Chapter 10:

Tanisuzu Ichiro, Kuromotoma Ayame Mutual Trust

The Ginger Death


After leaving work Ichiro and Kuromoto head to a park between several large buildings before Kuromoto looks at Ichiro as she pulls out her phone and turns it off and takes out the battery as she says “Turn off your phone and take out the battery, we’re in a signal dead spot with no cameras.”

“This seems excessive but if you’re asking in this situation it must be important.” Ichiro replies as he turns off his phone and removes the battery before looking around and seeing she’s right about the lack of cameras before noting “This spot must be popular with all sorts of people.”

“You’re right, there’s even a Yakuza safehouse nearby that Organised Crime wants to get eyes on but they don’t know its exact location.” Kuromoto states calmly but cautiously as she keeps her eyes open for signs of anyone following them before looking toward an old building in the middle of the park and saying “We’re going to continue to follow the shadow map of the city.”

“Shadow map?” Ichiro asks curiously as though he doesn’t know what the term means before Kuromoto while looking at the reflection of a car pulling up near the entrance to the park explains “It’s a map of the city's surveillance and signals blind spots and dead spots.”

Ichiro lets out a sigh as he looks around for signs they’re being followed as he says “I knew the term, I was unaware you knew of such things well enough to use them.”

Kuromoto starts walking toward the east exit of the park keeping her poker face strong as she can while still checking for signs someone was following them with the car she noticed as she says “It’s a skill I picked up out of necessity, my family has powerful enemies in places they have no legitimate business being.”

In the time it takes Kuromoto to spot and approach a mobile food vendor Ichiro imagines several potential options for the positions of power Kuromoto’s family enemies have to occupy before they’d warrant such excessive caution, paranoia and borderline illegal knowledge to avoid their watchful gaze.

As soon as Kuromoto returns from the food vendor she hands Ichiro a cardboard tray of Takoyaki while holding one of her own as she says “If you’re wondering why I have such enemies I’ll explain later once we reach our destination.”

As Ichiro stares at her confused by the fact the park isn’t their destination Kuromoto casually eats the Takoyaki while pretending not to notice the food vendor headed to the car she was suspicious of.

As Ichiro stares at his Takoyaki in confusion Kuromoto keeps careful track of the vendor and the car without looking directly at them before finishing her Takoyaki just as the Vendor walks up to the car and knocks on the window.

The moment the driver of the car opens the window Kuromoto quickly turns toward the south exit of the park and makes for it dropping the cardboard carton along the way as Ichiro quickly follows only having realised the moment she turned what her plan was.

By the time the driver of the car is finished with the Takoyaki Vendor they notice that Kuromoto and Ichiro aren’t there anymore.

The driver of the car looks at their passenger and has an argument with them before driving off as fast as possible toward the south exit of the park and attempting to spot where Kuromoto and Ichiro are but can’t find them.

By the time the people following them in the car had realised they had escaped them Kuromoto had lead Ichiro into an abandoned building built with an access shaft to a decommissioned underground train station.

After entering the elaborately decorated station that was likely built between the end of WWII and the beginning of the new millenium only to be abandoned before ever seeing any official use he is filled with wonder and amazement that such a structure was ever built then subsequently abandoned and effectively sealed off after a new building was built above it.

“I know how you feel, I was a teenager the first time I came here, it wasn’t nearly this well restored back then.” Kuromoto states as she flips a switch on a power cut off box causing the lights to come on revealing just how clean and well repaired the building is despite its age and abandoned status as she continues “The network of people who have to live in hiding due to circumstances like mine find and restore places like this to use as safe houses and transport hubs.”

“To think such things happen in this country and police officers like me know nothing about it.” Ichiro states as he marvels at the sheer ingenuity and creativity that is required to make something like this a reality in the modern world without the awareness of the government or the people they’re hiding from finding them.

Kuromoto walks over to the station's phone and dials a number on the device that looks like it was built in 1920’s America like she’s been using such devices her whole life despite the fact it should have been completely foreign to her.

Much to Ichiro’s surprise the device functions as intended and Kuromoto proceeds to have a discussion with the person on the other end of the line as Ichiro looks on in surprise at the fact such an old phone still works as he thinks “How in the world does that thing still work in this day and age, did those people Kuromoto mentioned fix it?”

While Kuromoto is distracted by her phone call Ichiro looks around the station and notices how conspicuously clean and well kept it is for a station not in operation, almost as though someone regularly comes by to clean and do maintenance.

