The Narumi Detective Agency had seen many different clients drop by over the years, from a high school girl with a family curse who became possessed by a God and a Kuzunoha from the future, to a young woman who’s brother brought Luck Locusts and different realms to their attention… well, perhaps only Raidou for that last part. No one else knew he had been talking to a masked figure that took on the looks of people he knew every time he woke up in that place.

“Gouto,” Raidou looks up from the book he is reading where he sits on the couch in the agency’s office, “I think it’s time to make coffee.”

He excuses himself into the kitchen, Gouto keeping his eyes on him all the while until he’s out of view; Raidou does not wear the Yumizuki Imperial High School uniform anymore, but instead a certain brown suit originally belonging to the one usually sat behind the desk.

It’s strange to see him in the outfit, he thinks, even after years of him looking like that, though Narumi did a good job in taking it in to fit Raidou perfectly. It was a pleasant surprise to find out the ‘lazy detective’ was pretty handy at needlework. Gouto, nor Raidou, could deny the fact that Narumi had many hidden talents.

When Raidou walks back into the room, he finds Gouto sound asleep in the spot he was previously sat. Not wishing to disturb him, he places one cup of coffee on the desk and moves to the opposite side of Gouto. His own coffee is far too hot to drink so he places it on the table in front of him, deciding to rest back where he sits and bring his hat down over his eyes.

What harm could a little nap do?

“Raidou,” Narumi’s voice catches his attention and he opens his eyes, “If you’re gonna nap out here in the open, then you should really lock the door, kid.”

“Yes, I apologise.”

Narumi chuckles, watching Raidou get up and walk over to the door to lock it, “You still move awkwardly in that suit. Relax a little.”

“You’re still letting your coffee go cold.”

“Sorry… You know it can’t be helped.”

There’s a smile on Narumi’s face but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. He looks… tired.

“I think…” Raidou’s voice is quiet, strained, “I think you should rest.”

“Raidou…?” Gouto stirs, making a sound which can only be described as a yawn.

Raidou pays no mind to him, keeping his eyes on Narumi. There’s a heavy silence in the room before Narumi speaks again, his voice reaching only him.

“I’ll be fine, kid,” his words ring out like an echo inside Raidou’s head, like words he’s heard before, “Trust me.”

A knock on the door is the last thing Raidou wishes to hear. He doesn’t want to face any clients today, not when today’s date is…

“Raidou? I’m letting myself in.”

It’s Tae, he knows that voice anywhere. She had come to treat him like family, much like Narumi himself, and Raidou would always be grateful for that. In some ways, she was the older sister he never had.

“Coffee by the altar… I wonder if he would have called it a waste.”

Her laughter is bittersweet as she makes her way through the room, stopping just a few steps away from the table to allow herself to kneel down in front of the photo on display.

“I can’t quite believe it’s been a year already. It still feels like yesterday when--”

Click.

“Raidou…?”

Tae’s eyes follow the sound and land upon the door. The ‘closed’ sign has been turned around on the outer window of the door, and it should come as no surprise considering the boss and the apprentice had been the closest out of all of them.

‘You told me to trust you, and I did,’ Raidou pulls his hat down over his eyes as he climbs the stairs to the rooms above, hesitating as he passes the first one with the name plaque that reads “Narumi. S”.

Flashes of a battle, of blood, and the white of walls and a hospital bed cross his vision. A constant reminder of the limit of his abilities.

Heisei 20, Tokyo

Westernization has given rise to a new Japan intertwined with a global scale. Business has risen and fallen in the past few decades, leading the people to worry and despair. Technology has intertwined itself within daily life as much as the rest of the world. The country has evolved, and so has its people. But, even things of the old ways need attending to.

______________________

             There should not have been anyone at the Narumi Detective Agency. It was long after hours, but the owner thought it better to stay behind. Narumi did not expect Raidou to stay out this long on the current case. A half hour late would have been nothing, an hour late would have been excusable, but when the duration hit three hours, Narumi started to worry. Narumi knew Raidou was an unusual kid, it came with the job—dealing with the supernatural happenings of Tokyo was what they dealt with daily—but if Narumi knew Raidou to be anything, it was being prompt. 

             Narumi wondered if that was what has been holding him back: Raidou getting into a scuffle with some spook he could not handle. That situation would not have been good for business, and it would have been worse on Narumi. Raidou was a Devil Summoner after all, the best of the Kuzunoha lot. They both knew danger came with the title, but perhaps Narumi was over estimating Raidou’s capabilities. He was still pretty green, not just to the job, but as a man as well.

