Psychic Detective Yakumo / Shinrei Tantei Yakumo

Extra File - Attraction

It was the day after Haruka heard the story of Yakumo's past at Isshin's temple -

-

Haruka visited Yakumo's secret hideaway.

She didn't have any business with him, really. She wanted to hear about Yakumo's past from his own mouth. She went with that desire.

'Yakumo-kun, you here?'

Haruka opened the door, but she stopped herself when she realised that there was already another guest.

The woman sitting opposite Yakumo turned around.

She had curled her dyed brown hair and wore sharp makeup, like something out of a fashion magazine.

She didn't match with Yakumo's dreary room.

After looking a bit surprised by Haruka, the woman nodded. Haruka was confused, but she returned the nod.

Yakumo crossed his arms and sat there looking dissatisfied. The woman's eyes seemed to be a bit teary.

- The mood's so heavy. It feels like some dreadful scene of romance gone wrong.

When Haruka thought that, for some reason, she felt uncomfortable.

'Sorry, I'll come back later.'

Haruka backed away to escape.

'There's no need for you to leave.'

Unexpectedly, it was Yakumo who stopped her.

'Ah, but...'

Haruka looked at the woman.

She didn't leave her seat. It looked like she still had things to talk about.

'It's fine. She's done talking.'

Yakumo spoke in an unusually firm tone.

'Yes, I'm finished...' said the woman, sounding resigned. She stood up from her seat.

The woman looked at Yakumo for a while as she stood, like she hoped he would stop her, but Yakumo let out a yawn, seeming incredibly uninterested.

The woman sighed, like she had lost something. Then, she turned on her heels and walked out of the room with a brisk pace.

Haruka saw the woman biting her lip as she passed her. It looked like she was crying.

Only the sweet smell of the woman's perfume remained in the room -

'Hey, is that OK?' pressed Haruka, putting both hands on the table and leaning forward.

'Is what OK?' repeated Yakumo as he yawned.

'That person.'

'Why?'

'Why - because it looked like she was crying...'

Yakumo shook his head in exasperation at Haruka's protest and tapped the photo on top of the table with his finger.

The photo had been taken at a campsite somewhere.

There were ten people, the earlier woman included, who looked like they were university age. They were smiling as they bunched up together. It was probably a training camp for their circle or something.

'What's this?' said Haruka a bit roughly, irritated since it felt like her question had been sidestepped.

'Do you have holes for eyes?'

'What do you mean by that?'

'Look at the forest in the back of the photo.'

Haruka took the photo in her hand and looked carefully.