"How many moons will rise before we manage to resurrect what we have buried?"
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Dark, grey clouds are covering the sky, rain splattering and forming puddles in the busy streets of metropolitan Osaka and the wind produced a howling sound, threatening to blow away anyone and anything that blocked in its way, thunder rumbled every few seconds. Despite the terrible weather conditions, the streets are bustling with life, people walking and chattering, occasional sounds of cars honking and there stood an enormous building of a police station.
Inside the police station, Mikan rushes in a dim corridor with its sterile, cold air and the liminal lighting is flickering overhead, carrying some files with her sweaty palms, thoughts running into her head, her long hair slightly hindering her movement,
"This was such an unexpected lead.. Mr Edmond has to know about it.. How did that even happen? How on Earth could she appear so suddenly?"
She finally stands in front of a door and knocks on the door as she fidgets with her pendant,
"But why now?" How did he not get informed about such a crucial lead?.."
She then takes a deep breath and exhales it before stammering,
"Mr Edmond? Mr Ed.. Edmond? May.. may I enter?"
With a sweaty face and palms, she waits for an answer while tapping her feet against the floor.
Behind the door, Eugene is sitting behind the desk, staring at the computer, the light emitting from it is the main source of light in the dim office. The calendar in his room read "02/12/1979" but to him, all the days seemed to be the same, the thin line between them slowly fading. He stares at the girl's file in front of him on the desk as he grabs the cigarette packet, grabs a cigarette and starts smoking it. He reads the file thoroughly,
Name: Kei Uchiyama
Age: 17 (Last seen alive)
Status: Unknown/Missing
Place of Residence: Unknown
Last seen alive: The 27th of March, 1973
Relationships:
Family:
Unknown
Others:
Aiko Furukawa - Alive
Aizen Ishikawa - Alive
He brushes his hand over the picture in her file as he stares at it, the hollow eyes that stare back at him are haunting.
"It's been almost a decade.."
The door knocks again, with full force this time, pulling Eugene from his thoughts, he then answers with a monotone voice,
"You may come in."
Mikan enters the office, the cold temperature strikes her body with a shiver. Mikan squints her eyes to adjust to the office's dim lighting. Mikan then places the files on the desk as she stutters,
"Good.. Good evening, Mr Edmond." She swallows a lump in her throat and uses her handkerchief to dry the sweat off her forehead as she swallows the lump in her throat then continues, "The police finally announced the re-opening of the Missing High-schooler's case, you know.. Kei Uchiyama. I.. I think that they.. they found a person related to her."
Eugene then raises his eyes in an abrupt, quick move to Mikan before he repeats,
"A person related to her? Who?"
Mikan nods and says with a quivering voice before she puts a file on Eugene's desk,
"They.. they found one of her classmates.."
She then takes a deep breath to gather some strength and said in a determined voice,
"That's her file. We.. we need to find more leads."
Eugene picks up the file and opens it with care and starts reading it thoroughly then Mikan steps next to him, staring at the file,
Name: Aiko Furukawa
Age: 23
Status: Alive
Place of Residence: 3 Chome-6-7 Azabudai, Minato City, Tokyo 106-0041, Japan
Relationships:
Family:
Kurai Furukawa: Father - Alive
Saki Furukawa: Mother - Deceased
Mitsuki Ishikawa: Stepmother - Deceased
Sayori Furukawa: Older sister - Deceased
Momoko Furukawa: Twin sister - Alive
Tsubasa Ishikawa: Stepbrother - Unknown
Others:
Anne Joseph - Alive
Kei Uchiyama - Unknown
Ren Kimura - Alive
Eugene stares at the file as he delves into thinking while Mikan looks at it, as she grips on the table. "What.. will our next step be?.."
Eugene sighs and interlaces his fingers before he responds,
"I will check what can be done. Thanks for the help, Miss Hirano. You may leave."
Mikan walks away from the office and closes the door as she fidgets with her necklace.
Eugene stares at the two files stacked up on each other before getting a notebook and a pen from a drawer and notes:
Kei Uchiyama:
Date of disappearance: Presumably between the 27th to 29th of March 1973
No known statuses
Has a living friend, Aiko Furukawa, who lives at Mita Street in Minato City.
