Shall we get started?
This feels awkward, Iori thought as he looked at the current silence echoing within the room.
Both the lady and he were seated by the table while Yushi had put his back against the window-like partition behind Iori, with his arms relaxed against his side. The younger man assumed that it would be easier to act if the older man’s hand could access the many talismans he probably has hidden on his person.
“Uhm,” the spirit hummed out causing Iori to straighten in attention.
“Yes!” The boy squeaked out. With how nervous he felt he was surprised he hadn't offered her any drinks.
“You feel odd? Weird?” She questioned with a tilt of her head. “You don’t feel whole, like most people. There’s a part of you missing.”
“Huh? What do you mean?” The smaller male in the room asked as he tried to check if he had anything missing. Did he drop something on the way to the interrogation room?
“Don’t trust everything she says Iori,” a warning came from Yushi as he glared suspiciously at the spirit. “We still don’t know if she can be trusted yet, especially after what happened this morning.”
The impact of Yushi's words was instantaneous. The woman fell silent, and a palpable wave of negative energy began to gather around her. She turned sharply to face the taller man, and Iori imagined the piercing glare she would have if she had eyes. He understood that this distrust would only worsen the spirit's volatile state so he tried to diffuse the situation as much as he could.
“Well,” The brunette smiled shakily as he gave a warning look at the detective, “that will be up for me to decide. For now, I am willing to listen. Like I said previously I won’t lie to you but this will only work if you promise me to speak the truth.”
The negative energy that was starting to build up started to die down and the spirit once again settled on the chair.
“Wait,” Iori whirled in his seat to stare accusingly at Yushi, “How did you know what she said? You said you cannot hear spirits. Did you lie to me - detective?”
The detective's lips quirked in amusement at the blatant accusation thrown his way before he gave a small smirk and shrugged.
“I didn’t have to hear to understand that confused look on your face,” Yushi clarified as a mental image of a hissy cat replaced the younger male, “I assumed she said something to you?”
Iori nodded before giving his attention back to the spirit.
“Don’t worry,” he tried giving a comforting smile to the lady, “While I would have to summarise what we talk about to them, you are free to tell me anything and they won’t be able to hear. We can start with your name?”
“Yukiko,” was the whispered response, “Ayuzawa Yukiko”
“Ayuzawa Yukiko,” Iori parroted so the rest of the team could have a name in their records, “That’s a pretty name.”
Only a nod was given to him in response.
“When you were alive,” he inquired softly, “how old were you?”
“Seventeen,” she murmured, “I just finished high school. I remembered having our class photo taken and the next thing I knew I had died. I could no longer see and I just felt so angry.”
Iori gasped silently. How could someone hurt someone so young? He wondered, filled with despair. What could a 17-year-old have possibly done to deserve such a fate—death and mutilation? Who is so sick-
“Control your emotions Iori,” A gentle command brought him out of his thoughts. Said boy glazed up to piercing gold eyes and a kind smile. “Don’t let her negative energy affect you, or the other way around.”
“Your emotions can be harnessed as power by spirits,” Yushi explained, placing a reassuring hand on the younger man’s shoulder. “Although she hasn’t done it yet, it would be wise not to inadvertently feed her your energy.”
Miss Yukiko looked affronted and looked like she wanted to throw something at the detective’s head. It seemed like to her the notion of feeding off Iori’s energy not only disgusted her but angered her. It was reassuring to know that she did not consciously plan to suck his energy dry.
“She won’t” Iori relayed and watched as a shock went through Yukiko’s pale face at being trusted. “But, thank you for the advice. I will calm myself.”
Yushi nodded before dropping his hand and getting back to his position.
He trusts too easily, Yushi mused, a small smile creeping onto his face as he watched the younger man take a few deep breaths before re-engaging with the spirit, Yukiko. With his talent, perhaps I could ask the Chief if he could join our team as a junior. But he would need training; we can’t afford any more casualties—not since…
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“Miss Yukiko,” Iori’s question pulled Yushi from his thoughts, and he cursed himself for allowing his mind to wander. “I know you said you don’t remember about your death but could you tell me a little bit about the day that you were…murdered.”
Yukiko nodded before wringing her hands together.
“My classmates and I were supposed to be celebrating our graduation and our acceptance into the universities of our choice,” Yukiko said, struggling to recall the details through her foggy memory. “We had an early dinner before spending the night singing our hearts out in a karaoke box. There were eight of us, and we nearly broke our eardrums with how terrible we sounded.” She let out a small giggle at the memory.
"That sounds fun,” Iori said with a gentle smile as he watched the spirit giggle. Despite her eerie appearance, that small laugh and warm smile made her seem like a normal, albeit pale, 17-year-old.
She nodded and continued, “I remember it was almost midnight when I decided to head home. The rest of my friends wanted to stay at the venue, but I lived quite far away and wanted to get a head start. Any later and the subway would have stopped working for the night.” Her expression turned grave, and Iori couldn't help but feel deep sympathy for this girl whose youth had been taken from her.
