD. 23:00 hours.
Leo was drifting. It was a bad habit of his—this compulsion to wander. He had no destination, no objective; he was simply letting his feet carry him where they pleased. His presence in Shibuya tonight was entirely a matter of chance.
In the crowd, he passed a young man in a dark suit beneath a trench coat—brand new, yet creased in places. It was sheer coincidence that Leo recognized him.
"Huh? Erika's big brother? The Inspector?"
Leo called out simply because he knew the face. It was a whim; he certainly didn't make a habit of flagging down every acquaintance he saw on the street.
But the moment the words left his lips, a ripple of unrest surged toward him. Leo hadn't shouted; his voice was only loud enough to catch the attention of someone passing by. Yet, from both sides of the street, gazes converged on him—gazes that were anything but friendly.
"You. Come with me for a second."
"Inagaki, wasn't it? What's this all about, out of the blue?"
Leo fired back the question—bordering on rude—at Inagaki, who looked ready to click his tongue in annoyance. Ignoring the query, Inagaki seized Leo's wrist. It would have been child's play to shake him off, but Leo chose to go quietly, allowing himself to be led away.
They dragged him into a small watering hole. The sign above the door read "BAR," though the establishment's rugged exterior made the English lettering feel entirely unnecessary to Leo.
"Master, we're borrowing the upstairs."
Inagaki called out to the proprietor polishing glasses behind the counter and ascended the stairs without waiting for a reply. The room they entered was cramped and narrow, barely containing a small round table and four chairs. The entrance, however, was a heavy, airtight door with a locking mechanism reminiscent of a spaceship hatch—a jarring anachronism against the room's shabby, aged interior.
"I'm underage, you know."
Just as Inagaki finished turning the heavy handle with both hands to lock them in, Leo undercut the tension with a feigned look of innocence.
Beside Inagaki, who looked as though he'd just bitten into a sour bug, Chiba Toshikazu laughed with genuine amusement.
"Saijou, right? I'm impressed you spotted us. We were supposed to be suppressing our presence."
"…Did I get in the way of an investigation?"
"Hah… So you're not just a pair of fists. Well, I suppose Erika wouldn't favor a simple muscle-brain."
Leo reflexively grimaced at the description. However, whether it was out of goodwill or malice, Erika did teach him techniques and lend him weapons. He was self-aware enough to know she favored him in her own way, so he swallowed his retort.
"Say, Inspector… don't you think you made a mistake raising that daughter of yours?"
"Undoubtedly."
Leo's counterattack was limited to a bit of snark, and Toshikazu offered a wry smile in return. Yet, contrary to his light tone, the glint deep within his narrowed eyes hinted at something far more entrenched. Sensing the danger of prying further, Leo wisely shut his mouth.
"Don't worry about the investigation. We were hiding our presence to avoid pointless trouble, not because we were tailing anyone specific. The police are treated like sworn enemies in this part of town at this hour."
"Sworn enemies, huh… Yeah, I can see that."
Leo nodded deeply, as if something specific had come to mind. His reaction made it clear that he felt more sympathy for the police than for the youth of these streets.
"Inspector, this might be perfect. Why don't we ask him?"
"Saijou... what business brings you to Shibuya today?"
"I didn't really have any business."
"Hmm. do you come to Shibuya often?"
"I wouldn't say often, but I come by occasionally. I think I was wandering around here on New Year's Eve, too."
"Two weeks ago, then… In that case, are you aware of the strange incidents occurring in the downtown entertainment districts?"
Inagaki didn't move to stop Toshikazu, even though he was about to spill details of a case currently under a press blackout. He knew it would be scooped by the media by tomorrow anyway.
"Strange incidents? I think stuff like that happens every day around here. By the way, Inspector, isn't your jurisdiction in Yokohama? Why are you investigating something in Tokyo?"
"We belong to the National Police Agency. We get transferred all over Japan. So, right now, we're investigating a series of unnatural deaths in the metropolitan area."
The explanation flowed out lightly, smoothly. But Leo wasn't deceived by the casual tone; he was used to this kind of dissonance from his friends.
"Unnatural deaths… You mean grotesque murders? Serial ones?"
Leo frowned as he asked. Toshikazu, keeping his expression neutral, quietly upgraded his assessment of the boy's intelligence.
"Exactly. It'll be public knowledge by tomorrow anyway, so…"
With that preamble, Toshikazu began to brief Leo on the details of the case.
Having finished his explanation, Toshikazu asked the question he had been building toward.
"So, do you have any leads on someone who might pull a stunt that reeks of the occult like this? Particularly anyone rumored to be acting strange, or groups that recently drifted in from out of town?"
"Recent drifters, huh…"
Leo crossed his arms and groaned in thought, having anticipated the question, but eventually uncrossed them with a look of resignation.
"Sorry. Nothing comes to mind right now."
His tone was rough—disordered, rather than merely impolite—as if the concept of etiquette was alien to him. Yet, strangely, it wasn't unpleasant.
"I'll try to source some info from my pals."
"Eh—no, that's fine. That's police work. If you go sniffing around, you might end up with a target on your back."
"But Inspector, this is Shibuya at night, yeah? I think it's gonna be tough for adults—especially cops—to get people talking."
"…No, well, you may be right about that."
Neither Toshikazu nor Inagaki needed the lecture; they felt the difficulty of the investigation keenly. If they didn't, they wouldn't be revealing classified details to a boy they barely knew.
"I'm not planning to stick my nose into anything dangerous. I've got confidence in my nose for trouble, despite how I look."
"Is that so? Well then."
"Inspector?!"
Even so, enlisting a high school student for police work was excessive—and dangerous. Inagaki voiced his panic, but Toshikazu silenced him with a wave of his hand and pulled a business card from his jacket.
"If you find out anything, email this address. You only have to punch in the key manually the first time; it'll update automatically after that."
Both Toshikazu and Leo ignored Inagaki's common sense completely.
"Pretty strict security. Alright, if I hear anything, I'll let you know."
Leo stood up, walked to the heavy door, and with a single hand, lightly spun the airtight locking handle that Inagaki had required both hands to turn. He descended the stairs and disappeared.
"Inagaki... perhaps you should work out a little more?"
"The abnormal one isn't me, it's him."
Inagaki replied bitterly to his superior's suggestion.
Is there anyone alive who can beat Leo in a contest of sheer strength?
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