As he looks around Ichiro walks over to the train tracks and looks them over using the flashlight function of his phone revealing the details of the tracks previously hidden by the shadows leaving it plain to see that the tracks are not only well maintained but up to current standards and above the standard for the minimum level considered up to code as he thinks “It’s impressive they’ve not just fixed the tracks but upgraded them to Modern Standards, just how much money did they spend?”

As a sudden rush of air begins to echo through the tunnels at one end of the platform Ichiro looks in that direction wondering if there’s another track nearby that’s still in operation before he notices a slight flash of light in the darkness of the tunnel.

Ichiro rubs his eyes in confusion before staring into the darkness intently attempting to figure out if it was just his eyes playing tricks on him or if it was actually something in the darkness not sure what it was he saw.

As Ichiro continues to stare the air pressure begins to shift even more strongly and a slight rumble begins to echo through the tunnels before a slight light flashes in the darkness again quickly followed by a strong rush of air into the station from the tunnel.

Without warning suddenly a bright light bursts forth from the darkness shocking Ichiro as the rumbling grows louder and louder as the light gets bigger and bigger before suddenly Kuromoto grabs him by his jacket collar and drags him behind a safety line marker on the floor below mere seconds before a train bursts forth from the tunnel entering the previously silent station and coming to a gentle stop at the edge of the platform.

Ichiro barely has a moment to take in the sight of the fully functional train that looks like it belongs in a museum still running and servicing a supposedly abandoned station before suddenly he’s plunged into darkness as he feels a black wool bag with a drawstring closing the mouth of the bag fairly tight around his neck as Kuromoto says “Sorry for the sudden notice but from here I can’t let you see where we’re going, it’s a security thing so please bear with if as you ae an outsider down here.”

“I understand, I’ll cooperate for now.” Ichiro begrudgingly agrees as best he can from within the bag not showing how uncomfortable he is with the bag over his head regardless of the quality and safety of the bag.

As soon as Kuromoto signals to the trains driver the train car doors open and she walks Ichiro inside the well decorated and lavish train car that would look like something from the first class section of a high class train, not that she allows Ichiro to see as such from beneath the hood.

As the train doors shut behind them Kuromoto has Ichiro sit next to her in the otherwise empty train car as the driver announces the next stop like on a normal train for the other passengers as the train begins to move.

After an hour of riding silently on the train Ichiro stands up with Kuromoto when she gestures to do so as the Train Driver announces the stop “The Next stop is Neo Shibuya, The Next Stop is Neo Shibuya, please prepare to collect your belongings before the doors open.”

As the train rolls to a gentle stop the conductor comes through the train car where Kuromoto and Ichiro are and immediately walks up to Kuromoto and asks “Your ticket please.”

“I got on at the abandoned Station in Nerima, there wasn’t any staff there at the time to purchase a ticket.” Kuromoto states as she takes out her wallet and presents the necessary funds for two passengers from the station she mentioned before continuing “Please allow me to purchase a ticket from you instead sir.”

The conductor looks over Kuromoto and Ichiro before noting that not only is Ichiro wearing a guest hood but Kuromoto has an ID Pin that identifies her as part of the Black Forest Clan before simply nodding and accepting her money and using his mobile ticket printer to produce the necessary tickets as he says “Understood Ma’am, thank you for your patronage.”

As Kuromoto accepts the tickets the trains doors open and she and Ichiro begin to exit the train quietly but before they do the conductor says “Within the next Month all Passive Ghost Stations will be fitted with Automatic Ticket Purchasing Machines just like active ones, please be aware of this in future Ma’am.”

Kuromoto nods gently to the conductor as she leads Ichiro out of the train and into the station.

After reaching the stations main building Kuromoto removes Ichiro’s Guest Hood and returns it to a staff member after telling them where it’s from finally allowing Ichiro to see the bustling station every bit as busy as Shibuya station on any given day and just as modernly constructed as Shibuya Station.

“Stop gawking like a tourist, we have somewhere to go before we can talk.” Kuromoto states as she walks toward the entrance to the main thoroughfare of the building with a bearing of confidence and poise she normally keeps hidden when in public leaving Ichiro surprised and impressed in equal measure at the sight of Kuromoto’s dramatically different demeanour.

“So what is this place anyway?” Ichiro asks Kuromoto out of curiosity as he looks around the station noticing all the different shops and vendors almost identical to the kind you’d see above ground with several well known franchises you’d not expect to see in such a place.

