Magic Abilities

After the traumatic incident, Izumi and Ichiyo struggled to cope with their emotions and fears.
Both of them experienced nightmares, anxiety, and difficulty trusting others. The only people they truly trusted were each other, each girl's families and Seiji with his closest friends.

Recognizing the need for help, Izumi and Ichiyo reached out to trusted friends, family members, and mental health professionals for support. They attended therapy sessions together and participate in group activities designed to promote healing and resilience.

As they worked through their trauma, Izumi and Ichiyo gradually confronted their fears and anxieties head-on, rebuilding their trust in others.

[The Next Morning]

Seiji adjusted his bag over his shoulder as he walked briskly toward the train station. His expression was calm, but his mind was far from it.

'I just need to confirm no one's touched that alley. If it's still clean, then we're in the clear.'

As he turned the corner, his breath hitched slightly. The alleyway was cordoned off with bright yellow police tape. Uniformed officers were stationed at the perimeter, keeping curious onlookers at bay.

He slowed his pace, his sharp eyes scanning the scene. It was clear the investigation had been thorough. The ground was marked with numbered evidence tags.

Seiji's stomach churned as he caught sight of a forensic team kneeling near what looked like dried blood splatters on the ground. Even from a distance, the smell of decay and disinfectant lingered in the air. Officers were murmuring among themselves, and the faint hum of a camera clicking as photos were taken punctuated the eerie quiet of the morning.

'Damn it... they were here last night. They found everything.'

He kept walking past the scene, his face a mask of indifference, though his mind was racing.

'They worked fast. It must've been called in shortly after Hideaki—'  He stopped that thought before it spiraled. 'Doesn't matter. What's done is done.'

As he passed the alley, he overheard snippets of a conversation between two detectives standing near their unmarked car.

"But it's no doubt. We've got confirmation - it's Magic Ability of Blood Control," one of them said, his voice grim.

The other detective, older with graying hair, nodded slowly. "Damnit... And I thought that I'd be having free shift today... And yet, it's another massacre, and the same damn Ability."

"Yeah... Still I can't believe that I'm investigating a literally bloody murder scene, instead of sitting in a cozy office and doing some paperwork, heh. It's creepy how often we've got reports from murders these days..."

"True. I heard from my superiors that it was supposedly this Miyahara guy again. But what scares me the most in all this is this level of sadism. The complete lack of hesitation. Three victims in one night, and in such a public space? Nakamura's team need to track this serial murderer down before he slips through their fingers again."

Seiji recognized that tone of certainty. His blood ran cold. 'They already suspect Hideaki.'

His steps quickened as he put more distance between himself and the scene.

'They're piecing it together too quickly. If he wasn't such an uncontrolled emotional time-bomb, things would be so much better...'

By the time Seiji reached the train platform, his mind was a storm of calculations. He would need to act carefully - one misstep, and everything would come crashing down.

'His murderous impulses... They are stronger and more dramatically done every next time. Each time I tell him to stop, he isn't listening. He won't listen to me. It's what he stated...'

For a fleeting moment, a colder thought crossed his mind.

'Maybe I should isolate him completely.

No streets. No crowds. No chances. Just keep him locked away, cut off from everything — from everyone.

It would be safer. Cleaner.'

Seiji exhaled slowly and shook his head almost imperceptibly.

'No... That won’t work.

I had already confined Hideaki to the apartment, limited his movement as far as reality allowed. But locking him away forever isn’t a solution — it is postponement. If I truly want the killings to stop, then sooner or later, Hideaki would have to step outside again. He would have to learn to exist among people without turning every encounter into a potential crime scene.

I tried that with Ken, but it looks like it isn't enough.

And sheltering him indefinitely would only make things worse when that moment inevitably comes.

Which means we have to be more careful.

Correction —  I would have to be more careful.

While we'd be outside, we would have to avoid patrol-heavy areas. I would have to watch police patterns. Change routes. Change timing. No more careless walks, no more blind spots. One mistake in the wrong neighborhood, and it would all be over.'

He exhaled heavily and continued his road to the office.

It was the begining of a busy week for Seiji at work, buried under a new serious project and to add the ongoing investigation.

[Police Station – Evening. Oyakata and Inoue]

The station was dimly lit. Officers were leaving one by one. However, that evening, not everyone rushed out of the police building.

Oyakata stood in the hallway near the coffee machine, slowly sipping a bitter coffee that tasted more like ashes than a caffeine kick. In the half-light, his face looked dimmed, as if something inside him was fading. Beside him, hunched over his notebook, stood Inoue.

