This is a three-part story. Read Part 1 first.
The trip to the big city was a long one. More often than not, Yukie felt this uncomfortable feeling or wasting her time. On the other hand, Kouta, her newfound merchant friend, was serene. But the difference is, Kouta was doing his job in this situation.
During the trip, they made several stops on checkpoints and small villages. Every time, Yukie stopped to interrogate people. But nothing came out of those. And two days later, they arrived. When Yukie finally passed through the gates of the city, she hoped that this visit would prove useful. It was her last, and only lead on the case.
The crime scene was a temple, located in the area surrounding the city. This one, contrary to her village's temple, was way bigger and famous. Besides the people who came here to pray and give offerings, there was a different crowd. This one was smaller, but it consisted of people interested in the cases. Detectives of course, but also friends and families of the victims. The one they called 'Soldier of the Lost Gods' destroyed their lives.
When Yukie arrived, only two people were left from this crowd, both speaking to a detective. Eager to know more, Yukie approached them. They revealed to be the parents of one of the victims, who got killed no longer than three days ago.
"Are you related to the victim, too ?" the detective asked.
"Not this one. But my husband was killed by the same person."
"Another one, huh… how long has it been ?"
"A little more than a week ago."
"Oh, so you came from Kitamura-Nishi ?"
"No. Did something happen there too ?"
The detective looked at Yukie in doubt. The awkward silence made her kinda nervous.
"You… DON'T come from Kitamura-Nishi ? Someplace nearby, then ?"
"No, no. My village is more in the south."
"That's impossible. Someone got killed at the same time in Kitamura-Nishi, by the same person. The killer went there to desecrate the temple of Raijin and Fuujin."
Like in her previous interrogations, Yukie finished the discussion with more questions than answers. But this time, there was something she learned about the killer. Either they could teleport, or… there were several. This strengthened the conviction she had in the very beginning : this could be the work of a cult.
"I need to ask you some questions. Come with me at the station." said the detective.
After quite a long walk, both arrived at the detective's office. Inside, there were documents everywhere. The desk was very… messy, to say the least. Yukie couldn't read them all, but a good part of them were from similar cases. They all had the same clue… a mask left at the scene.
The detective, named Yoshiro, looked very tired. Behind his weary face, you could see some despair. There was no doubt that he was invested in his job. But probably a little too much.
"So, I'm sure the local police is handling the case in your area, so I don't know the specifics. What happened there ?"
Yukie told him everything she knew. The victim seemed to have died because of an unknown poison. A letter was found on his body, with traces of that poison. The desecrated statue was shattered by a sword, supposedly. And, the same mask as in the other cases.
"What was written on that letter ?" the detective asked.
"Nothing. They only found the poison, but the letter was blank."
"So, we have to assume that the victim… your husband, died by inhaling the poison himself ?"
"That is what the detectives concluded."
"But are you sure that the killer gave him the letter ?"
"Of course ! Who else ?"
"There is no doubt that the culprit gave the letter. But are we sure that the intent was to kill him ?"
"Obviously. They act alone, so it's obvious they were also the ones who wanted to ki-"
Yukie stopped talking. 'They act alone' ?. Wait a minute. That can't be right.
"Are you thinking about something ?" Yoshiro asked.
"You may be right… maybe the killer is simply some kind of messenger ?"
Yoshiro didn't answer, but took notes.
"What makes you think that ?" he asked.
"We know that two murders were committed around the same time, at different places, right ? Then, maybe this 'Soldier of the Lost Gods' isn't who we think they are."
"What do you think they are ?"
"Some sort of… figure. They represent something. It's a symbol."
"So, in the end, you are saying that they are a cult instead of a single person. How does that change anything ?"
Yukie felt a bit cornered by this question. When she thought she had a lead, it only brought her to square one. Even worse, she felt stuck in a rut. So, in the end, they are an organization that desecrates statues and kill those who oppose them ?
"I don't have any other questions. You can go now." the detective said.
"Wait ! Aren't you going to help me ?"
"Like I said, your case isn't under my jurisdiction. You'll have to talk with the detectives there."
"You say that, but you want to find the truth too, right ?"
"I, um..." Yoshiro sighed. "Look, yes, I want to know who is behind this. But I can't do anything here."
Both discussed for a while, until Yukie had to leave. "I'll tell you if I find something." she said to Yoshiro before going.
She went back to the crime scene for a while, until she realized that nothing else could be found there. The victim was strangled, the statues of the deities were smashed, and the same mask was found. Unfortunately, this one was a dead end. She started to regret her trip.
Yukie had one last thing to do in this city. Her sister lived in the area, so she thought she could pay her a visit. This turned out to be a longer side trip than expected, as night started to fall when she got there.
The reunion was half joy, half sadness. Her sister, Akane, knew about what happened with Yukie's husband.
"I am so sorry… did the police catch who did it ?"
"Not yet. It is a special case, too."