As they exit the station and enter the bustling city streets of Neo Shibuya Kuromoto looks up at the statue of Jiro Horikoshi with eyes full of nostalgia as she removes her glasses and puts them away no longer needing to hide her eyes as she says “This is Neo Shibuya, an Underground City that was built in what used to be Mitsubishi Secret Underground Manufacturing Plant Number 3, also known as the Secret Zero Fighter Factory.”

“An Underground City that used to be a WWII Factory?” Ichiro thinks with a look of awe and wonder at the facts of the cities origins as he notices just how many major brands and stores are represented in the vast and well lit underground city with an extensive and vast variety of peoples and unusual races of human including tribes and cultures long thought extinct in the modern world as he continues “Just how much more to this country is there that has been hidden from the general public!?”

As Ichiro follows Kuromoto he notices they’ve walked into a street filled with Occult Shops of varying types including a very stand out one named Kokoboro Occult Goods which Kuromoto stares at intently as they pass like she knows it well yet there’s a lack of feeling in her gaze as she looks at it before continuing down the street.

Not long after passing Kokoboro Occult Goods they reach a store with the name Black Forest Witches Brews and Potions at which point Kuromoto’s eyes change colour and shape as she says “We’re here, prepare yourself, this store is going to be more intense than you’re used to.”

As Kuromoto walks up to the door to the store Ichiro watches from close behind her deeply concerned as to what awaits him behind the door.

As Kuromoto places her hand on the door Ichiro looks inside the windows and sees only a listing for wanted part time employees Ichiro gets no hints as to what awaits within due to the ornately decorated stain glass windows.

The moment the door opens a bell rings above the door announcing the arrival of new customers as Kuromoto and Ichiro enter the store before being greeted by a friendly “Welcome” from a store employee.

While Kuromoto walks over to the cashier's counter Ichiro looks at the various concoctions and raw sundries that look almost like teas and dehydrated drink powders at first glance but have labels bearing the names of various plants, minerals and animal parts hinting at their purpose.

While Kuromoto is talking to the cashier a Store Employee walks up to Ichiro carrying a bottle of dried leaves and plant matter and courteously says “Hello good sir, might you be a first time customer?”

Ichiro stares at the smartly dressed and surprisingly cute looking woman without saying a word out of sheer surprise and lack of mental preparation for something so low key after Kuromoto warned him it’d be intense.

“If you’re new to these kinds of products might I recommend this herbal concoction?” The woman states as she hold up the bottle of dried leaves and plant matter marked Ginger Revival before explaining “This particular blend of Ginger Tea is designed to calm and ease stress while restoring your strength and boosting your energy, perfect for those with tough careers.”

Ichiro turns pale at the mention of how tough his career is believing she’s figured out he’s a cop even in his plain clothes.

Unable to figure out how the woman knew he worked in a stressful and mentally demanding environment in spite of himself involuntarily asks “How did you know where I work?”

The woman stares at him blankly in confusion before blinking a few times as she says “Because you work on the surface with Miss Ayame and there’s subtle hints of stress and fatigue throughout your body.”

Ichiro staggers back in shock that the woman read his physical state so clearly despite his clothing and general appearance.

“One jar is good for 500 individual servings and each jar is Y700.” The woman further explains as she shows Ichiro the price and details tags on the jar.

As he reaches calmly for his wallet Ichiro keeps a calm and composed appearance on the surface while on the inside he’s left completely and utterly helpless before the young woman standing in front of him thinking “She completely defeated me, if all the sales people down here as good as this I’ll be lucky to leave with bus fare.”

“Ichiro, finish up your shopping and get over here, we’ll have our talk in the back room.” Kuromoto states casually as she calmly yet elegantly walks over to a door marked as staff only.

As Ichiro stares into the gentle yet expectantly sharp eyes of the young woman who brought him the herbal tea Ichiro takes out his wallet and turns to the sales counter and places the money there for the tea.

No sooner than Ichiro places down the money the young woman walks up and hands him the the jar of herbal tea along with a piece of paper he hadn’t previously seen in her hand before she casually yet playfully looks him in the eyes as she says “Drink one cup before and after work for best results, we also have a milk version for after baths if you decide to set up a subscription order.”

Ichiro quickly yet calmly turns toward Kuromoto not letting the young woman see his face as he says “I’ll keep that in mind miss, you’re a terrifyingly skilled sales woman.”

