Weeks had passed since the Ren-faced Kyo was found collapsed in the back of the mall store.
The figure had been taken into secret custody — not to a regular police holding cell, but to a hidden underground facility used by Detective Hikaru's special task force. It was a cold, windowless room deep beneath one of the older government buildings in the city. The walls were bare concrete, the floor polished gray tile that reflected the harsh overhead lights. A single metal chair was bolted to the floor in the center of the room, heavy chains attached to its arms and legs.
The Kyo wearing Ren's face had remained unconscious for weeks, its body limp in the restraints. The face occasionally flickered — Ren's calm features distorting into the smooth white mask and back again — but it never woke.
Until today.
The bright fluorescent lights suddenly flared to full intensity, flooding the room with blinding white. The Kyo's eyes snapped open. It jerked against the heavy chains, metal rattling loudly. The face stabilized into Ren's appearance, but the eyes were wrong — colder, emptier.
Hikaru stood a few meters away, arms crossed, watching calmly. He had been waiting.
"Finally awake," Hikaru said. His voice was even, almost conversational. "You've been sleeping for a long time. I was starting to think you'd never be useful."
The chained figure tested the restraints, the chains clinking. It looked exactly like Ren Fushiwara — same neat hair, same calm face — but the suit was stained with old blood, and the movements were slightly off, too precise, too mechanical.
Hikaru stepped closer, circling the chair slowly. "I've been investigating you. The 'Ren Kyo', as my team started calling you. The one with the stolen face. The one who killed Tsubaki. The one who went on that fake date. The one who's been leaving bodies all over the city with throats slashed and guts spilled."
He stopped in front of the figure and leaned down slightly.
"Tell me about the others. Who are they? Where are they operating from? How many more of you are there wearing faces that don't belong to you?"
The Kyo remained silent, staring straight ahead with Ren's face.
Hikaru's expression didn't change. He straightened up and sighed.
"You're not human. Therefore, I wouldn't hand you over to be put in jail for serial killing. That would be a waste." He paused, then added coldly, "Tell me who the others are. Now."
Still no response.
Hikaru nodded once, as if he had expected this. He turned and walked toward the door.
"Dead weight," he muttered. "You're of no use here anyway."
As he reached for the handle, the chained figure suddenly moved.
With a sharp, unnatural jerk, the Kyo activated its abilities. The chains around its wrists and ankles began to warp and dissolve, melting away like smoke. The air in the room rippled, the concrete walls briefly distorting as if the space itself was bending. In one fluid motion, the figure stood up, Ren's face flickering violently between human and masked.
It looked at Hikaru for a split second, then vanished — stepping sideways into a fold of space that wasn't there a moment before. The room returned to normal with a soft pop of air.
The Kyo wasn't there anymore, it had escaped.
Hikaru stood still for a moment, then turned around slowly. A small, satisfied smile crept across his face.
He spoke to the empty room, voice calm and almost pleased.
"Let him fish out the others for me."
He talked as if he had set a snake loose to get the rodents he really wanted rid of.
He walked back to the center of the room, looking at the empty chair and the melted remnants of the chains on the floor.
"I always knew the three aren't working collaboratively," he said quietly. "But they would undoubtedly come across each other eventually."
Hikaru picked up his coat from the back of a nearby chair and headed for the door.
The hunt had seemingly just become more interesting for Detective Hikaru. At the same time more dangerous.
---Hours Later;
Hikaru sat alone in his dimly lit office at the police station, the only light coming from the desk lamp and the glow of his phone screen. The rain had returned outside, tapping steadily against the window like impatient fingers. Files on the serial killings were spread across his desk — photos of crime scenes, witness statements, and the latest report on the Ren-faced Kyo that had escaped custody.
His phone buzzed with an incoming message.
He opened it.
Hikaru: Long time.
Ren: How did you get my contact?
Hikaru stared at the screen for a long moment, a faint, complicated smile touching his lips. He typed back with steady fingers.
Hikaru: Let's meet up. I'll tell you then.
The reply came almost immediately.
Ren: How about our old regular in Tokyo?
Hikaru leaned back in his chair, the old leather creaking. He typed again.
Hikaru: Fine by me. Need to escape this suffocating town!
Hikaru read the last line twice. He set the phone down on the desk and exhaled slowly, the sound heavy in the quiet room.