Hikaru sat at his desk in the quiet police station office. The late afternoon light filtered weakly through the blinds. Snow had begun to fall again outside, soft and silent, blanketing the city in white. The room was dimly lit by a single desk lamp. It cast long shadows across stacks of files and half-empty coffee cups. The weight of the amusement park massacre still hung in the air: the dead officers, the blood in the snow, the two killers who had slipped away like smoke.
He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples.
"So this is when Ren plans to give me the promised info?" he muttered to himself.
A knock sounded at the door. A mail delivery officer stepped in, holding a plain brown package.
"Detective Hikaru? This arrived for you. No return address."
Hikaru took the package, signed for it, and waited until the officer left before opening it. Inside were neatly organized files, thick folders on every member of Sorine's friend group.
He spread them across the desk and compared them to the official files he already had from the police database.
-
Sorine Takahashi
Age: 17
Address: 4-12 Sakura-dai, Minami Ward
Family: Mother and Father (both alive)
Medical Notes: Nothing standing out.
School Records: Seika High, Class 2-C. Good grades.
Other: Witnessed multiple traumatic events in recent weeks. Went missing at school, found 3 days later by Vey, a friend. Gave no useful information to the police.
-
Vey (legal name redacted for privacy)
Age: 17
Pronouns: They/Them
Address: 7-3 Higashi-machi
Family: Two parents, one younger sibling
Medical Notes: Emotional distancing noted as primary coping strategy. Recent trauma from alleged Kyo space encounter.
School Records: Seika High, Class 2-C. Average grades.
Other: Primary reporter of Ren Fushiwara as suspicious. Experienced alleged reality-altering event in old science lab.
-
Kairo Takahashi
Age: 17
Address: 2-15 Midori Heights
Family: Mother and Father (both alive)
Medical Notes: Currently in therapy for complex trauma (nightmares, guilt, intrusive memories).
School Records: Seika High. Strong academic performance.
Other: Witnessed multiple killings. Deep guilt over personal actions following Tsubaki's death.
-
Mimo Takahashi
Age: 17
Address: 9-7 Riverside Apartments
Family: Mother and Father (alive)
Medical Notes: Developed severe dissociation and emotional numbness between 3-5 years. Recent medical note: Self-inflicted burns on both palms (possibly altered fingerprints).
School Records: Seika High. Excellent grades.
Other: Girlfriend of Sorine. Frequently absent during key incidents.
-
Hikaru's own files matched almost perfectly with what Ren had sent, except for some tiny details and one outstanding detail.
In Ren's version of Mimo's file, her full name Mimo Takahashi was highlighted in red marker. Nothing else was marked. Just her name, standing out in stark red ink.
Hikaru stared at it for a long time.
He picked up his phone and dialed Ren.
Ren answered on the second ring.
"Where is the hint to the killer's identity as you promised?" Hikaru asked. His voice was low.
Ren's reply was calm and measured. "Have you checked Mimo's file yet? It was supposed to be a hint, not full intel."
Hikaru's lips curved into a small, satisfied smile. "Well, this does not look like a hint. Rather more like part of the answer to the question: who are the serial killers?"
He dropped the other files and kept only Mimo's open in front of him.
Ren did not answer immediately. When he finally spoke, there was the faintest trace of evasion in his tone. "I am only giving you a hint. No further intel."
Hikaru leaned back in his chair. His eyes stayed fixed on the red-highlighted name.
"Gotcha."
He cut the call.
Hikaru stared at Mimo Takahashi's file again: the childhood disappearance, the emotional numbness, the self-inflicted burns on both palms that had altered her fingerprints.
"I was right all along," he whispered to the empty office. "My intuition is always right."
---
Ren stood in a quiet alley behind an old bar in Tokyo. Snow fell lightly around him. A figure approached from the shadows, a Zo, one of the rare individuals who could wield Shugiin abilities.
"Ren-sensei," the person called out respectfully.
Ren turned. "Where did you go?"
"I went back to my hometown. Urgent business."
The Zo nodded. "Great, now you are here. Let us head to Chiriyaku HQ. There are high grade Revenants loose, and they need your help. Tokyo is in danger."
Ren's mind flashed back to the gamble he had taken on Kairo, giving him the ofuda paper as a shortcut to unlock Shugiin abilities. It had been a fifty-fifty chance the boy could have died. Yet Kairo had awakened a very special ability.
The ofuda is originally used to materialize kegare and is an alternative to attain Shugiin abilities, one that is widely condemned for its inhumane results. And yet he got a rare one at that. What if he turned out deformed due to the kegare pressure?
He sighed inwardly but kept his face composed.
You are being too pessimistic, don't you think, Ren Fushiwara? All this is plan set in motion.
"Lead the way," Ren said.
The two disappeared into the snowy night, heading toward the hidden headquarters where the real war against the Kyo was being fought.