Chairman

Traces of the morning light seeped in through the edges of window glass. The house was quiet, nothing but the sound of water boiling and meat sizzling.

Sayaka stood in her mother's room, now void of life. Nothing but the comfort of her stains, dark and dry, untouched across the floor and fabric.

She exhaled softly. 

The scent of their mom lingered in the air

In a way, she was grateful.

The fact that this was a murder outside the realm of what was normal before meant there was no crime scene.

She moved toward the sheets, gazing at the indented mold that echoed her mother's body. 

"I should handle this while he cooks," she muttered.

She stripped the bed quietly, rolling each piece of fabric into one another before resting them by her feet.

"Good," she whispered.

She widened her arms before wrapping them around the pile, pressing it against her chest as she inched out of the room. Her slippers left faint marks on the carpet of blood, each step lifting portions of it into the air. 

She did her best to ignore the flat noise of the liquid as she turned the corner toward the stairs.

When she reached the bottom, the heat from the kitchen reached her bones. She slipped past its entrance, taking a peek at Ren within. He faced away from her, hands moving mechanically, trapped in the familiar sequence of motions they knew by heart. When he turned to another counter, she saw his eyes strained beneath the heaviness of his thoughts, yet steady enough to hold even the lightest tears in place.

She kept moving.

Reaching the washing machine, she sorted each piece of fabric before turning the machine on. It hummed to life behind her as she carried a bucket and a rag back upstairs. 

She exhaled.

Kneeling where the blood had dried the deepest in the room's center, she started to scrub. With each motion the stain lightened until the wood revealed itself underneath. 

A faint, sad smile touched her lips as some of the blood had already seeped into the wood.

"I guess a part of her stays here," she whispered.

As she crawled toward the last section near the door, a warm scent drifted up from downstairs. 

Ren was nearly finished, and she had to hurry down to meet him.

__________

Sayaka reached in time to help set the table, laying the bowls and chopsticks. The steam warmed her face as each dish he had prepared colored their oak table. 

When Ren removed his apron, he lowered himself into his usual seat, posture straight, face unreadable.

Sayaka walked around the table joining him in her seat. 

She glanced in his direction and exhaled.

Ren's gaze drifted on the empty chair their mother had sat in the previous morning. 

Then that same gaze shifted to the other side, where an even colder chair waited tucked beneath the table.

Sayaka's fingers pulled apart her chopsticks, her brows tightened.
I have to support him, she thought. No matter what.

"Thank you for the food."

Ren didn't react, but he lifted his chopsticks.

They ate in silence.

When the bowls finally emptied, only the soft clink of chopsticks remained. 

Ren stood, his arm reached for the center bowl.

Sayaka swiftly rose to her feet, grabbing it first.
"I got dishes," Sayaka whispered. "You cooked after all."

Ren retracted his hand and bowed, turning toward the kitchen's entrance.

Sayaka paused as he disappeared behind the walls, his slow footsteps up the stairs echoed heavy and low.

At the top, Ren stopped at his door before turning his gaze down the hallway. The blood that had extended past his mother's doorway had vanished. Nothing more than a faint trace of it remained, absorbed into the wood.

He opened his door.

A faint, long breath left him.

"Aira," he whispered low. "Tell me what you know."

 __________

The transport hummed steadily as it trailed the ambulance ahead. Yuna sat reclined all the way back, feet planted on the dash, no seatbelt in sight. She turned toward the window, watching houses blur as they pass by. 

"Who does he think he is." she whispered. "He's lucky Sayaka's a Seraph. If she wasn’t glued to him, no one here would waste a minute on that kid."

A faint laugh echoed beside her. "Funny how someone as small as you thinks he's the kid." 

Noboru sat at the wheel. He winced as a sharp pinch tugged at his arm.

"So violent," he muttered.

He quickly peeked a glance at her. She held her arms crossed over her chest, head turned away from him. 

"Hmph," she muttered. Her torso lifted and fell evenly, peacefully. 

He didn't even notice her move.

He kept a hand on the wheel and the other rested on the open window's edge. A cigarette laid lit between his fingers, occasionally bringing it up to his lips for a puff. Its smoke drifted behind them as his eyes moved between the road and the ambulance’s taillights.