He puts the pen and the notebook back in the drawer and shuts it before relaxing his back on the seat and sighs in tiredness while staring at the computer's screen. A dull smile appears on his blank face as he mutters, "Wow, now I realise that my memories and Uchiyama's file contents have much more in common than I thought."
His phone rings, so he continues, "As expected, they all won't stop rushing me." A few minutes later, his phone rings again, so he answers the phone, "Good evening, sir. Is there anything needed?" The other side of the phone demands, "Eugene Edmond, you are being obligated to be quick with your investigations. Do you understand?" Eugene stays silent for a little and then says, "Understood. I will try my best." Eugene's boss hangs up, then Eugene grabs a bottle of whiskey from his drawer and chugs some of it. He puts the bottle down and takes a moment to recall the past events.
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The 21st of September, 1978,
Eugene is in his dim, well organised room full of plants, he goes to a picture of a little girl and brushes his hand over the girl's hair as a slight smile is on his face.
"4 years have passed, life goes on and on, yet you are still the only one I remember."
He lights up a cigarette and smokes it when his phone rings, so he rushes to the living room and picks up. "Hello? How can I help?" "Eugene Edmond, you are now part of the team. And because of your intelligence, you may have the chance to solve a case that has remained unsolved for 5 years."
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Eugene is noting some notes about the missing girl and some clues about her before his office's door knocks. "You may enter," he replies in a hollow tone. A young woman with long black hair and brown highlights, red eyes and fair skin enters the office, and speaks through a nervous smile with a raspy voice, "Are.. are you Mr Eugene Edmond?" Eugene nods before the young woman grins, showing her tall canine teeth, "Oh.. okay then. Call.. call me Mikan Hirano. I'll be your.. your assistant." She bows, "Nice to.. to meet you, Mr Edmond." Eugene bows with a blank smile on his face, "Nice to meet you, Ms Hirano."
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"The police confirmed the shutdown of the Missing High Schooler case. Evidence scarcity forces the closure decision."
Eugene lowers his head, still with a blank face while Mikan objects, "But.. but.. isn't there anything that can.. that can be done?" "Miss Hirano, until the police find anyone related to the victim, the case will remain closed."
───────────────────────────────────
"Mr Ed.. Edmond? Mr Edmond?.."
Eugene opens his drowsy eyes, disorientated and confused, to get a blurry picture of what's happening; Mikan repeats his name with widened eyes and some sweat on her forehead. Eugene stares at her. "Huh? What. Ms..? What time is it?.." Mikan rolls her eyes in frustration and worry, "Mr Edmond.. It.. It's 12:35 A.M. now.." Eugene blinks twice, "Wait?.. 12 A.M.?.. How.. come?.." Mikan walks outside of the office while Eugene stumbles, following her.
They both get out of the workplace as the wind chimes and leaves clutter. Mikan holds her coat with all her strength. And both get into Mikan's car, who finds a lot of fog, so she turns on her windscreen wiper, buckles her seatbelt and starts driving home. She drifts her eyes to Eugene, who leans his head against the glass and asks him, "Mr Edmond.. What happened after I left the office?" He stays silent before chuckling, "Well.. I don't.. that this man called me.. told me to be quicker....... I am ........." Mikan's eyes widen as she makes an abrupt turn, "Oh, and.. have you found anything about.. about Kei's classmate?.." Eugene responds after a long while with a distant expression on his face, "Ah.. who?.. I.. My head is all fuzzy.. I don't really.. Ma'be.. Tomorrow? Next week?"
One hour later, Mikan arrives at Eugene's house. "Mr Edmond?.. Mr Edmond?.." He doesn't respond for a while and then turns to Mikan in confusion. Mikan continues, "We arrived at your house." Eugene nods, "Thank..", and gets out of the car stumbling to his house before Mikan drives off. He arrives at his flat, stands in front of it as he unlocks the door, shuts it and slumps against the sofa, his heavy eyelids covering his eyes.
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"Azabu, Minato City, Aiko Furukawa. Tonight."
Mikan is standing in Eugene's office while he is noting down some notes with his eyes blank and distant,
"Mr Edmond?.."
Eugene responds, still noting down with distant eyes,
"What is it?"
Mikan smiles with her eyes widened while holding a tissue, drying her sweaty face. "What.. what are you noting down?"