As she watches Ichiro and Kuromoto enter the back of the shop via the door marked employees only she giggles mischievously as she says “Ayame sure knows how to pick people who know how to compliment a lady, I might just have to steal you.” before letting out a slightly flirtatious giggle at the end watching the door close.

“Kuroko needs to not run her mouth so much, besides me and Ichiro aren’t in that kind of relationship!!” Kuromoto thinks as she leads Ichiro to the back room calmly on the surface despite her annoyance at Kuroko.

As soon as they enter the back room Kuromoto puts a “do not disturb” sign on the door and locks it behind her.

While sitting across a Japanese Coffee Table from Ichiro Kuromoto stares at him calmly yet with a serious vibe before taking a breath and saying “I needed to bring you here for this discussion for reasons that should be partially clear to you by now.”

“I know at least part of it has to do with how you are connected to here and why we were being followed.” Ichiro states stone faced but clearly shocked deep down by everything he’s seen so far to the point he barely knows how to feel about things right now.

Before Kuromoto can say anything suddenly a light next to a self opening door lights up indicating that something is on the other side prompting Kuromoto to get up and activate the door revealing a pass through compartment with tea and snacks sitting in there waiting for Kuromoto to collect it.

After placing it on the table Kuromoto looks Ichiro in the eye deadly serious about what she’s about to say before explaining “I should start with what I am.”

As Kuromoto removes her glasses revealing her eyes and the change in the colour and shape of her eyes she continues “I’m Technically a Human but my Variety of Humans aren’t Homosapiens per say, I’m what’s called a Magic Human, a Human bred for a higher tolerance and talent for Magic power.”

“Magic Humans?” Ichiro stutters in confusion as he realises just how little he actually knew about both the world and the people in it especially Kuromoto having noticed how her eyes look and finally began to get why Kuromoto never said anything about it as he says “Am I right in thinking I’ve never heard of your kind because you’re a secret race that belongs on the endangered species list?”

Kuromoto quietly sips some tea without saying a word in response to Ichiro’s question but her eyes say plenty in answer to his question as her pupils narrow and the colour shifts to a stronger and deeper shade than before due to the surge of energy from deep within her.

After she puts down the tea Kuromoto shoots an ominously sharp look at Ichiro as she explains “Now that you understand that part and have guessed that the people following us are part of why my kind are endangered I should mention this.”

“My family name isn’t actually Kuromoto, it’s Kuromotoma, my family are from the Black Forest in Germany which is where the name comes from.” Kuromotoma continues to explain as she gently places the tea on the table.

As Ichiro stares at Kuromotoma taken aback by the fact Kuromotoma literally means Black Forest Witch which he only realised after hearing her full last name with the Ma she usually chops off included but before he can mentally regroup she continues “The importance of my name aside my Grandmother fled Germany with the rest of the Black Forest Clan after WWI when signs of WWII started to appear only to be hunted down and murdered here instead.”

As Ichiro finally catches up mentally with what’s going on his eyes sharpen like Japanese Katanas at the mention of Kuromotoma’s Grandmother being murdered before he opens his mouth releasing the words “Who did it?”

“The same people who went on to murder my Mother and now have our suspect who’s actually one of this underground communities tech specialists.” Kuromotoma states calmly on the surface but utterly seething beneath as hinted by her eyes that start to glow ominously.

“That punk is the tech support for this city and others like it!?” Ichiro states just short of a shout from the sheer shock that such a person is the one who provides computer support for such a place as Kuromotoma pulls out her smartphone and shows Ichiro that she has full cellular reception and wifi bars even underground as she replies “He not only got us a Shadow Cellular Network going down here that can’t be traced from the outside but a Shadow Network allowing us access to both the regular internet and deep web completely untraceable and secure.”

As he desperately tries to regain his ability to believe two plus two still equals four Ichiro takes a sip of the tea and tries some of the snacks barely lucid enough to appreciate the taste of the tea and snacks while processing what he just heard unable to reconcile Kuromotoma’s behaviour in the interrogation room with what he just heard and the implications there in.

After a few minutes Kuromotoma notices Ichiro has regained his mental centredness she drinks the last of her tea before it can go cold and places the cup on the table almost completely calm up until it touches the table at which point suddenly a massive crack runs up the side of the cup from the part of the base that first touched the table.

