Part 1

“Evac request authorized. Thank you for calling Tech Support. Have a great day!” The woman resumed her sweet cheerful tone.

The two officers could barely hear the voice on the other side. But seeing how Radcliff could make such an unreasonable request with such a straight face, the men shivered in their shoes. Radcliff could be no ordinary PSIA agent. No, it was now highly questionable if he even belonged to the PSIA. Radcliff was talking about evacuating the entire Shibuya district! One of the busiest districts in all of Japan, in such a nonchalant manner!  

Who the heck were these people!

This question would bother the two officers for many days and give them many sleepless nights.  This entire night seemed to be scripted for some fantastical movie. Human beings who can jump four storeys uninjured, walls crumbling and now a secret agent who makes a request to a secret government agency to evacuate the entire Shibuya district. All of it was unimaginable, yet Radcliff’s calm and confident demeanour was sufficient proof of the reality.

Who the heck were these people!

If there was one good thing about this phone call, it was for the fact that the Captain became slightly more trusting towards Radcliff. The Captain had been on the police force long enough, and through experience he could tell if someone was lying or not – Radcliff wasn’t lying.

Radcliff continued to smile throughout the phone call and as soon as the call ended he scowled for a second before resuming his unchanging wide smile. Putting his cell phone away, Radcliff turned to the police officers. “There, now that that matter has been taken care. I was hoping if you wonderful officers could help me with another matter.”

Radcliff retrieved his cell phone from his coat and quickly opened up a picture on his phone. “Could you so kindly let me know where may I find this boy?”

The Captain, Shinichi and the Baka junior huddled in close to stare at the screen of the phone and get a better look of the picture. The three men instantly recognized the picture of the boy – it was Shin.

“The loud mouth!”

“The fantasy loving maniac!”

“The crotch crusher!”

The three officers exclaimed at the same time.

Radcliff wasn’t surprised by the reaction – it was as expected.  

Part 2

“Then I can assume, you all have met this boy?” Radcliff’s question had an air of authority as though the Tokyo police force now reported to him. This did not sit well with either the Captain or Shinichi. However, seeing Radcliff’s attitude and confidence, the Captain knew that Radcliff had absolute confidence in those backing him. This would mean the people backing Radcliff – government agency or not – is likely to have jurisdiction over his police force. The only question that would then remain is, whether the Captain would choose to cooperate willingly or coerced…

If it were Shinichi, in place of the Captain, then Shinichi would have never cooperated till an official authorization was provided. However, the Captain was different. The Captain already had a very high opinion of Radcliff.

“Shinichi isn’t that the picture of that kid we brought here?” The Captain asked as he turned to face Shinichi with a face full of hope. The Captain only wanted to do what was right and unite the little boy with the PSIA agent. See there is nothing wrong with that sentence – reunite a lost boy with the PSIA agent. Yes! For the sake of getting in to the good graces of powerful people like PSIA, this was perfectly rationale. – The Captain thought.

Unlike the Captain who was easily swayed over by the influence of status and authority, Shinichi was different. It was also the reason why the Captain moved up the ladder and why Shinichi remained only a senior detective. Being Captain of the police force came with greasing hands and social contacts. Those were means which Shinichi found unacceptable as it compromised the principles by which he lived.

“What does this boy have to do with a PSIA agent?” Shinichi asked, as he ignored the Captain’s pleading and hopeful face which implored Shinichi to cooperate with Radcliff.

Before Radcliff could explain, the baka junior began ranting, “This brat! The crotch-crusher! We took him to the children care center! Agent-san, let me tell you that child is a dangerous!” Baka junior spoke the last sentence while covering his groin.

Shinichi shot an angry glare at the baka junior for opening his mouth. Baka-junior immediately stopped speaking.

Seeing how Shinichi was still distrusting towards him, Radcliff began to explain how he was trying to unite the child with his parents. “As you see, I am only trying to unite the child with his parents. As the child’s parents are under a certain protection scheme, the PSIA is involved in this matter.”

The Captain had a very troubled expression on his face hearing the explanation. The baka-junior was frowning and Shinichi was smiling.  This was the moment Shinichi had been waiting for – a faux pas!

“You say you intend to unite the child with his parents?” Shinichi confirmed once again.

Radcliff nodded his head in acknowledgement.

“Captain, you remember what the brat said right?” Shinichi asked as he turned towards the Captain.

The Captain gave a small weak nod.

“Do you think we can trust someone who lies about everything?” Shinichi questioned.

“Excuse me?” Radcliff was startled by the sudden change in everyone’s attitude.

“You maybe some fancy spy or PSIA agent or whatever it is that you are. But these keen eyes of mine have seen many people like you who hide in shadows always believing you are above the law. Unless, I see an official letter signed by our superiors forget about evacuation and the child! I am not saying which center that child has been taken to!”

“Huh?”

“Lie after lie. First about being engineers, then PSIA agents and now the child. You come across more like a child trafficker than a spy!”