Eugene replies in a blank tone, "Well, some information about Uchiyama's classmate, Aiko Furukawa."
Mikan's smile widens. "You found out anything? May.. May I check the.. the information?"
Eugene nods, so Mikan steps next to him and reads Aiko's information, focusing on every detail. "You will me.. meet her today? Great!"
"You're right, I will leave after half an hour."
"Okay then! Do.. do your best."
Eugene notes down,
"Kei Uchiyama (Missing) "
and writes next to it, "Aiko Furukawa (Friend, only known relationship to Kei Uchiyama). "
He draws a straight line to connect both of them.
Half an hour later, Eugene puts on a coat, picks up a little map of Azabu and leaves the office with an umbrella to go to Osaka's train station. The sound of the rain pouring on Eugene's umbrella overshadows any other sound. The dark clouds obscure any source of light.
Eugene arrives at the train station and approaches the booking counter. "Hello, what is the closest timing of a train with vacant seats left departing to Azabu, Minato City?" The employee replies with a smile, "Hello sir, let me check.. It will depart 45 minutes from now. Would you like to book a seat?" Eugene responds without hesitation, "Yes, please." "Alright sir, that would be ¥15,030." Eugene gets his wallet, gets out the money and pays.
Eugene gets out his notebook and pen and notes,
"Ask Aiko Furukawa about her relationship with Uchiyama, how well she knew her, what happened before her disappearance and if anyone was showing any kind of suspicious behaviour."
Eugene goes to the platform, waiting for the train to arrive. Once it arrives, he gets on the train and after a little while, the train then moves, beginning its journey to Minato City. Eugene's face reveals nothing but his mind fixed on Aiko's identity and her willingness to cooperate,
"What if she has moved out? No, the information in her file stated that her residence was there. Eugene, focus on what you will tell her. You will ask her about Uchiyama, what happened before her disappearance and if there is any person she suspects."
───────────────────────────────────
08:30 P.M.
Minato City, Tokyo, Japan
"Final destination, Azabu Station."
As soon as this announcement gets made, the train slows down to stop at the final destination. Eugene takes a deep breath to ready himself. He opens his office bag, gets out the notebook, and reads his notes one last time before placing it back in his bag and getting out of the train. He paces out of the station with his eyes distant. Eugene opens his umbrella and gets a small map of Azabu.
The raindrops that hit Eugene's umbrella produce a pounding sound. The streets are almost empty, except for a few cars, and the earthy, distinct aroma of petrichor fills the air. And lightning flashes through the cloudy sky. Eugene arrives at the centre of Azabu after several minutes and walks through it, his eyes checking the map.
He then arrives at the area where the map guided him to and raises his eyes to find a villa surrounded by a fence and a gate in the middle of it which covered a little of the vast garden full of colourful flowers. In the garden's centre, a well-paved path serves as the entrance to the tremendous, exquisite villa. Eugene rings the doorbell.
Inside the villa, creeping plants fill the living room which has modern furniture. Aiko ties her hair as she asks Momoko, "Who will visit us in such weather?". Momoko rolls her eyes, "Ugh.. Probably another weirdo." Aiko goes to the door and checks the mirror window, a tall man with greying hair, piercing green eyes holding an umbrella and a map and wearing formal attire. "Momoko, did you invite anyone over tonight?" Momoko narrows her eyes. "No, you idiot. If that's the case, then I would have opened immediately."
Aiko questions, "Who is it?"
Eugene responds, "Is this Aiko Furukawa's house?"
Aiko stays silent for a while, before she smiles in confusion. "Yes? Do you need anything?"
"That would take a while to explain."
Aiko turns to Momoko and whispers, "Momoko, shall I open the door?"
Momoko scoffs with a sardonic giggle, heading to her room and locking the door. "Suit yourself."
Aiko gets out and stares at the gate for a while before she opens it. "You may come in."
"Thank you, Miss Furukawa."
Both Aiko, followed by Eugene, who shuts his umbrella, enter the living room.
Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
Eugene explains, "So, apparently, Miss Furukawa, you had a friend named Kei Uchiyama, right?"
Aiko's eyes widened, tears welling up in her eyes, memories flashing in her head, of whispers, giggles and maybe some arguments. That final day is what she remembers the most, the remains of it clawing at her head, and swearing to never leave
"Kei.. Uchiyama?.."
