From Distant Lands - Juro's Return

Chapter Three

The next day, while out on patrol, I get a cryptic call from the heroes association and find myself in the lobby of the police station, waiting for the detective. 

"Pulse?" he calls and I look up to see officer Shimizu, short black hair cropped close to his head and grave dark eyes that are already setting me on edge. I swallow nervously, but follow after him, tensing when we get into a smaller room equipped with a table and two chairs.

"Did I do something wrong?" I joke, earning a questioning eyebrow.

"Not at all... please, have a seat" he says, all business. I do as he asks, watching carefully as he pulls out a file to display some photos on the table before me. My blood runs cold at the images of multiple people, heroes and civilians alike, shriveled and frozen in death with their mouths agape and eyes hollow.

"What is this...?" I ask in a low voice, a terrible feeling in my gut. Why is he showing this to me?

"These are the most recent victims involved in an ongoing investigation. From what we can tell, it seems like the attacker is draining them in some way, but... we can't figure out exactly how. In an effort to get more perspective, we brought in a former detective to consult on a few things..." Shimizu trails off, watching me closely. I shake my head.

"What did he say?" I ask, hoping my instinct is wrong.

"Having worked on a similar case a few years ago, he asked us to bring you in... Pulse. He seems to believe that the victims were drained... of their energy..." he replies slowly. My eyes widen, heart thumping unsteadily. I didn't want to think the worst seeing these photos, but... there's no denying the way that it looks. Still, there's only one way to know for sure and the idea of it makes me wish I'd been born with a different quirk.

"Do you have access to any of the bodies?" I ask, hating the way the question feels to say aloud. Shimizu winces, a look in his eyes that tells me I'm going to regret asking.

"We have one... but I'm obligated to warn you... it's not pleasant" he says. I just nod. I knew it wasn't going to be, but as I stand up, he reaches out, stopping just short of touching my arm.

"No... it's..." he stops, sighing heavily and looking away a moment. My brows knit together.

"What is it?" I ask and when he looks back at me again, there's a look mixed with sadness and disgust in his eyes.

"It's a kid" he says finally and my stomach drops. A kid... anger makes my fists clench and my blood boil, but I force myself to keep it together.

"I need to see for myself" is all I say, knowing it might sound cold. Shimizu just nods and leads the way out of the room and down the hall. I follow him silently, trying to prepare myself for the horrid sight. Nothing can though and no amount of preparation steadies my hands when Shimizu removes the sheet from atop the boy's corpse. My stomach twists and it feels like a slap to the face seeing a small boy, no older than thirteen on top of the metal table, his body caving in on itself and his face permanently trapped in a look of absolute terror. I close my eyes, forcing back the anger and the pain of seeing it. He was just a kid... I open my eyes again. The best thing I can do for him now is figure out how he was killed... and catch the bastard who did it.

"I need to touch the body" I say quietly. I know Shimizu can hear the upset in my voice and when he nods and steps away, I take a steadying breath before I reach my hands out. My fingers shake and I wish I didn't have to, but I have to know... I have to see... when my fingertips brush against his cold shriveled skin, I gasp, both disgust and shock forcing the noise out. I swallow, focusing on my energy to wrap around the boy, but when it does... nothing happens.