“At first, my journey seemed normal,” a cloud of resentment started to build up around her. “The trip on the subway was calm as most of the passengers were asleep or on their phones. And, so was the walk back to my area through the shopping centre. It wasn’t until I reached the alleyway leading to my house that I realised I was being followed.”
The negative energy slowly intensified as Yushi watched Yukiko become engrossed in her story, struggling to piece together her fragmented memories. Though he couldn’t hear her words, the energy in the room made the hairs on his arms stand on end and sent goosebumps dancing across his skin. Realizing that Iori was becoming too absorbed in listening, the detective cursed under his breath and quickly reached for a talisman in his back pocket. He needed to train this kid not to get lost in interrogation ever again. Signalling the twins behind the partition glass, he made sure they were ready to jump into action if the spirit lost control.
“Suddenly,” Yukiko continued, unaware of the tension she created within the room, “arms yanked me into the darkness, and all I felt was pain. Everything hurt. I screamed. I yelled. I begged for the person to stop. But no one cared. I felt ropes being tied around my neck and wrist, tightened to the point it was hard for me to breathe or escape. I could hear his cold laughter as he put his cigarettes on my hair, lighting it on fire. He aimed for my face, my body. Everything. I WAS STILL BREATHING WHEN HE CUT MY EYES OUT.”
The temperature in the room plummeted, and Iori could see his breath. He scolded himself for getting too lost in her story, failing to notice the rising tension in the air. Horror washed over him as he watched Yukiko strain against her chains, her face a mask of frustration. Tears of blood flowed down her face and stained what is now known as her tattered school uniform. Or, what’s left of it?
“In that entire area, how could no one have heard me?” Yukiko slammed her hands on the table and rose from her seat. “No one tried to find out who was screaming. No one checked to see if I needed help. NO ONE HELPED ME!”
As Yushi watched the angry spirit closely, he prepared to place a talisman on her to suppress the negative energy she was radiating. He worried that if Iori was further exposed to this energy, it could be detrimental to his health, given his inexperience. However, the leaner boy managed to surprise him once again.
Iori understood what Yukiko was going through; he had wrestled with the same questions throughout his childhood. Being able to see and hear ghosts, coupled with being an orphan, had strained his relationships with the relatives he was burdened with. He hated that despite his fear and constant longing for help or comfort, he was often met with disgust, annoyance, or simply ignored. He didn’t blame them—who would believe that he could see spirits? After a few years, it was no surprise that he ended up in the care of the town’s temple, raised by the monks. Understanding her feelings, he gently placed his hand over Yukiko’s.
“I’m sorry,” the brunette boy said, looking at her with understanding in his eyes. “I’m sorry this happened to you, and I agree. They were terrible for not helping you.”
“Iori!” Yushi barked out sharply as he watched the exchange, warily eyeing the resentment seeping out of Yukiko.
“But,” Iori continued, ignoring Yushi's warning, “that doesn’t mean you can push people onto a busy road. I agree we need to catch the one who did this to you, but putting him behind bars and forcing him to face the shame of society is a better form of revenge than death. Don’t you think that’s too simple? Can you imagine him rotting in his cell, wishing for death to come? Begging for the end?”
The words surprised even him as they left his mouth. Slowly, he retracted his hand from Yukiko's, swallowing nervously as he replayed his statement in his mind. Sassy, sarcastic, and tinged with dry humour—this was Iori’s personality, but he had never spoken that way to anyone before. In his peripheral, he could see Yushi’s mouth set in a frown. Nonetheless, the older men did not say anything and Yukiko managed to calm down so he gave her his attention once again.
“Yes,” She shakily breathed out. “I want to see that. I want to see him wishing for death.”
Yukiko then sat back down and fixed her gaze on Iori, her expression calming as her youthful appearance returned. “However, it wasn’t my idea to push that man this morning onto the bus.” She easily confessed.
“Wasn’t your idea?” Iori asked confused and his words caused Yushi’s attention.
The younger girl shook her head. “A man visited the alleyway I 'haunted' long ago. He wore a dark overcoat and black shades that concealed his eyes. He seemed to have the same abilities as your friend over there—except he could hear me.”
“Similar to Yushi?” The smaller man glanced at the older man who went back to his relaxed position by the partition mirror. “As in his skills in exorcism and talisman?”
Yukiko nodded before continuing. “He told me he felt sorry for my situation and that he could help me get my revenge. All I had to do was cause ten deaths and collect their souls. Once I delivered the souls to him, he promised to take vengeance for me. That man this morning was my ninth soul.”
“Ninth soul!” Iori exclaimed in shock as his eyes widened.
“No wonder,” Yushi murmured, understanding dawning on him. “Did she mention that the man from this morning was her ninth victim?”
Wordlessly, the younger man nodded his head as Yukiko dipped her head in remorse.
“This aligns with the bodies that have been appearing around this part of town over the past few months,” he explained to Iori, mentally mapping out the crime scenes he had visited. “It also clarifies why she emits such high levels of resentment energy—it's strong enough to affect you.”
“But,” Iori asked, his expression troubled, “why would he need her to collect such a specific number? Ten seems like an odd requirement.”
Yushi's face darkened as he replied, “That man is likely preparing for a dark ritual.”