───────────────────────────────────
The 27th of March, 1973,
Birds tweeted in melodic chirps, flowers blossomed, and the warm sun's rays touched the skin of people and gave them warmth as the bell in the high school chimed, announcing the end of the examination day.
Aiko was holding Kei's hand and running out in excitement, even if her face was a bit sweaty, "Kei! I can't believe it! Oh my God! We only have 2 exams left and we will finish our 2nd year!"
"I hope he doesn't meet Kei today."
Kei smiled as she responded, "I know. I just hope we pass this year. The exams are so hard right now."
Aiko nudged Kei with playful anger and yelled as her smile got more strained, "Well, don't be such a pessimist! I hate pessimists more than I hate coming home early!"
Kei then looked at Aiko with a little smile, "Fine, since you hate going to your house early that much, how about we go to the nearby park?"
Aiko stared at her for a few seconds, processing her words before she started jumping, "Yes! Sure it is! To our park!"
Both of them walked to the park, birds were chirping and different flowers started to bloom, their scent blending into a delightful fragrance.
Kei then suggested, "How about we climb that nearby hill?"
Aiko nodded with a huge smile on her face as she started running to the hill, "Last one to arrive is a loser!"
Both of the girls started climbing the hill with giggles. As they finished, they relaxed their bodies on the lush green hill.
Aiko looked at Kei and then giggled, though her eyes betrayed her anxiety
"I love our friendship and I love you! You know how amazing it is??"
Kei then smiled as she twirled her hair,
"Yeah, I'm pretty aware of that."
Aiko sat up as her body leaned down in a lethargic way, her voice dropping to a shaky whisper,
"Then why don't you stay with me as often?" She then looks up at Kei, "D.. Do you hate me? Or.. are you sure you love me?.."
Kei then giggled as she sat up as well, patting Aiko's head as she assured her with a smile,
"I do love you, silly! Why else would I walk out with you?"
"If you really loved me, then you wouldn't make me that dead worried about you. Did you lose your damn mind, Kei? I always knew you were composed."
Aiko's usually present smile faltered with a frown as she said,
"But.. you don't hang out with me anymore! You hang out with Aizen, you know, he is dangerous!"
Kei stared at her with hollow, yet comforting eyes as she looks away,
"Aizen is not dangerous, Aiko. He's just..." She hesitated, looking for the right words," A little misunderstood, you can say."
Aiko looks with wide eyes of disbelief at Kei, remembering those frenzied golden eyes, the multiple fights that he got into, and then looked at her best friend.
"You're being dragged, dunce."
"Misunderstood?" She yelled in disbelief as she continued, "Kei! This guy is so reckless! He would drag you with him into his abyss!"
Kei then looked back at Aiko with those eyes as she chuckled, "I know he might be reckless, but he is a kind person at heart and I'm cautious, don't worry." She then patted Aiko's hair as she continued, "Plus, you are my best friend, Aiko. I can never ever replace you."
Aiko's smile then returned brighter than ever, her eyes shining with excitement,
"Really?!"
Kei nodded as she continued twirling her hair, "Of course! Just make sure to attend my funeral wearing pink, it will look so fabulous on you!"
Aiko then rolls her eyes dramatically,
"Ugh! So pessimistic!"
The two girls then giggle as the sun shines on their skins, they stayed for a while Kei then said,
"Oh! I.. I think I need to go! You know, encountering Aizen?"
Aiko stared at Kei, furrowing her brows, Kei just... deserved someone better. Someone who treats her well, someone who is actually caring for her. Someone like.. Aiko..
She couldn't help but nod, swallowing a lump in her throat as she was about to tear up, but forces the tears back with a bright grin.
"Good luck, my friend!"
─────────────────────────────────────
"Miss Furukawa?"
Eugene asks this question, as he looks at Aiko, who blinks twice, tears still in her eyes,
"Yes?.. Oh, sorry.. Mr..?"
"Eugene, Eugene Edmond."
Aiko tilts her head. "Why were you asking me about Kei?"
"I am one of the detectives solving her case. Giving me honest answers would increase the chance of the safe return of your friend."
Aiko stares at him for a while. "What chance are you talking about? It's been 6 years? Do you even understand? It's been 6 years and they still haven't found her."