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“This matter really does pertain to national security.” Radcliff asserted himself as he noticed Shinichi taking out handcuffs. “I am not at liberty to speak about it in detail…”

“Captain-san, don’t be taken in by his flamboyance or fake mighty words. If you begin evacuation without approval, it will be you who will get fired. Remember that Hollywood movie? Lake…no….Sea…no…Oceans eleven or twleve? This could be some elaborate scheme to trick us….” Shinichi seemed convinced about the whole thing; from the wall crumbling to people flying out of the hole. It must have all been a great ruse of some sort – part of a grand heist.

To begin with humans cannot destroy walls with their bare hands. If, one were to approach this logically, it was obvious this was some sort of trick or illusion. Although Shinichi wasn’t sure how the trick was performed but normal humans cannot break down walls or disappear after jumping down four storeys. Without the old man exerting any pressure, the officer’s thinking grew clearer and clearer. There was no mental strain blocking their ability to think rationally.

The more Shinichi voiced this idea, the more credible and believable it appeared. Even the Captain who had been taken in by Radcliff’s charisma now seemed to be moved by Shinichi’s words. As for baka-junior? He stared at Shinichi with sparkling worshipping eyes while muttering ‘So amazing! As expected of senior detective to see through such a complicated heist! So amazing!’

“You are making a mistake here…” Radcliff tried to explain – time was of the essence.

“You are right. We did make a mistake that was letting your comrade get away!” Shinichi cautiously drew closer to Radcliff with the cuffs. “That boy told us everything, he doesn’t have any parents. So who do you plan to reunite him with?”

Baka-junior nodded his head in agreement. “Yup, he personally told me- orphan since birth.”

“EH?” Radcliff didn’t hide his feelings; he face palmed himself as his expressions loosened and he let out a sigh. “God damn brat stop increasing my work…!@#$%@!”

Part 3

There were six child sized bunk beds, three on each side. The lights in the room had been switched on but kept at ‘dim’ setting. All but three beds were lying vacant. Two of the vacant beds had occupants who were currently standing in front of Shin.

“Nice to meet you, my name is Ozutsuki Inoue.” The girl introduced herself with a graceful bow. “This is…”

“Ozutsuki Akito” The boy standing next to the girl, stepped in front as he introduced himself.

The first thing Shin noted about these two children were – how abnormally pale their skin is.

Shin suspiciously eyed the two children before him. The boy was about the same height and age as Shin’s. He came across as one of those rich Japanese children - milky white supple skin. His voice was calm and steady. Further his attitude revealed a hint of maturity.  No, even the way he dressed was very adult-ish.

The girl was also the same age as Shin. However, she was slightly taller than the two boys. She wore a cheerful and a very welcoming smile on her face. But Shin couldn’t feel an ounce of warmth in it. She gave off a noble like feeling. Shin couldn’t see this but he could definitely feel it.  Her actions were too graceful when compared with the benchmark – Tomo.

Compared to Tomo, these children’s behaviour was to Shin’s liking. They weren’t jumping around excitedly nor did they sound immature.

After living with Tomo for so long, I came to believe that human children could only be noisy and annoying. But I am wrong. Tomo can learn so much from these two.

“Ahem!” An elderly woman coughed as she interrupted the introductions. “Inoue and Akito! You know the rules. Staying awake this late is not allowed. It is nice of you to welcome the new child but please go back to your beds. Shin-kun, there is an empty bed by the window. You can sleep there. I will go bring your bedding. My room is down the hall way. If you need anything, please come to me. Okay?”

“….” Shin stared at the woman who was holding his hand. Okasan’s hands are rougher.

“And Shin-kun, please follow the rules and do not shout at night.” The care taker spoke with a stern voice when she said the last sentence. “Now, I am going to go back to Officer-san and complete all the formalities. Okay?”

Surprising, Shin quietly nodded. Shin made no fuss and went over to the bed allotted to him.

The care taker smiled seeing how obedient Shin had become compared to when he came five minutes back.

Nothing works better than to threaten the gullible ones with a pit full of monsters.

Part 4

Shin lay in bed with his eyes wide awake – staring at the ceiling; although he was feeling sleepy his eyes wouldn’t close. Shin found himself thinking about Okasan, Otosan and Tomo. But why? This troubled Shin, he had never had feelings like this before.

It had been an eventful day…left his servants behind, met the Ancient One, ate delicious udon and was now sleeping in a human stronghold all alone. Some of these memories were conflicting, some joyous….

“Pssst! Shin!!” A hushed voice could be heard.

“Pssst! Shin!! You awake??” It belonged to the girl - Ozutsuki  Inoue.

“Pssst! Shin!! Do you sleep with your eyes open?” Shin continued to ignore the girl’s voice. Right now, there were too many things going on in his head. He wanted some time by himself.

Ozutsuki Inoue pouted as she noticed Shin-kun was ignoring her. She wasn’t used to being ignored.

There was still a remedy to this….

Shin then felt something sharp poking his cheek. Shin tilted his head to the side to find two big eyes staring at him – it was the girl, Inoue.

“Don’t you ignore me!!”

Shin made a mental note, ‘all human children are noisy and annoying without exception.’