"I'm saying… Uncle Tachibana, just now I saw you looking at me pretty hostilely, and then all of a sudden you broke into a big smile. Is changing facial expressions a mandatory subject in the Police Department?"
Glancing at the middle-aged man beside him, who had slung an arm around his neck and was grinning foolishly, Nakano Yu twitched the corner of his mouth and asked.
"You little brat! I watched you grow up, I'm older! How could I not be warm toward you?"
Seeing that Nakano Yu was really teasing him, Tachibana Gen's expression immediately changed, and he spoke in the tone of an elder.
Nakano Yu's status and position in Japan were extremely high. It could even be said that Tachibana Gen was able to rise to the position of Orange Supervisor in the Police Department largely thanks to Nakano Yu.
But Tachibana Gen was not lying; he truly had watched Nakano Yu grow up since childhood. He and Nakano Maruo were alumni of the same school, though not classmates, because Nakano Maruo was much younger than him.
During an operation against local Japanese yakuza forces, he had been shot and urgently transferred to the hospital where Nakano Maruo worked.
At that time, Nakano Maruo was his chief surgeon. If it hadn't been for Nakano Maruo, he would probably have lost his life.
Because of that incident, he and Nakano Maruo gradually came into contact and grew close.
Tachibana Gen, of course, also knew the Five Sisters. When the Five Sisters were born, his own daughter was born not long before that. A few days earlier, he and Nakano Maruo had bent over together, looking at their daughters in the nursery.
A few days later, through the glass of another nursery, they looked at the Five Sisters.
Then, not long after that, the Nakano family adopted Nakano Yu, so Tachibana Gen could truly say that he had watched him grow up. Because of this, Tachibana Gen was aware of the strength of that boy Nakano Yu, but unlike others, he did not worship him like a god.
Instead, he sincerely treated Nakano Yu as his mischievous nephew who tried to abduct his daughter.
Only after Nakano Reina passed away from illness, and Nakano Maruo resigned from the hospital and founded his own pharmaceutical technology company, did Tachibana Gen continue to support him.
Although he rarely met Nakano Maruo now, he could still say to Nakano Yu:
"Hey, I even held you in my arms when you were little!"
"Tsk, last time when I called Marihana, Uncle Tachibana, you scolded me."
Hearing this, Nakano Yu rolled his eyes disdainfully. Nakano Yu knew very well what kind of character Tachibana Gen had: a typical rough man, loyal and righteous, but with one flaw—he was an overly doting father who could not distinguish right from wrong!
His beloved daughter called him, and this guy turned around and reported Nakano Maruo, saying he was harassing Tachibana Gen's daughter.
Fortunately, his unreliable father also knew what kind of person Tachibana Gen was, so he just brushed it off and the matter passed.
"Hey! You can't say it like that. Oh, by the way, kid, did you figure something out? This one today… is the tenth person who's died. The previous nine died the same way, and they were all men. I have a feeling something isn't right."
Seeing Nakano Yu say that, Tachibana Gen waved his hand, then became serious, his gaze falling on the corpse on the ground.
Since the person had only just been discovered, the site was only cordoned off, and the forensic vehicle had not yet arrived. However, even if they took it away, they would probably find nothing.
"You don't need a feeling; it's those things."
Seeing that Tachibana Gen, that stubborn old materialist, was actually considering the possibility of the supernatural, Nakano Yu was a little surprised. But thinking about it carefully, Tachibana Gen said this was already the tenth case, which meant the Police Department had made no progress after the previous nine.
In that case, when all clues had been exhausted, the only remaining possibility—no matter how fantastical or bizarre had to be that one.
"Really?! But… didn't those Onmyoji say that ghosts and the like are invisible to ordinary people and have no effect?!"
As soon as Nakano Yu confirmed it, Tachibana Gen's expression changed. But remembering that Nakano Yu was still beside him, he calmed down a little and quickly asked for an explanation.
"They're not those kinds of ghosts; it's another kind of existence."
The young man shook his head, then looked straight ahead.
In front of the young man, an invisible panel floated in the air:
[Ding! Daily mission refreshed!]
[Daily Mission: Revenge of the Abandoned — Black Hair]
[Mission Description: She was abandoned by her beloved husband. The lower half of her body was desecrated, her eyes gouged out. She wails, you… you must hear it, right?]
[Mission Target: Black Hair]
[Mission Reward: Roulette spins +1]
[Ding! Mission location: Ukiyoe Street.]
Looking at the system mission, Nakano Yu did not speak. He was just slightly surprised that the murderous Strange Story had not fled and was still on Ukiyoe Street.
If that was the case, then he couldn't be blamed for acting quickly.
Nakano Yu thought to himself, raised his head toward the building, and said:
"Uncle Tachibana, do you want to resolve this matter? If you do, come with me."
After sending a message to Edo on his phone, telling him to first drive Satsuki home, Nakano Yu finished speaking and entered the building.
"Chief Tachibana…"
The young police officer beside him, seeing that the young man who had a good relationship with Tachibana Gen was actually taking Tachibana Gen with him, was a little worried that Tachibana Gen had been deceived.
"Don't worry. Although that little Yu is a rascal, he's very reliable when something needs to be done."
Tachibana Gen, however, showed one hundred percent trust in Nakano Yu and, as he spoke, stretched out his hand toward the police officer beside him.
Seeing Uncle Tachibana like this, the police officer was first stunned, but quickly reacted and hurriedly took a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, offering one to Tachibana Gen.
The feeling wasn't right, and Tachibana Gen turned to see that there was a cigarette in his hand. He immediately threw it away and cursed:
"What I want is something to fight with! You give me a cigarette so I can burn holes in the criminal?! Hurry up! Give me that."
"Oh, oh!"