"Miss Furukawa, I understand your concern about your friend. But I will try to do my best. All that you have to do is answer my questions, alright?"
Aiko nods. "Okay.. if you say so.."
Eugene gets out his notebook and pen and asks Aiko,
"When did you last see her and did anything catch your attention?"
"Nothing unsettling. Our third-to-last exam session ended, and we were heading home."
"And when did you notice she disappeared?"
"The day... the day after the last time I saw her."
"Why didn't you report her disappearance?"
"I asked everyone we knew if he saw her after that day, you know."
"Do you know who her parents are? Or her place of residence?"
Aiko shakes her head. "No.. I don't."
"How was your relationship with Uchiyama?"
A nostalgic, tired smile shows on Aiko's face. "Well, I and Kei were close friends like I was her only friend. We fought sometimes, but it was all trivial."
Aiko then stays silent for a while as Eugene notes, before crossing her eyebrows and narrowing her eyes. "But.. There was that fight that strained our relationship. We.. we tried bringing back stuff to their old state and even though we failed, I'd never plan to harm her like this. I realised I still loved her when she disappeared."
Eugene raises his eyes.
"Which was? The conflict?"
"It was.. well.. I witnessed her strangling my sister and.. well.. after I confronted her, she somehow claimed that she wasn't the one who did it.. You know, she was my friend, but that never gave her the right to do such a murderous thing to my twin sister!"
Eugene notes down her answer.
"Was she known to be violent before this incident?"
"No. In fact, she was a pretty peaceful person."
"Do you believe there's a rational reason for that?"
Aiko taps her feet against the floor as she swallows a lump in her throat and replies,
"N.. no."
"Alright, and how was her reputation?"
Aiko cracked her fingers. "Kei... umm... was the vice class president, later became the class president. Some.. some saw her as an outcast and some people would spread rumours about her. The rest of us loved her, though. And about teachers,.. Kei was not troublesome. But... she liked to debate, though, and she was a little stubborn, tiring out some teachers."
Eugene stops taking notes out of a sudden, and darts his eyes to Aiko. "Miss Furukawa, who was the former class president?"
Aiko rolls her eyes as she tries to recall who it was, she then focuses her eyes on Eugene. "My stepbrother, Tsubasa Ishikawa, he resigned be... because of some personal reasons.."
Eugene writes that piece of information and continues, "May I ask, how was his relationship with Uchiyama?"
"Okay then, he and Kei were close colleagues. They worked together for the class. They could have possibly been good friends if... if my stepbrother didn't have such a closed off personality."
"And what was his personality?"
"You know, he did not have any friends because of his closed off personality. He used to tell me that interaction with people made him get so anxious but never intended to harm anyone, though and was considerate. If anybody asks him for help, he will try to help. And.. he was.. paranoid, too paranoid, I can say."
Eugene writes all that information and asks Aiko,
"Anyone you knew didn't like her?"
"My sister's friends, they called her a cult member, but it was nothing much."
"Why do you believe they called her a cult member?"
"Uhh.. Maybe because of her goth fashion choices and her interest in occult books?"
"May I know what their names are?"
"Mari.. Mari Miyuki and.. and Kagami Sakurai."
"Alright, I think I shall interrogate 4 of them on another day."
Eugene opens his notebook to the page of the names of people involved he wrote earlier :
"Kei Uchiyama (Missing) "
"Aiko Furukawa (Friend, only known relationship to Kei Uchiyama). "
And then adds :
"Tsubasa Ishikawa"
"Aizen Ishikawa"
"Mari Miyuki"
"Kagami Sakurai"
(To be interrogated)
"Aiko Furukawa"
(To be re-interrogated)
Eugene then raises his eyes to face Aiko.
"Are they still in Japan?"
"Who?"
"Tsubasa Ishikawa, Aizen Ishikawa, Mari Miyuki and Kagami Sakurai."
"Miyuki and Sakurai are still in Japan. The thing is, I don't know where Aizen or Tsubasa are."
Eugene keeps on noting down as he asks Aiko,
"How is that possible?"
"I think that.. that this 2nd year had some weird stuff going on, so 1 month after Kei has.. After Kei disappeared, my stepbrother had a psychotic episode and was involuntarily admitted to a mental institute. He... He stayed there for 6 months before disappearing and leaving no traces."