             Despite the hour, the streets of Shinjuku were blaring with car horns and busybodies outside the office’s windows. Narumi was thankful for it. The agency would have been all too quiet without it; spare the noise of a pop-up ad and a video playing from the laptop Narumi was distracting himself with. The ad had become white noise. He tried searching for the tab it originated from some time ago, but he had too many tabs open and not enough ambition.

             All the excess noise rendered Narumi unable to hear the paced footsteps down the hall, and the video on cats was rather entertaining; maybe he would understand Raidou’s feline companion a little bit better after watching it. Probably not, he figured, but watched anyway.

             “Have we reached somewhere safe?”

             It was a familiar voice. He glanced up from behind the computer screen, and almost had a heart attack.

             Two young men, around twenty-one, were bracing themselves against each other, one more so than the other, both beaten up in a multitude of places. The two inhumanly resembled each other, absolute mirrors except for a pair of scars on the other’s face. The scars were the only things Narumi was able to tell which one was Raidou, as opposed to the body double—on an average day.

             Anyone would have figured something was off with the current state the two were in. RAIDO’s wounds did not bleed like Raidou’s did, despite having far more of them in far worse condition. Instead, there was a subtle sheen from exposed metal covered with nicks and dents; his skin torn away like old wallpaper. It was the blood from Raidou’s side that marked him red, although the majority of it was masked by their black wear.

             “Yes, RAIDO. We’re safe.” Raidou replied, shuffling into the office.

             Then, RAIDO ceased. Every portion of his eyes went black, and he went rigid and still. He slipped free from Raidou and started to topple over, but Narumi stepped in with a “Hold on there,” catching him halfway down. Narumi thought it embarrassing that he buckled under the weight of the machinery, yet Raidou was still able to support and guide RAIDO.

             “I’ll take him to Victor tomorrow… He’s a bit more techno-savvy than I am. Did a good job on that gun-COMP of yours when it got smashed that one time. Bet he’ll be able to patch him up fighting fit,” Narumi said while both of them lied RAIDO down on the couch meant for clients but used more for late nights at the office.

             “You know, you should be more careful, Raidou” he continued, “He’s made from your magnetite after all… Surely there has to be draw backs from over working him.”

             Narumi and Raidou did not think it accurate in calling RAIDO an automated double. His composition was mechanical, but magnetite was a consciousness, a person’s mental and spiritual footprint—the likeliness of its origin while being a separate identity. RAIDO was Raidou, but not Raidou; Narumi did not quite grasp all its complexity, so “machine” was his layman’s explanation.

             “The Herald has told me the intent and limitations of the Reactive AI Doppelgänger,” Raidou said. Both of them looked at the scars on RAIDO’s face for more than a few seconds, and Narumi closed the vacant eyes in efforts to ease its unsettling appearance. Raidou finished: “I keep them in mind.”

             Narumi sighed: “Well, the important thing is you’re back in one piece—more or less.”

              He never asked why RAIDO had the scars while the reminiscent of the same wounds could only be seen on Raidou when looking for them up close and personal, but it was something he thought of enough to notice. It made more sense to him for it to be the other way around. Maybe it was something Raidou could open up to over a meal, Narumi figured, it was late after all, and a new restaurant opened nearby. It was a fitting instance to start a new tab.

The hall is all but empty at Yumizuki College, what with it being the last day before winter break, yet a few students and professors can be seen quickly entering and leaving classrooms with what must be their class notes and other belongings ready to leave. It's nearly the end of the day, and neither the student body or those in teaching positions wish to be in the building any longer than needed once the final bell rings.

Jouhei is one such student, stood by his open locker, that does not care for how long he has to stay around; if he needed to stay past midnight he would, which is why he had not been the most favoured person in his class with his fellow peers.

"Oi, Jouhei," there's a tap on his shoulder from a familiar voice that could only belong to a certain professor by the name of Shouhei Narumi, "I heard from Tae that you got in trouble over a certain fact during your presentation this morning."

"Miss Asakura," Jouhei corrects him and Narumi rolls his eyes, "I only corrected a classmate as Mara does not in fact look like an animal, rather a phallus that--"

"Enough, enough! Geez, kid... Come on, let's head home. You got everything?"

"Yes."

The walk to Narumi's car is short, and the ride home even shorter with the traffic quieter than usual. Their conversation on the way home is the same as always; Narumi tells Jouhei he can call him "Shouhei" if he wants, and Jouhei refuses on the grounds that it wouldn't be right to refer to any professor on a first name basis, even if they do live together due to family circumstances.