"Inoue-senpai..." Oyakata began quietly.

Inoue looked up from his notes and glanced at him. "Yes, Oyakata?"

"I... I can't..."

"Huh?" Inoue raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Can't what?"

"I... I can't accept the fact that my investigation back at Sekiguchi's led nowhere..."

"Oyakata, everything indicates that Sekiguchi is clean. It's not your fault."

"But... what if we're wrong? What if Sekiguchi is hiding something? Nakamura-senpai and Kisaragi-san are having statements that Sekiguchi got a roommate. And yet, when I've investigated him, he never mentioned about one. He only mentioned a cat, but I didn't see anything that suggested one lived there. And.. I-I think that Nakamura and Kisaragi had forget about it..."

Inoue turned to him "I mean... They could have partly forget about this detial. They both got too much of work on their heads. Don't blame them for it. It can happen even to the best."

Oyakata nodded slowly, the added "It's just... When I spoke with Sekiguchi-san about his cat, he said that he was shy and still feral, not used to people or places like that, but... normally you'd see something, right? Tufts of fur, scratched furniture... But there was nothing."

"A cat... Hmm..." Inoue scratched his chin. "Some tenants are strict about pets in rented places. I wouldn't be surprised if Sekiguchi wanted to cover up any evidence of a cat if he really want to keep the pet at his flat."

"Maybe... I've got similar problems with my tenants about my dog. But... It's not just that... I'm worrying that it's something deeper... I still feel like I could've done more. And now... now the investigation just keeps dragging on."

"You did what you could. What you thought was right."

"But..." Oyakata started, "You see it yourself. Ever since that hospital incident, the murders just keep piling up. It's terrifying!"

"I agree with you, it's just—"

"—That couple... Fukuda-san and Maeda-san seemed to have enough reason to believe Sekiguchi might've been harboring the killer!" Oyakata raised his voice, nearly springing to his feet. "And when I was there, at first Sekiguchi seemed suspicious to me.  And then later what we discovered in hospital... It's just.. I... I have a feeling that.. I could've pressed harder. Searched his place more thoroughly. And yet, I didn't. And because of that, I feel responsible."

"And what are you planning to do about it, Oyakata?"

Oyakata looked down for a moment, then spoke up. "I... I've decided to try and catch Miyahara on my own. To atone for all those deaths."

Inoue let out a deep sigh. "You're young, Oyakata. You mean well, but you don't go after a psychopath like that alone. You're smart, but still too green. This isn't a game. This man doesn't seem to stop in his killigs. If you really want to help, don't make yourself a martyr."

Oyakata fell silent, clenching his fists.

Inoue looked at him, at that face full of determination. He sighed again and spoke more gently.

"But... if you truly want to help, I can talk to Nakamura and Tanaka. Maybe you can do something with your Shield Magic Ability? It is always a usage in crime scenes for barriers that protect people or block magical attacks."

Oyakata lifted his head. In his eyes, a spark of even greater determination lit up.

"Yes! Yes, of course!" He bowed gratefully. "I'll do whatever it takes!"

"I don't doubt in that hehe. Just remember - no foolish lone-wolf acts."

Oyakata nodded "Yes! Thank you!! You guys won't be dissapointed this time!"

That same evening, his name was added to the list under Tanaka and Nakamura's task force. No longer just an observer – now, he was part of the team. Whatever happened next, Oyakata Jun had no intention of backing down again.

[The next day]

Nakamura sat at his desk.

Beside him were Tanaka and Inoue.

All of them looked deep in thought.
Nakamura spoke up.

"Alright. Let’s go over what we know so far…"

"Over the past two weeks, Miyahara has committed horrifying and brutal murders of four people. One of them was already wanted," Tanaka began.

"According to the reports, the suspect is somewhere within the Ueno district area," Inoue added.

Nakamura nodded. "We’ll have to narrow the search down to that area. And even if he tries to flee before we do, he won’t get far."

"And purely hypothetically… what do we do about Sekiguchi-san?" Tanaka added.

"...I’ve ruled out his involvement in these crimes. So for now… we leave him alone."

Tanaka and the others agreed.

"And now," Nakamura cleared his throat, "if any of you have ideas on how else we could catch him, please share them now."

***

[Nakamura's Office]

Nakamura read the reports once again. He was in the middle of the page when suddenly a loud beeping signal interrupted his reading.

The phone rang.

Nakamura picked up the receiver.

"This is Detective Officer Nakamura Akira."