"A psychotic episode? That is the most logical reason he resigned. Wow, so the one disappearing case that made me stressed as hell about it became two. Fantastic, that is exactly all I needed."
"And what about Aizen?"
"He was with us until the middle of the final year, where he started acting a bit.. off.. It was so sudden that one day I rang his house phone but he didn't reply." Aiko then swallows a lump in her throat and continues, "I never knew anything until I received a letter from.. from.. Los Angeles was it?..." She hesitated for a while, her eyes darting the room as she twirls her hair before making an abrupt move to Eugene again, 'No, it was San Francisco and the letter.. I don't really remember what it said exactly, you know, but I know it said something in the context of that Aizen is on a holiday and doesn't want any distractions."
"So.. Aizen is in San Francisco while Tsubasa is missing? Perfect."
"Miss Furukawa, just one last question and we will be done."
"It.. is alright."
Eugene stares at his notebook as he asks Aiko, "Did you notice anyone acting suspicious the last day?"
"Acting.. suspicious? I believe not."
Eugene stands up, preparing to leave. "Thanks, Miss Furukawa, I shall leave now." He walks towards the door before Aiko interrupts him.
"Hold on, Mr Edmond!"
Aiko rushes to a drawer and gets a diary with damaged, burnt pages and hands it to Eugene as she continues with a strangled voice, "These.. these are the remains of Kei's diary, so I kept it as.. as a memorial.. But as you might need it, here.. here it is."
Eugene takes the diary and focuses his eyes on it. He then lifts his eyes at Aiko. "Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Furukawa. And we will try our best to find her." He places the diary in his office bag.
Eugene opens his umbrella and leaves the Furukawas' house and heads to the train station. Nobody is in the streets, which are drenched with water, and each time thunder rumbles, Eugene has to cover his ears. He arrives at the station and rushes to the booking counter. "Excuse me? Are there any vacant trains going to Osaka today?"
The employee checks the schedule on the book before replying, "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid not until the weather gets better, sir."
Eugene forces a smile on his face. "Alright, thank you for letting me know."
He opens his bag, gets his notebook, opens it and re-reads what he noted during Aiko's interrogation,
"A member of a cult? Logically, a possibility is that someone spread those rumours about her, maybe to keep people worried about her. When she disappears, they will feel relieved and might even overlook the need to report her disappearance."
"Furukawa said that she noticed that she had disappeared right after the day she was last seen alive. That means that Uchiyama either disappeared on the 27th or the 28th."
Eugene turns to the page where he noted Kei's information and adds:
Kei Uchiyama:
Date of disappearance: ̶P̶r̶e̶s̶u̶m̶a̶b̶l̶y̶ ̶b̶e̶t̶w̶e̶e̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶2̶7̶t̶h̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶2̶9̶t̶h̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶M̶a̶r̶c̶h̶ ̶1̶9̶7̶3̶
Between the 27th to the 28th of March 1973
No known statuses
Has a living friend, Aiko Furukawa, who lives at Mita Street in Minato City.
He turns to the next page and notes:
Possibility 1:
Someone (most probably who is responsible for Uchiyama's disappearance) spread those rumours about Uchiyama to keep people scared of her, which will make committing the crime easier.
Eugene glances at the immense windows. The rainfall turns to drizzles, and thunder rumbles are getting quieter, so he shifts his eyes to the enormous screen of the train schedules and starts checking the trains. He finds one arriving from Osaka after 3 hours. He walks to the booking counter and books a seat.
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12: 29 A.M.
The train arrives at the platform, and Eugene makes his way into it. He takes his seat, which is next to a vast window. He puts his office bag and umbrella between his seat and the wall. The train departs after several minutes. He rubs his right eye beneath his glasses and dims the lighting before he leans his head on the window's glass as his eyelids fall on his drowsy eyes.
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3:32 A.M.
Osaka, Japan.
"Next destination, Osaka."
Eugene struggles to open his eyes after this announcement gets made. He picks up his office bag and umbrella before stumbling his way out of the train and then the station, heading his way home. Eugene holds his coat while the wind blows his long, messy ponytail. He arrives at his flat after half an hour before turning on the living room's lights and going to the kitchen. He grabs an apple from the fridge and takes a bite of it while going to the living room before putting the rest of the apple on the table, and throws his body on the couch.
