They had arrived at a lull in the city's rhythm.
As they finally approached the yard, the noise of the city had thinned to country quiet.
It was a massive dump of anything metal in Akuru's eyes.
From what looked like bent cart axles, to guillotined sheets of what he assumed were tin. Rows of discarded railway spikes are stacked upon each other right in front of all that. He even noticed plenty of random pieces of metal that seemed to have found their way inside; things like the skein of iron banding from wine barrels, a few twisted bicycle frames, and hunks of plate stamped with foreign makers' marks.
Organized chaos.
All of it shone a dull luster of gray.
There was a path leading to an office tucked away at the side, with a hand-written warning against trespassing in smudged kanji characters plastered on its wall.
It was the only thing that remained outside the drooping wire and chain mesh fence that enclosed the yard.
Kanae stepped inside through the slightly parted fence gate, and he followed right behind her. It seems security wasn't that big of a concern here.
"It looks like people and businesses dump their metal here until something carries it away," her tone of voice suited the surroundings, soft and precise.
Akuru knelt beside a heap of flat sheets of metal, their surfaces dotted with rust around the edges. He held his hands above them, his fingers hovering above the metal. He wasn't sure if they were fine to touch; he didn't want to assume wrong.
"I'm sure the way the city is being constantly remodeled every day, that metal turns over pretty quickly in the city. Even junk has value," he said.
They walked slowly further inside, each step deliberate. Neither of them wanting to miss anything that might end up as a clue. Somber carbon arc lamps lit up the yard, painting the floor beneath the piles of metal in a whitish-yellow glow.
There was no human in sight, no sounds of footsteps, only the final murmurs of the city nearby and the slight electric buzz from the lamp. A metallic sweetness hung alongside the subtle smell of oil and decay. It wasn't the metallic smell that would be the norm in a place like this; the sweetness of it was almost nauseating.
"What is that smell?" Akuru asked, trying to keep the strength of the smell from affecting his voice.
Kanae moved around trying to find the source of the smell with Akuru. Eventually, she found where the smell was the strongest, near the back of the yard. He followed behind her getting a little bit more used to the smell.
Her fingers located a loose spot as she ran her hands across the fence, the wire sagged as her fingers hooked around it. When she pulled slightly on the wiry fence, a small crunch arose. As he looked over her shoulders, he saw the section of the fence near the ground tangle itself the stronger she pulled.
"Almost looks like something made an opening," she said in a serious tone.
Akuru knelt to observe closely. The loops near the bottom of the fence had been roughly scrunched up, a far cry from the organized pattern at the top half of the fence. As he pulled at it, the bunching wire began to twist itself into a knot. It looked like a shabby job of hiding an opening. Even some of the ends of a couple of turns were frayed, most likely under some type of force.
"It looks like something forced there way through and then tried to hide it. But clearly they were rushed on their way out," he whispered.
"Hmm, what could have had them rushing out... or perhaps in?" Kanae continued, "Might have been an animal frightened by sound. Or maybe something hiding from the sun."
He looked back inside the scrap yard. He hadn't considered that something might have rushed back in. That most definitely could be the case. He looked back towards the fence, and faint scuff marks were depicted in the dirt beside the hole, nothing deep. If the messed-up fence hadn't been there, he doubted he would have even considered them anything to worry about.
Kanae stood up as she started to walk back to the closest pile of metal near the fence.
"I'll see if I can find any clues over here. We should split up and just search for anything around the opening in the fence."
Akuru nodded as he took one last glance at the fence opening. He didn't think that just staring at it for longer would invoke some genius inspiration from thin air. He walked in the opposite direction to Kanae, making sure they spread out effectively.
The large hills of scrap surrounded him. Clearly, at the back of the yard, they just threw everything into a pile, a wild contrast to the almost organized chaotic nature at the front of the scrap yard. As he scanned through the large piles while trying not to let his gaze get tricked by some odd shine from some scrap, the strong smell from before started to get weaker. He was thankful for the fact that his nose could get some rest, but he couldn't let himself wander too far away from it. It was their only clue they had found until now, and he didn't want to leave it until they had used up all the ways it could take them.
He was walking further into the piles of scrap until he heard Kanae's voice scream out from the other side.
"Kobayashi! I think I've found something!"
He pinpointed her voice and headed over. He walked with a little bit more pace than he had been before while looking at the scrap. Twisted pipes rose like the ribs of small animals above him, for a moment it looked like he was inside this imaginary metallic ribcage. He let the thought escape his mind, not putting too much attention to it. When he arrived he saw her standing in an opening. Kanae continued to stare towards the small hills of scraps from where she stood. As Akuru walked over to her to see what she was looking at, the smell from before came up again, and his nose involuntarily scrunched up.
"What are you looking at?" he spoke towards her in confusion.
"Look that way."
He stopped to look at the hill she had been staring at more carefully. What had looked like a mess of twisted metal when he was walking over now shaped it self out when seen from where she stood. Thin strips of iron banding, bent rods, and narrow sheets had curved inward rather than collapsing randomly. The pieces formed shallow whorls that all pointed toward a single point near the center of the pile, giving the impression that the metal had shifted in after being dumped.
Near the middle of the banding was a symmetrical spiral that spread outward through several layers of scrap. It didn't look cut or drilled, but molded into shape, as if the metal had been pulled and twisted rapidly. Some fragments overlapped at odd angles, far to difficult for any human to move them into those postions. There were small gaps between pieces where metal should have settled flat for a perfect spiral. Maybe that suggested it had been moved and then set back imperfectly, but if Akuru was being honest with himself, he'd never come across something like this ever.