"You really should buckle in," he said. "If we crash, you're going straight through the..."

She snorted. "Please. If we were about to crash, I’d have enough time to open the door, step outside, and let you deal with the impact alone."

Noboru sighed. "Agility doesn’t cancel physics."

"It does when I’m the one using it."

She shifted, crossing one leg over the other as the wind nudged the hem of her uniform.

"What about you? You're actually doing something that will kill you."

Noboru inhaled from the cigarette. "It calms me down, helps me focus."

"Hypocrite," she whispered, closing her eyes.

The rest of the drive passed in silence.

They followed the ambulance through a guarded turn. The gates opened automatically as their vehicle approached. MPD units lined the perimeter as they drove in. 

"Most of them are new hires it seems," Noboru whispered. "There are a lot of faces I don't recognize from before everything changed."

Yuna didn’t open her eyes. Her head rested on her hands. "They are all probably Seraphs too scared to hunt alone. I question the angels that chose such weak humans." 

The ambulance halted beside a side entrance. Wide glass doors slid open as personnel stepped out to receive the body.

Noboru parked farther back. As he and Yuna stepped out, his phone buzzed. He lifted it to his ear.

"Yes sir. We just arrived... No sir, the victims were the deceases children. It seems the sister was the one who terminated it. It was in a residence in Setagaya."

Yuna watched the ambulance workers rolling the body inside, eyes narrowed.

"No, sir," Noboru continued. "The brother is just a normal human. Confirmed by his sister."

He lowered the phone and exhaled.

Yuna turned to him, "We already know who killed it, my sweet sister. An autopsy is a waste of time and resources."

"We need to be certain," Noboru said slipping the phone into his coat. "If one of them killed her, this would be out of SL's jurisdiction.

They walked inside the building, swiping their keycards through the turnstiles. 

A secretary walked over to them in formal wear, scanning them both. She held a clipboard at her hip, adjusting her glasses by the bridge on her nose. Her hair tied neatly in a bun behind her.

"Welcome back, Detective," she said with a polite bow toward Noboru.

Her eyes shifted to Yuna. "Yuna." This bow was notably shorter.

Yuna stepped toward her, fists clenched. Noboru quickly reached for her arms, pulling her back.

"You think I am scared of you because you're his pet, huh?" Yuna chirped.

The secretary kept her expression neutral and turned away, something she had clearly practiced more than once.

She walked ahead, each step of her high heels echoing on new tiles. She lead them toward an elevator, standing at its entrance with a hand directed at the opened doors.

"The department head, Shin Amakari, will see you now," she said, stepping in behind them.

She tapped her card key and selecting the highest floor. The lift rose with a soft mechanical hum.

The lift's door clicked open exposing a small hallway that led to a set of closed double-oak doors.

"We have arrived sir," the secretary said as she knocked on the door.

"You can enter," a voice responded from inside.

The doors opened to reveal Shin standing near his desk, clear glass windows behind him showcasing the morning light of Tokyo. 

He started around the desk toward them. His hair was immaculate, reflecting the overhead lights in a way that felt almost intentional. A white feathered cloak draped from his broad shoulders, paired with a long cape stitched with the SL insignia near its hem.

"Please, sit," he said, motioning toward the leather sofas arranged on a patterned white rug.

"Shin!" Yuna called, hurrying over. "You wont believe what happened to me at the site."

Shin smiled and placed a gentle hand atop her head. "Welcome back, Yuna."

Yuna threw a small, triumphant glance toward the secretary standing by the doorway.

The secretary tightened her grip on her clipboard.

Noboru watched them. 

He raised his hands while stepping forward toward his seat. 

"Now now," he said dryly. "Can we get to the report Mr. Chairman?"

Shin withdrew his hand away from Yuna. His brows lowered at the tone. Yuna caught the shift and quickly spun toward the seat next to Noboru.

Shin lowered himself in the center of the sofa across from them. He crossed one leg over the other, folding his hands neatly in his lap.

"Now then," he said. "Let's hear the full report."

__________

Shin Amakari
Level: 15
 Age: 28
Race: Seraph
Class: Divine Duelist
HP: 240
MP: 1
Strength: 8
Magic: 1
Agility: 8
Intelligence: 1
Faith Points: 0