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6:38 A.M.
Eugene stands in front of the mirror while struggling to keep his eyes open, tying his tie. He adjusts his glasses and gets his office bag before leaving the flat and locking the door. He presses the "going down" button near the lift and after a few minutes, it slides open and he gets in. As he gets out froThe sky has an ethereal hue with the sun rising, along with a few clouds, the breeze touching Eugene's skin, children are seen going to the school. As he heads to the office and arrives in 15 minutes.
He heads to his office where Mikan is standing in front of the door, "Oh Mr Edmond I.. I was-"
Eugene interrupts her as he opens the door, "I need files with the names of Mari Miyuki, Kagami Sakurai, Aizen Ishikawa and Tsubasa Ishikawa.."
Mikan looks at Eugene, who enters his office with widened eyes as she cracks her fingers and swallows a lump in her throat before rushing to the archive. As she enters the archive, she searched for the names. The archives are organised alphabetically by surname; she opens the drawers, one by one, and manages to find Aizen's, Mari's and Kagami's. Mikan counts the files, and then furrows her brows in confusion.
"Aizen Ishikawa, Mari Miyuki, Kagami Sakurai and... Tsubasa Ishikawa?.."
She rushes to the letter I drawer, opens the drawer and looks for the letter T in it.
Her search for Tsubasa's file took over 15 minutes, but in vain as she sighs in frustration and dries her sweaty forehead with a handkerchief.
She rushes to Eugene's office, her heart racing in her chest before she stops at his office's door, takes a few deep breaths before she knocks the door and enters.
"Mr Edmond, here.. here are all the files of the names requested.. except..."
Eugene, who fixed his distant eyes on the notebook suddenly raises them to Mikan and asks,
"Except?"
"Yeah, I.. I couldn't find Tsubasa Ishikawa's file."
Mikan's left eye twitches as Eugene stares at the computer's screen while taking a few deep breaths and sighs in frustration.
"We will manage to fix that. Please just give me the other files."
Mikan steps next to Eugene and places the 3 other files on the desk, he takes Aizen's file and reads it thoroughly,
Name: Aizen Ishikawa
Age: 23
Status: Alive
Place of Residence: 1-23-4 Maruyama, Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 064-0820, Japan
Relationships:
Family:
Haru Ishikawa: Father - Alive
Maria Luisa Garcia: Mother - Alive
(Last updated in 11/10/1974)
Eugene furrows his brow in confusion, he picks up his glasses, cleans them up and places them back on as hs stares at Aizen's file,
"1974?"
He turns to Mikan before he continues,
"Are you sure this is the last update here?"
Mikan then hesitates, swallowing a lump in her throat as she answers,
"Y.. Yeah, it was from this year's archive"
Eugene stares at her and then at the files in scepticism before he picks up the pen, notes Aizen's information. He writes, "Old edition, file last update 11/10/1974"
He then puts the file down and picks up Mari's
Name: Mari Miyuki
Age: 22
Place Of Residence:3-7-12 Kiyota, Kiyota-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 004-0801, Japan
Relationships:
Family:
Eisen Miyuki: Father - Alive
Fumiko Miyuki: Mother - Deceased
Hana Miyuki: Younger Sister - Alive
(Last updated in 9/1/1979)
Eugene reads the file thoroughly, notes Mari's information and then picks up Kagami's file
Name : Kagami Sakurai
Age : 23
Place of Residence : 1 Chome-2-1 Mita, Minato City, Tokyo 108-8345, Japan
Relationships :
Family :
Tatsuya Sakurai : Father - Alive
Emiko Sakurai : Mother - Alive
(Last Updated : 30/12/1978)
Eugene notes down Kagami's information before he lifts his office bag and gets Kei's diary out of it.
"This might assist us a little."
Eugene opens Kei's diary, as he finds the diary with damaged and burnt pages. A lot of sentences, words and letters are obliterated.
"Are.. are you still gonna read this?"
"Miss Hirano, any clue that is in hand is essential, no matter how destroyed it is." Eugene states with a monotone voice and focused eyes as he opens the diary, to find any useful piece of information.
Anything would be considered useful, here and now.
"Kei Uchiyama will return, no matter what the cost is."