"What do you mean ?"
"The culprit is some kind of organization. They desecrate temples and kill those who oppose them."
"Oh, I've heard the rumors… the Soldier of the Lost Gods, right ?"
"That's what they're called, but I don't think this is only one person doing this. It must be some kind of network…"
Akane went into silence.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Yukie continued. "Maybe you don't want to talk about this ?"
"It's okay. Just… the kids, you know ?"
Contrary to Yukie, who never had children, Akane had three, respectively aged 4, 5 and 9 years old. They all seemed quite shy and didn't see their family often. Yet, they were curious about their aunt. Yukie beckoned the oldest, Aiko, to come see her. They talked about what Aiko was doing usually, what games she liked to play. But then, a harsh question came up.
"Auntie, how did uncle Sojiro die ?"
Yukie was trying to put her obsession with the case away. But then, she was taken back by this innocent, yet horrifying question.
"Someone sent him a letter with poison in it."
"Why didn't the killer use a knife ?"
"I have no idea. Maybe they didn't want to get blood on their clothes ?"
Aiko didn't seem satisifed with the answer, but she didn't ask other questions anyway. After a while, she went back in her room.
"You can stay here for a while if you want. My husband isn't here, so we have room for you." said Akane to her sister.
Yukie accepted, and immediately went to rest. She wasn't relieved, but still appreciated lying down for a moment. Even though her head was still full of questions, she didn't have too much trouble finding sleep.
In the morning, after a long slumber, she was woken up by the voices of the children, preparing for school. Akane was busy getting them ready, and didn't notice Yukie waking up. On her way out, Akane finally noticed her sister, and waved in a way of saying both 'hello' and 'see you later'.
With nothing else planned, she spent the whole day in the house or around it, walking in circles. She tried to connect the dots, and find a way to discover what's behind all this. But only based on what she knew right now, she couldn't find the answer she wanted.
When Akane came back home with the children, Yukie was still there. Reading notes, examining her clues over and over.
"Did you sleep well at least ?" Akane asked, in an attempt of humor.
"Yes. But I have to focus, and get the killers down."
As the mood turned serious again, the discussion ended, and only the children could be heard in the house. Dinner was also quite silent. However, someone broke it : it was Aiko.
"Auntie, have you found the killer yet ?"
"Not today. But soon, I will."
Akane, who was feeling very tired, went to bed earlier than the previous day. This time, Yukie didn't fall asleep very fast. Her eyes were for a long time, until her busy mind finally gave up.
*SLAM !* a noise jolted Yukie awake. But, neither Akane nor the children reacted. The noise wasn't that strong, but Yukie could still hear it clear. In the end, she only managed to wake up because her sleep was weak, due to all the stress she was facing.
Yukie got up, and walked slowly in the house. It seemed that the sound didn't come from outside, but more like someone hit the front door. As she got to the front door, she was extremely nervous. She didn't want to see what was beyond it. But with the small of amount courage she still had, she slid the door slightly… and thankfully, no one was there. However, a note was attached to the door.
"Tomorrow, Midnight. Tenjin Temple. - Yoshiro"
A note from Yoshiro… asking to meet him the next day. The Tenjin Temple was in the same area, so it was a short walk. In fact, it was closer to Akane's house than from the temple where they found the strangled victim.
The next day, Yukie prepared to meet Yoshiro. But deep inside, she knew that she had to be ready. In case something bad happened. There was no reason why Yoshiro had to leave a note on the door. Or how he knew that Yukie was staying here, at her sister's place. So this could only be a trap. But, who else knew about the collaboration between Yoshiro and her ? All things considered, she decided that bringing something to defend herself was mandatory. She borrowed a knife from Akane without telling her, and hid it between her clothes.
The time came. 10 minutes to midnight, and Yukie is sitting at the entrance of the Tenjin Temple. The more time passed, the more she regretted doing it. She thought that having a weapon would give her courage, but no.
But then, she heard something. Footsteps. Immediately, she raised her head, and looked in the distance. She couldn't sey from that far, but there was definitely a person. That person was slowly coming closer. Until at least she could recognize them.
It was Yoshiro. Looks like the note wasn't fake, after all. She let out a huge sigh of relief, and the tension went away. Still looking at Yoshiro, she got up, and walked towards the detective.
But suddenly, Yoshiro started running, as if something made him panic.
"YUKIE ! WATCH OUT !" he shouted.
Almost immediately following the scream, a violent noise was heard, as if a meteor hit the ground. The sound came from behind Yukie, who turned around in panic. In front of her… was a person. The person could not be seen clearly, because they were wearing white sheets all around. Around that person, were the collapsing remains of the statue of Tenjin.
Slowly, that person put their sword back into the sheath. They turned around, and faced the frightened woman. Even then, it was difficult to tell who was really standing before Yukie. Because that person was wearing a white mask, covering their face.
"And now… You."
This is a three-part story. Read Part 3 here.
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