It was like he looking at some metallic vortex.
Akuru crouched closer and noticed that parts of the metal near the center were brighter than the rest. Flecks of exposed silver-gray showed through where grime and oxidation had been worn away. A few edges were smoother than expected, their usual jagged breaks dulled slightly, as if they had rubbed against each other more than once. It wasn't enough to be obvious at a glance, but it was far too structured to be accidental.
"I'm guessing you see the… perfect spiral," said Kanae, "Doesn't look very natural."
Akuru's throat made a small sound in agreement, his mind moving far too fast to offer her a response.
Both of them walked around the pile nearly five times before they decided that they couldn't get any more information just from the pile.
They both suggested to keep exploring the scrap yard at the exact same time, they laughed together at the coincidence. It lightened the odd environment that had been built up, by looking at the spiral-like shape. Both of them headed out, this time together. They still couldn't get the oddness of the situation out of their minds.
They completed a small circle around the yard, their gazes roving for anything else that might be amiss. But both of them ended up with nothing to show for their extra round in the scrap yard. Only two clues in the entire metal scrap yard.
"You'd think this would be more obvious if it was a demon," Kanae said.
Akuru had to agree. Normally, demons didn't care the slightest if they left clues; arrogance basically seeped through their veins.
"You know, maybe it's just an odd person," Kanae offered, partly in an effort to break the awkward silence, "Could be someone with a weird hobby."
He did decide to entertain the thought, if only as an attempt to break the tense environment that had crept its way back in.
"Maybe you're onto something."
An awkward chuckle was the only reply back.
They investigated the piles more as the moon now stared from right above their heads. They didn't hasten. Night held them to slow footsteps. Drowsiness was catching up to him, and from what he could see, it was also catching up to Kanae. They remained until the chill began to nibble their fingers.
"Nothing that screams demons exactly," Kanae said finally, rubbing her hands together, "But my guts are screaming to me that it has to be."
Akuru nodded, "Enough to be suspicious. Not enough to be certain."
They lingered a few minutes longer, more out of stubbornness than hope. The yard had given them all it would for the night. The lights hummed softly, insects drifting through the pale halos of light. The spiral of metal seemed to sink back into formlessness the longer Akuru stared at it. Like a stubborn puzzle.
Eventually, Kanae exhaled and straightened her posture, brushing dust from her sleeves.
"We won't get anything more by forcing it," she said, "At least not tonight."
Akuru agreed. His shoulders ached in satisfaction with the slow release of tension from alertness dissipating out the muscles, "We should leave before we start imagining things."
They slipped back through the yard the way they had entered, careful not to disturb anything further. Akuru took one last look at the scarp yard, trying to commit its shape to memory. Then they were back in the city's outskirts, where the air started to smell more like coal smoke and damp stone again.
Tokyo accepted them back without ceremony.
They didn't speak much as they walked. The streets here were quieter than the districts closer to the heart of the city, but not empty. A few lanterns still burned in shop windows. Somewhere, a radio played faintly through an open window, the sound warped and thin.
They found lodging the way most travelers did, by sheer exhaustion driving their instincts.
A small inn sat on a corner street, its wooden sign creaking gently as it swayed. The building looked narrow but clean, its paper windows glowing softly from within. The presence of other guests and the steady human warmth made the place feel safe enough.
Akuru exchanged a few quiet words with the innkeeper while Kanae stood nearby, hands folded politely in front of her. Nothing was asked beyond the usual.
Coins changed hands. Two futons and one room was promised. They both weren't flush with cash unfortunately.
Their room was modest.
Tatami mats worn smooth by years of use, a low table pushed against the wall, and a single paper lantern hanging from a hook. When the door slid shut behind them, the outside world dulled to a distant hush.
Kanae set her haori neatly aside and sat down, legs folded beneath her.
"I don't think I've ever been this tired from not fighting anything," she said with a small, rueful smile.
Akuru chuckled softly as he loosened his uniform, "I was thinking the same thing."
They lay their Nichirin blades within reach out of habit, not expectation. Akuru extinguished the lantern until only the faint city glow seeped through the paper walls.
For a while, neither of them spoke.
The quiet here was different from the scrap yard's silence. It felt safe enough to let his guard drop a fraction.
Kanae broke the silence first.
"That spiral," she said quietly, "It wasn't old. You noticed that too, right?"
"Yes," Akuru replied, "No rust in the center. Whatever made it… it happened recently. Matches up with the missions descriptions and everything"
"And the fence," she continued, "If it were an animal, it wouldn't bother tying it back up."
Akuru stared up at the ceiling, tracing the faint lines in the wood with his eyes, "Which means whatever it was didn't want the opening noticed."
Kanae hummed thoughtfully.
"That's what bothers me most. It feels… cautious."
He turned his head slightly toward her. In the dimness, her eyes reflected faint light, thoughtful rather than afraid, "Demons aren't usually cautious."
"No," she agree, "But if it's new to whatever it's doing… it might be."
They let that sit between them.
Finally, Kanae shifted under her blanket, "We should go back in the morning."
Akuru didn't hesitate, "Daylight will probably help us see anything we might have missed."
"And if nothing's changed," she added, "then at least we know it isn't active during the day."
"Or maybe that it hides well," he said.
She smiled softly at that, unbothered, "Either way, we'll learn something."
The inn creaked as someone walked past in the hallway. Somewhere outside, a cart rattled over stone. Life went on, indifferent to their thoughts.
Akuru exhaled.
"Good night, Kanae."
"Good night, Kobayashi," she replied, her voice already softer with sleep.
Tomorrow, they would return to the yard.