Suribachi's vagabond (english vers)

Chapter 0.2 : Yukio Mishima

Yokohama, 4 years ago, northern districts.

The night remained dark. Under the light of the full moon, two figures walked towards the Department of Superpowers. One seemed nonchalant and calm, that of a young boy walking with his arms crossed behind his head, strolling leisurely, while the other, the man accompanying him, seemed more tense after the situation they had faced. It didn't take long before he spoke to him in a worried and disturbed tone.

"Ranpo... why are you so calm? We still haven't found the missing child... and you don't seem frustrated either that we found so few clues in this house."

Ranpo shrugged before smiling with satisfaction.
"You have no reason to worry, Fukuzawa-san."

Fukuzawa raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Should I understand that you have already solved this case?"

Ranpo chuckled proudly.
"For the most part, yes!"

Fukuzawa frowned slightly.
"For the most part? That's unlike you."

Ranpo grimaced slightly, his pride taking a slight hit, before continuing his explanations.
"Yes, yes... I know. But there's a reason for that. The missing evidence was erased by an ability."

Fukuzawa: "An ability?"

Ranpo: "Yes... The person who came to this house wanted to prevent someone else from finding the child. Yet... that doesn't mean that the person in question had bad intentions. At least not when leaving this place to search for this girl. In fact... it wasn't the investigators that this person wanted to keep away from her."

The two figures approached the premises of the Department of Superpowers, where Ranpo had decided to go after his brief investigation. They walked slowly, without haste... Now that Ranpo seemed to have elucidated enough aspects of this case, Fukuzawa also became more confident about the situation.

Fukuzawa: "Where are you going with this?"

Ranpo: "It's quite obvious that the first murder, that of the mother, was commissioned by someone from outside. Trash like the father doesn't really have an interest in finishing off their victims unless they rebel too much for their liking, for example, trying to break away from them. But there was nothing to indicate that she had decided to separate from him, so there was indeed an outsider who offered a reward to the father if he complied."

Fukuzawa: "Why would someone from outside have it in for this mother?"

Ranpo: "They didn't have it in for her at all, actually. The only goal was to test how far the girl's ability could go when pushed to the limit."

Fukuzawa: "For what purpose?"

Ranpo: "That... we'll soon find out."

The duo entered the premises of the Department of Superpowers... The entrance hall was dimly lit. At this hour, few people were working there except for some higher-ups on the upper floors dealing with the most urgent matters of the moment. They approached the reception desk where a tired secretary was sitting, seemingly waiting for one thing: the end of his overtime hours that had been assigned to him. He looked up, surprised to see people entering at such an hour.

"Um... can I help you? It's strange... you're not the first to come at this hour today."

Ranpo leaned on the counter before addressing the secretary.
"And I imagine the people before were a man accompanied by a girl who works here."

The secretary seemed even more disturbed after what Ranpo had just said, while Fukuzawa seemed very surprised by what had been said.
"Um... well... yes... you... know him?"