As he stares at the massive crack Ichiro realises just how much Kuromotoma has been holding herself back this entire time and thinks things through in his head for a moment and asks the big question he knows could literally cost him his head in this situation “I’d be a lousy detective if I hadn’t realised it already but in spite of how this might upset you more than you already are I need to ask, what is it you haven’t said yet because you were waiting for me to process everything else?”

Kuromotoma sits there silently not showing any emotion or even the slightest sign of movement or even life, almost as though she were a robot that had stopped outward functions due to some kind of error causing a processing lag.

Ichiro waits patiently for her to manage to actually say anything before suddenly the cup in Kuromotoma’s hand cracks apart and collapses into dozens of little pieces as though shattered by an unseen force.

Before Ichiro can say anything in response to the shocking destruction of the cup that miraculously didn’t injure Kuromotoma at all she suddenly breaks the silence into as many pieces as the cup saying “I joined the Police Force to hunt down the people who murdered my parents and others of my kin, the problem is they can legally get away with their deeds due to the technicality of my people not legally existing.”

“I’d say ‘You’re kidding’ but I know you’d never make such a bad joke.” Ichiro replies in utter shock at the realisation of the legal implications for both Kuromotoma and her people as he realises why she felt it necessary to go to such extremes just to have this conversation as he continues “So since you’ll not be legally considered a human if you’re found out you hide who and what you really are so they can’t just do whatever they want with you?”

Kuromotoma nods affirmatively without saying a word before replying “It’s like being from that underground race in the manga about a bandit out to become the Bandit King or the main character of that series where the main guy kills people by writing their names in a memo pad app on his phone.”

Ichiro looks at her in confusion not having read either of the above described Manga but having heard of them from his brother but still not quite getting the meaning of the references.

“Worst case scenario, I could be captured and instead of being killed enslaved like the rumoured Assassin Silvervine was.” Kuromotoma states as she looks at Ichiro with the look of someone envisioning the worst form of hell anyone could experience while still alive, the kind that would leave you physically alive but dead on the inside.

“Silvervine, isn’t that the code name of a rumoured assassin who supposedly assassinated several major sengoku period and Bakumatsu war power players?” Ichiro states surprised that she knows that person in some manner and is speaking of them as a single person not a title passed from one owner to the next that their activities would have suggested.

“It’s a long story but supposedly she’s one of my kind who was under the thumb of an evil spirit who interferes physically with our world sometimes.” Kuromotoma explains with a look like she only knows the general outlines and isn’t saying the full details of what she knows.

Ichiro looks at her in dismay wanting to ask about Silvervine but instead lets out a heavy sigh deciding to not press her for more information he says “Please, finish what you were saying about those you’re hunting.”

Kuromotoma nods gently having had a chance to calm down before looking at him calmly and saying “These scum are a cancer that have infested societies all over this planet since human ancestors first gained the ability to think and have manipulated events to suit their needs ever since.”

“How could that be?” Ichiro asks in utter shock and surprise at the fact such people could exist unbeknownst to anyone who is in a position to stop them before suddenly realising why as he imagines photoshopped images of himself with a tinfoil hat going viral on the internet if he spoke of this conversation and says “Forget what I just said, I just realised what tactics they employ to stay hidden.”

Kuromotoma nods in realisation of the fact Ichiro has realised what she hasn’t said about the methods these people would use before saying “Because of that there’s underground courts of law as well as entire vigilante movements out to bring them down from the shadows, your killer belongs to one such group.”

“You know who the serial killer is!?” Ichiro replies in utter shock and horror at the realisation that Kuromotoma, someone he had trusted actually knew of the Serial Killer's true identity and possibly the nature of their evil deeds.

“I can neither confirm or deny that, what I can say is that we have enemies in common and I want justice but I’ll settle for vengeance, whichever I can get.” Kuromotoma states calmly on the surface but with a look like she’d kill Ichiro if he were to side with her enemies and leave her and her people under threat from his coming after them.

Realising what she means by what she said and the look of someone as obsessed with vengeance as Goblin Slayer himself in her eyes Ichiro places his hands on the table and simply states “I will not turn on you, you have my word, I’ll help you find justice, but if the serial killer harms Innocent People you must help me bring him to justice.”

Kuromotoma looks him straight in the eyes and seeing the conviction in his gaze picks up her glasses and puts them back on as she states “Agreed, if he does harm an innocent and either I know of it or you can prove he did it I’ll help you see to his arrest and punishment by the laws of those of us who live in the underground.”

To Be Continued

The Ginger Death