"Listen, Jouhei, there's photos of us looking like brothers on my social media, is calling me by my first name really that bad?"

'Ah, brothers...' Narumi would usually be mistaken for his father, so he realises that perhaps it would be best not to bring that up and go along with his take on it instead.

"Yes."

Narumi sighs with exasperation once they're out of the car and by the front door of the apartment. He knows better than to debate further with him. Instead, he opens the door without a word and is greeted by an unmistakable black feline at his feet.

"Hey, Gouto, careful or I'll end up tripping over you again."

"If you were not so clumsy on your feet, you would not trip in the first place."

"... He's making fun of me again isn't he, Jouhei?"

Ignoring the both of them, the young student walks into the bedroom he claimed as his own in the apartment, intent on continuing his studies over the winter break.

If he really was destined to take up the role of a summoner like his ancestors before him, then there would be no harm in improving his knowledge on the mythology behind the demons he would inevitably be fighting beside... or even against.

"I think you can put the books down for one night, Raidou."

"That's not my name," Jouhei looks up from his book as Gouto jumps up onto the bed to sit himself beside his leg, "I am not even sure I would deserve to uptake such a title yet."

"Have more faith in yourself, Raidou."

It sounds strange to hear Narumi calling him by that name as he leans against the bedroom door frame, no doubt chuckling at the amount of books laid out on Jouhei's bed and piled up on the floor. Jouhei was the most organised student he -- or any other member of staff at the college -- had the pleasure of teaching... but at home it was another story.

"I'm not exactly sure what you and Gouto are talking about, but if it's this summoner business then I know you'll do us all proud."

"See, Jouhei? Even a fool like Narumi can tell you the obvious."

"... Why do I get the feeling I've been insulted again? If you're not nicer to me, Gouto, I won't allow you to be included in my photos anymore... which would be a shame, since my audience loves the ones of us together."

"Annoyingly, I must give him credit though, he's quick to catch on."

Jouhei chuckles to himself and returns to his book without giving a reason as to why he was laughing, causing Narumi to let out yet another exasperated sigh. He mutters something about one day being able to speak cat language like Jouhei under his breath before turning around and walking away in the direction of the kitchen.

The smell of coffee and toast wafting into the room shortly after is rather comforting.

"It is a big task, however I will do my best come the time I am ready for it."

It all started with a few extra pieces of toast in the morning, more than his usual over towering pile, along with an extra few cups of coffee to boot. With his appetite seemingly going haywire, Narumi would have thought he had been starving himself with a ridiculously restrictive diet that only allowed him to eat a small plate of salad every other day.

This was getting ridiculous; was he ill?

“Narumi-san,” Raidou’s voice is static to his ears, like the irritating noise from a broken radio, “Are you well?”

“Beat it, kid, I’m trying to concentrate.”

Things have been getting to him more lately, yet today is the first time he has bitten back with his words. He sounds much angrier than he is-- … angry? Was he angry? He is not quite sure… irritated, yes, but angry, and at Raidou of all people? No, and he would not know why even if he was.

‘I need… something else to eat, huh…’

His stomach would not leave him in peace, the hunger causing him pain that only seemed to get worse as more days passed. Maybe he really was ill and had come down with something quite grave from when he joined Raidou out on a stakeout.

‘No, that couldn’t be it.’

Narumi had not joined Raidou out on a job for the longest time. Perhaps it was…

“Narumi-san…? May I check your wrist for a moment?”

He sighs, running a hand through his hair, “Sorry, Raidou, and sure. What’s the matter, you see something strange?”

Raidou does not answer his question and only reaches out to take Narumi’s right hand in his, where he turns it over and--

“Narumi-san, how long have you had this marking? It’s the same one as…”

There is a black mark on the underside of his wrist with an obscure design. The pattern is jagged, almost as if sharp teeth marks have been tattooed onto his skin, enclosed inside what looks like a poorly drawn circle. Under normal circumstances, one may believe it was the work of a child, yet the look in Raidou’s eyes tells Narumi that it is much more to be concerned about than the usual ink stain that takes a while to come off… this mark seems irremovable.

“Look, Raidou, I’m tired, and it’s not like it’s done anything bad to--”

BA-THUMP… BA-THUMP… BA-THUMP…

It is the first time he has to steady himself by leaning on the desk, one hand held against his chest where he feels the thumping that ends up vibrating in his ears. It is a nauseating experience, and for a moment he is glad it will not happen again, until the same three violent heartbeats thump in his chest.

