The night was peculiar. Although they were together, Mirai refused any physical contact until they got married. Still, her presence in the same room was enough for Ren to think about nothing but her. They had bought one big futon and were lying down shoulder to shoulder. The fact that she was so close, and even her scent, lingered in the air, was hunting him. It was a long night, but it eventually came to an end.

Surprisingly, at the first light, someone was already knocking on their door. They both got up, and Ren headed to see who decided to pay a visit so early in the morning, with Mirai following a few steps behind. As he slid the door open, he saw three men – one familiar face and two complete strangers.

The man at the front appeared to be in his late thirties. He had a robust and imposing figure, with a muscular physique cultivated through years of rigorous training. He wore a grey kimono with the number twelve embroidered on the shoulder, slightly pulled apart on his torso, revealing a hairy chest. The thick, short beard on his chin and slightly longer hair, tied up behind, completed the picture.

A step away from him was standing a younger man with a mane of ruffled, dark grey hair, wearing a traditional kimono of the Noroi clan. He was grinning, as if he was happy about something. He also had the number twelve embroidered on the shoulder of his kimono.

Next to him stood Kazuki with his grotesque, hunched-over posture and the massive hump on his back. He appeared worried.

"Good morning, candidate!" The oldest man began the conversation. "I’m Jiro Kōri of the twelfth investigation unit," he bowed slightly. "I’m sorry to bother you so early, but there is a slight issue we would like to discuss. This is my assistant, cadet Riku Noroi," he pointed back at the grinning guy. "Also, candidate Kazuki Isogai joined us…"

"I was worried," Kazuki elaborated. "But you seem to be fine."

"Worried? Worried about what?" Ren asked, not even attempting to hide his confusion.

"May we come in? I would like to not discuss this in the open," said Jiro.

"I’ll make some tea," Mirai spoke behind Ren’s back, then immediately departed for the kitchen.

"Uhm… Yes… You might come in," Ren awkwardly agreed, making some space for them to enter, only to push his way through them to lead the whole group to the dining room.

The dining room was mostly empty, with only a single, but quite wide table placed on a tatami mat, occupying the center of the currently dark space. The window was the only source of light, but it was closed at the moment, so Ren first had to open it. Then he invited them all to take a seat with a gesture of his hand.

"I will cut to the chase. Yesterday evening, some participants of the candidate tournament were reported missing. We were visiting their houses throughout the night, and you were the last one. It’s a relief that none of the new candidates disappeared," Jiro explained the moment he sat down.

"I tagged along when I heard about this," Kazuki added. "I was worried about you." He had to look away to hide his embarrassment, which caused Riku to giggle.

He stopped as his superior’s glare met his.

"We questioned some other participants, and we found out that a few of them were contacted by some strangers, telling them nonsense, and even promising greater power,” Jiro resumed speaking. “We got a description of a man in a black kimono with red edges, wearing a large bamboo hat that obscured his face, and a large rucksack full of weapons.”

Ren’s eyes widened as the description was mentioned, but the part about the rucksack surprised him. The expression on his face betrayed it all, but despite that, he kept silent for a moment, considering all the pros and cons of revealing the truth.

‘I live in Hikarimura, and although this business is definitely fishy, I don’t want to have problems with the city… I should tell them everything, then stay away from this as far as possible,’ he thought.

“There was also a tall man in the same kimono and the hat, but apparently he wore some kind of mask on his face. Black, resembling a crow’s beak,” Jiro kept speaking, despite frowning his eyebrows slightly as he noticed the changes on Ren’s face. “Have you seen any of them?”

There was a brief pause, further interrupted by Mirai, who entered the room carrying a tray with the bowls and the kettle. Her presence rendered everybody silent. She didn’t seem to mind at all, as she kneeled by Ren’s side to put everything on the table, then left swiftly with the empty tray, asking no questions.

“Have you seen them?” Jiro repeated. “Let me remind you that misleading the investigation will be treated...”

“No,” Ren cut him off.

The man immediately tightened his fists, as the first signs of anger showed in his behavior. Even the grinning guy reacted – his smile vanished.

“I saw a different one,” Ren added, morphing their fury into a surprise. “I met a man. Tall, big… He even wore the kimono and the bamboo hat, but he had no rucksack.”

“What did he tell you?” Jiro asked.

“He told me that what I’ve been told is a lie and that Hikarimura is conspiring with some outsiders to stage an event that will raise tension between the cities. I told him that I don’t believe in his words and that he should get lost.”

Both investigators immediately relaxed. Riku even poured himself some tea. The smile also returned to his lips.