On the other end, the low and impatient voice of the Chief Commander sounded.

"Nakamura-san, the media is asking why the police can't catch one sick guy with a knife. Tell me, how the hell am I supposed to keep quiet about this case?"

Nakamura swallowed nervously, then replied in a calm tone,

"Give me a week. We have something. We can smell him. He's close."

"Damn... I hope you're right." There was an audible sigh, "You have a week. Then the politicians come in. And if nothing changes by then... it's going to be hell."

As the Chief Commander hang out, Nakamura exhaled heavily. He drifted his gaze at the Tokyo's skyscrapers, that shined brightly from the sun rays.

"Miyahara Hideaki... your days of running are over."

[Later at Inoue's apartment]

Inoue was sitting on his armchair. He was watching evening news on TV with a tired face.

Next to him sat Tanaka. He was sipping cola from can, watching with him the news as well.

Then, a tearful middle-aged woman appeared on the TV screen, sitting in a cramped living room, speaking in a trembling voice to the camera.

"My son just finished university... He was a good kid, loved to learn. He just went to the store. No one did anything to protect him. The police... they didn't even know that monster was nearby!"

"How long it takes to catch a one person with a knife??"

"Families of these people are demeaning answers!"

The voice of TV reporter echoed in his mind.

"You think that we ever catch him, Inoue-san?" Tanaka asked after taking a gulp of his drink.

"I think... Yeah. One day."

Tanaka smirked "That doesn't sound promising."

"Catching an unpredictable serial killer is one. Confronting all his victims families after — is a second thing."

"Yeah..." Tanaka rubbed his head. "Sometimes I wonder if my Magic Ability would help it somehow. You know, to make the difference in this mess."

Inoue chuckled softly. "Funny. Me and Oyakata-san talked about that yesterday."

"Huh? About my Magic Ability?" Tanaka raised his eyebrow.

"No, no. About his one, and how he could use it for the case."

"Oh, I see..." Tanaka took a slow sip of his cola.

"Yeah..." Inoue shifted a little on his armchair.

"Inoue-san..." Tanaka started, his voice a bit unsure.

"Yeah?" Inoue turned his head at him.

"You think that Nakamura-san is right? That we'll getting seriously closer? Just as he said to Chief?"

"We'll see. I don't want to bond bad."

Tanaka sighed heavily, then gazed at his fingers and then they glowed lime green aura.

At this moment He looked down at the half-empty can.

The liquid inside quietly rose, filling it to the brim.

Tanaka stared at it for a long moment.

"…Great," he muttered. "That helps."

Inoue grinned kindly "I remember that when I was a kid, I always wanted to have such Magic Ability as yours."

"Really?" Tanaka asked genuinely surprised "But... It's useless. It doesn't help others. It..." He paused before he said next thing, then let out a heavy sigh again and added grimly "...It can't restore dead people, heal wounds or anything else like that..."

"Oh yes, I know that." Inoue said "But it still can do quite nice things. Just imagining to restore stuff to the state they were a few minutes or even hours ago, sounds pretty cool... Heheh."

"You're saying it like you were my grandpa. No offense."

"Non taken. And you know Tanaka-san, a few years more and I might turn into a grandpa myself hehe."

"So you're saying that your son is getting married?"

"He didn't say anything to me about it, but I can see how he's looking at his current girlfriend. And if things will turn out well... Well, I'd be more than happy to support him and his future family in everything."

Tanaka nodded and smiled kindly.

A small pause greeted in the air, but not a uncomfortable one.

Tanaka took another sip of his cola.

"You've got pretty 'cool' Magic Ability as well."

"Oh, really?" Inoue asked.

"Mhm." Tanaka answerd "Emotional Resonance. You can sense the emotional state of others:
tension, doubt, fatigue, hidden determination."

Tanaka traced the printed text on the can with his eyes.

"Perfect for police work. Because it’s neither mind reading, nor does it directly influence emotions.
You simply know when and what to say."

Inoue was quiet for a moment, eyes still on the TV.

"You know… when I said I wanted to join the police," he said calmly, "people laughed. Told me I was too empathetic. That I’d burn out. That I wouldn’t last."

Tanaka glanced at him.

"I didn’t argue with them," Inoue continued. "I just… stayed. One case at a time."

He looked at Tanaka and smiled faintly.

"Some investigations take years. Some never really end. But that doesn’t mean you stop walking."

Tanaka hesitated, then nodded once.

"…Yeah."

They returned their eyes to the TV.