BA-THUMP… BA-THUMP… BA-THUMP…

“Narumi-san! Quickly, we need to get you to the Nameless Shrine in order to--”

“HoW aM I SuPpOsEd To EnTeR tHe DaRk ReAlM wHeN I… aM… A mErE--”

The fingers that wrap around Raidou's neck across the table are not ones he recognises, nor fingers at all; dark grey talons dig into and pierce his skin, not enough to cause significant damage, yet deep enough to draw thin lines of blood from the small punctures.

"RaIdou... hElp..."

Narumi's voice breaks with the sound of his sobs as he fights the desperate hunger inside himself to keep hold onto his humanity; Raidou can see he is too far gone and that he needs to satiate the growing desire to devour something, anything, and it hurts that he never noticed the signs.

'I should have been able to help sooner...'

"Ugh--!" Raidou gasps for air when the talons dig in tighter, and while he doesn't wish to hurt Narumi in anyway, he will attempt to defend himself if worse comes to worse.

He is not given that chance when he is suddenly flung across the room and collides with the wall, only to be grabbed around the waste by the same talons that strangled him... the next thing Raidou sees in his vision is the floor of the Narumi Detective Agency moving further away as he is lifted up in the air and through the ceiling of the room, and into the bedroom above.

"rAi... dOu..."

Wooden splinters from the broken floorboards dig into Raidou's body, but he does not notice when all of his senses are focused on the man-- No... the monster in front of him.

It is unlike any demon he has fought beside or against, and yet... it's still Narumi inside that mutated-looking birdlike creature.

"Naru-- AHHHHHHH!"

The talons dig into his stomach and the gushing sound -- the feeling -- of his own blood is enough to make him throw up over himself and wheeze from the obstruction of air to his lungs caused by the other claw wrapping around his neck much like before.

'This... isn't... Narumi-san...'

He knows this, and yet... it's still his eyes he can see through those unmistakable locks. Of all the things not to change when he was in this form before him, it had to be his hair and eyes. It was painfully laughable.

'Ah, I... I cannot speak...'

Raidou gasps as what is the shape of Narumi's head suddenly swoops down over him, hovering right above his own face. His eyesight is blurry from the tears that have welled up from the excruciating pain his body has been put through... yet the strange thing is, he had not noticed it. Not the tears, and not the pain once his sense of feeling had become numb. Whether it's the shock or a sign that he's not going to make it out of this ordeal, he's not quite sure, but right now his worries lie with the one in front of him rather than himself.

"Rai... dou... h... ELp..."

'There's only... one way I can help you...'

Raidou shakily raises his right hand as much as he can and points to his neck, up to his head, and then back down to his neck and along his body. It takes all of his strength just do to this alone, but he hopes that the meaning of his actions are getting through to Narumi.

"... nO..."

Even with the response, Narumi bares his teeth; they are sharp and long, almost fang-like in shape. Out of the corner of Raidou's eye he can see his pistol on the floor a few inches away, but he does not reach for it. He needs to conserve his strength for... well, he's not quite sure why considering he's already decided the outcome of what needs to happen.

"Narumi-san... live."

Something inside Narumi snaps and the last of his conscious humanity slips away as the sharp teeth sink into Raidou's neck and rip away at his skin.

Bite, rip, swallow, and repeat.

THUD.

"Ngh... R-Raidou...?" Narumi gasps in pain and flings his head back, clutching his face around his eyes with his... hands?

Pulling away his hands, he looks down at the floor beneath him and--

"Ngh!? Ugh--" he pushes himself back and leans to his left, vomiting into a pool of blood. It makes him heave for a second time and shake violently in shock.

Did... did he do that?

Raidou lies before him, a disgusting mess of himself with his body covered in red and ripped apart as if he were a chew toy owned by a rather hyper dog, and his head...

Wide-eyed, Narumi reaches for the pistol to the side of Raidou's decapitated head and stares at it in his hands for what feels like eternity. He has flashes of what just happened in his head and it hurts more than words can describe.

"Why? Why didn't you...?"

There's loud footsteps growing nearer outside of the room, accompanied by a panicked high voice calling out for himself and Raidou; he knows it belongs to Tae.

Narumi looks down at the pistol in his hands one more time before bringing it up higher...

"Narumi? Raidou? What happened downstairs, are you two--"