“Can you tell us more? Some participants reported they were contacted two times, others only once. A few,” Jiro paused to look at Kazuki, “weren’t contacted at all. We would like to know everything that could help us find those men.”

“I was contacted two times,” Ren admitted.

“Can you tell us more about the circumstances?” he asked, giving in and pouring himself a little tea as well.

Riku was already slurping his, as it was quite hot. It was a bit annoying, but in the heat of the moment, nobody seemed to pay any mind to the noise.

"I was contacted first before the tournament, on the street. Then the second time in my designated quarters. I was sleeping, so I have no idea how he got there. He woke me up, we spoke, and then he left without a trace. I tried to look for him, but I didn't notice a thing, although I saw him in the crowd when the people were evacuated from the stadium,” Ren confessed.

“That's interesting… Nobody should be able to enter the quarters of the participants without approval from the guards, and yet not only you, but others reported that as well,” Jiro said before taking a sip of the brew, as if it wasn’t hot at all, then he asked: “Do you remember what he told you the second time?”

“He told me the same thing, and I insisted he would leave. I kinda panicked, since he was in my room all of a sudden… He spoke something about a place to meet him if I change my mind.”

The bowl with the tea almost fell out of Jiro’s hand as his body was jolted with a sudden burst of energy. He even leaned over the table, looking straight at Ren as he put away the bowl. “Do you remember the name of that place?”

“Ugh...” A noise left his mouth as he tried to remember the words. “Ha… Hana-Sakana!” a moment later he was able to dig the name from his memory. “He also gave me something. Said I should show it around.”

“What did he give you?” Jiro frowned his eyebrows.

Instead of answering, Ren got up, only to head to the nearby bedroom, where he left the metal plate, hidden underneath the futon. On his way, he caught Riku speaking a few words. “Hana-Sakana… I know that place. They sell sushi.”

When he came back, holding the card, everybody was already awaiting his return, looking intently at the door. “This. He gave me this.” Ren said, giving the plate to Jiro.

The man took it, and his eyes widened immediately.

“You know this symbol?” Kazuki asked.

“Yes,” the investigator confirmed, as Ren sat by the table with them. “I saw it a few times before. It’s always linked to some mysterious crimes. Assassinations, robberies… But I never saw a plate like this,” he explained, turning the item in his hand to have a better look.

“We know where to go, and we can use the card to find the people who should give us some answers!” Riku said loudly while getting up. There was a monocle over one of his eyes.

Noticing it, Jiro's hand twitched, as if he wanted to use it, but then gave up. He ended up only gritting his teeth. “Put that away. Stop embarrassing our unit… But you are right, we should go. Thank you for your cooper...”

He didn’t finish as Mirai entered the dining room holding a tray with some hastily prepared food.

“Are you leaving so soon? I prepared a small breakfast...” She said slightly disappointed.

This caused the investigator to blush and then look away while scratching the back of his head. “Duty calls...”

"I’ll go too!” Kazuki butted in, jumping on his feet. It was surprising due to the hump on his back, and it looked quite awkward. “We should help our comrades in arms. They might be in trouble… Especially if they were kidnapped,” he pointed out.

Ren was not so keen to go, and he was even about to find some excuse, but then Mirai spoke again. “Then wait a short moment. I’ll pack you the food so you can eat on the way,” she said to everybody, before rushing outside.

“Woooah! Our team expanded, Captain Jiro!” Riku observed with a widely opened mouth. “We now have candidates to help us.”

Ren was about to protest, and he even raised his hand, but then Mirai reappeared in the dining room with a box wrapped in a piece of cloth, which she immediately shoved into his arms.

“It’s not much, only some rice balls made from leftovers from the last dinner, but it will give you the energy to work,” she said, with a serious expression, hinting at how proud she was about her help.

Ren almost gritted his teeth, fighting with himself, but then gave in,  and got up. “Yeah… Let’s help,” he said, without any conviction.

“Follow me, I know the way!” Riku announced loudly while holding his head high out of pride. The monocle glimmered in his eye, reflecting some of the sunlight.

It caused Kazuki to giggle, while both Ren and Jiro rolled their eyes.

“Just show us the way,” the captain murmured with resignation.

The young guard immediately rushed outside. Kazuki eagerly followed him. The two remaining closed the group, leaving Mirai behind. She escorted them with her eyes, slightly happy and proud, as she watched the wide back of her soon-to-be husband, working for the benefit of the city.

She quickly closed the door and then began cleaning up, already thinking about what food to prepare for Ren after his return.