Scolded by Tachibana Gen, the young police officer finally understood and panickedly searched for his pistol, placing it into Tachibana Gen's hand.
"Mhm, secure the scene. Notify me immediately if there's any unusual movement."
Seeing that the police officer was no longer acting foolishly, Tachibana Gen nodded. After that, he put away the pistol and followed Nakano Yu into the building.
"Yes!"
The young police officer responded to Tachibana Gen's departing back, but as soon as his figure disappeared from view, the police officer smiled.
Stretching his smile wide and revealing a mouth full of eerily dark teeth, one could vaguely hear… a woman's sobbing?
Inside the building, after Nakano Yu entered, he immediately headed for the rooftop.
Since Nakano Yu wasn't walking fast, Tachibana Gen soon caught up with him.
"Brat! Wait for me! Don't you know old people can't run fast?"
Walking behind Nakano Yu, Tachibana Gen spoke with a hint of dissatisfaction.
"I don't think Uncle Tachibana is old at all. His temper is just as fierce as before."
Nakano Yu glanced at Tachibana Gen, and seeing that he wasn't panting or flushed from climbing the stairs, knew he was lying.
"Tsk, no respect for elders at all. That Maruo… hm, he doesn't respect elders either."
Clicking his tongue, Tachibana Gen wanted to continue, but then suddenly remembered that Nakano Maruo was the same, and unconsciously felt that "like father, like son."
After that, Tachibana Gen looked at Nakano Yu and, seeing that he wasn't saying anything and was just continuing to climb, remembered what he had said earlier and couldn't help but ask curiously:
"Yu, what exactly is that killing thing you were talking about?"
"It's not human. Just follow me to the roof, Uncle Tachibana, and you'll know."
Nakano Yu shook his head, glanced at Tachibana Gen, and did not reveal anything more. After that, he continued up the stairs.
Hearing this, Tachibana Gen scratched his head in confusion.
This kid, really leading him on here—how irritating!
Still, there was nothing he could do about it. That Maruo was the same; he always said he wanted to give the child a complete childhood with good beatings, but Nakano Maruo insisted that Reina wouldn't allow it.
A complete henpecked husband! Not like him, who was the boss of the house. When Tachibana Chika told him to kneel, he knelt without a word!
By the way, why did his head feel a bit itchy?
Scratching his head, Tachibana Gen didn't think too much about it and continued after Nakano Yu.
The building wasn't tall, not even six floors, so there was no elevator. The two of them hadn't walked long before they reached the rooftop.
However, the rooftop door was locked, clearly marked with a prohibition on entry.
"Yu, move aside, I'll handle this."
Seeing this, Tachibana Gen drew his pistol and was just about to shoot the lock when he saw Nakano Yu place his hand on the chain as thick as a fist. With a light squeeze, the iron lock instantly turned into scrap metal.
"Krii~"
Nakano Yu gently pushed again, and the rooftop door opened with a creaking sound of rusty metal.
Seeing this, Tachibana Gen awkwardly put away his pistol and followed Nakano Yu onto the roof.
After looking around, Tachibana Gen found that the rooftop was empty, with nothing at all, which further confused his already bewildered mind.
"Yu, why did we come to the roof? It looks like there's nothing here."
Scratching his head, Tachibana Gen asked. By the way, his hair felt so greasy; after a few scratches, his hands were wet and sticky.
Did this mean he was becoming a greasy middle-aged man in middle age?
While Tachibana Gen was thinking, a golden saber that he had never seen before suddenly appeared in Nakano Yu's hand. And it looked pretty cool.
"Uncle Tachibana, stop scratching. Haven't you noticed that something's wrong?"
Looking at Tachibana Gen, Nakano Yu asked with a strange expression.
"Huh?"
Hearing this, Tachibana Gen was still confused, but just as he was about to ask what was wrong, Nakano Yu suddenly lunged in front of him.
"Yu, you—"
Tachibana Gen jolted, but before he could react, Nakano Yu grabbed the top of his head with his hand.
"Rip!"
Immediately after, Tachibana Gen only heard the sound of flesh being violently torn. When he came back to his senses, he saw a hairy black chunk of flesh in Nakano Yu's hand.
"What is this?"
Seeing the black chunk of flesh, Tachibana Gen leaned closer and asked curiously.
"The thing that kills people, but this is just a small part of it."
Nakano Yu crushed the chunk of flesh into a ball of black mist. After that, he looked at Tachibana Gen, gave him a mysterious smile, patted Uncle Tachibana on the shoulder, and said:
"Uncle Tachibana, you should buy a hat later."
With that, Nakano Yu casually threw Joyeuse from his hand, and the golden saber, like an arrow shot from a bow, sharply pierced the air not far from them.
"What's going on?"
Nakano Yu's sudden move drew Tachibana Gen's attention, but when he turned to look, he discovered that the police officer he had spoken with earlier was lying on the ground.
"It's dead, the murderer. Uncle Tachibana, it tricked you."
Nakano Yu put away Joyeuse. After that, he immediately left, leaving Tachibana Gen alone on the rooftop, staring in disbelief at the corpse on the ground.
Before Tachibana Gen could react, black mist suddenly began to pour out of the corpse, and then the police officer turned into a black-haired woman.
The woman's face was pale, she only had a head, and the rest was just scattered hair.
Seeing this, Tachibana Gen's expression changed and he took two steps back, but quickly steadied himself.
He took out his radio and called the police officers below to come up, then, still with lingering fear, touched the back of his head.
He didn't know whether it was from fear or something else, but Tachibana Gen now felt a persistent chill at the back of his head.
Looking at the back of Nakano Yu as he left, Tachibana Gen clicked his tongue. Although he was very reluctant to admit it, following this kid Yu really gave him a sense of security. If only Marihana could be with him…