e another girl standing right next to me.

“Out with it, Uchimaku. Where did Tsumada Mio go? If you don’t tell me, I’ll shoot you in each limb one at a time.”

“Hey,” I cut in with a smile. “Why are you relying on that gun when you have that Inugami as a secret weapon? Is it because that’s a Youkai you’re controlling? Yeah, I can see how that would be scary. It’s a monster with a will of its own. Even if you think you have complete control, you never know when it might bare its fangs toward you.”

“...What are you trying to say?”

“This is a bad habit of yours. Have you already forgotten how you lost your other hand?”

With a look of realization, Toujou frantically tried to throw the handgun away, but it was too late.

The sound of a metal balloon bursting exploded out.

And Toujou’s remaining hand was blown to pieces.

“G-gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

A scream surged out.

I dug my fingers into the wall to slowly stand up.

“This is the second time, Toujou. It’s not even funny when you’re this stupid.”

The method of causing the revolver to malfunction like that was not easy, though. And the fact that the Inugami did not immediately attack me afterwards meant I was right about Toujou losing his ability to control the Youkai.

An Inugami resided in the blood.

I had always thought that was a way of expressing the more abstract concept of it sticking with a single family or bloodline, but Toujou had mentioned a bone marrow transplant. That meant the blood literally was the controller for the Inugami.

Maybe it was having a steady pulse, maybe it was blood pressure, and maybe it was simply the amount of blood. Whatever it was, Toujou was losing the ideal environment for controlling the Youkai that resided in his blood. Tomoe-chan had also said the Inugami had gone nuts when he started losing blood. What had sounded like him coughing up blood while we spoke over the phone may have been something similar. The Inugami was akin to a type of curse and it wielded a strange Youkai like power that would hit regardless of where you tried to evade. However, none of that mattered if he could not control it.

“What’s wrong, Toujou? Can you no longer use your Inugami?”

“!!”

“If you can’t, what do you think is going to happen to you?”

I had been struck by the Inugami and felt like my body had been horribly crushed, but I was still in a better state than Toujou. He had lost both hands in gun malfunctions and had lost quite a bit of blood. And if he could not control the Inugami, there was a danger of its fangs tearing into his own body.

“You...?” muttered Toujou blankly. “Someone with a supporting role like you...defeated me...?”

“That’s right. You’re just another criminal.”

Without his gun or Youkai, he was just a normal human.

And that meant he could be fairly judged in the courtroom and thrown in jail.

“You are charged with trespassing, attempted murder, and abduction of a minor.”

Toujou and I clashed head on at close range.

But all I had to do was my normal job.

When Toujou tried to smash the side of my head with his leather shoe that clearly had a weapon hidden in it, I swept his other leg out from under him, grabbed his necktie, and slammed his back to the floor. While he was unable to breathe, I held his arms in place, but I suddenly froze when I started to pull out my handcuffs.

“...With both your hands gone, I suppose handcuffs won’t do any good.”

I had no choice but to handcuff his ankles together instead. At any rate, he could not use his arms, so there was little need to seal his movements.

“Toujou, I have no idea who you really are, but you’re under arrest.”

Sorry.

But this is the kind of person Toujou Miyabi remained to the very end. This is the kind of person Hachikawa Tomoe-chan entrusted the safety of her friend to despite her complaints. This is what it is to be a police officer.

Part 24 (3rd person)

After receiving word that the man going by the name Toujou had been arrested, the department chief of Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Department 1, Mezu Gen, gave some instructions over the phone. He requested the formal wanted status on Uchimaku Hayabusa be rescinded.

Chief Superintendent Mishima’s standard policy was “all’s well that ends well”, so he did not interfere. However, Mezu Gen still felt a chill run down his spine when he thought about what would have happened if Uchimaku had not succeeded.

Uchimaku had needlessly caught the attention of someone dangerous.

For once, Mezu Gen actually felt pity for one of his subordinates.

And he was still unable to determine why a monster of that level was giving so much focus to a single detective in a dead end job.

It disturbed him a bit, but it was obvious no answer was forthcoming. He set that problem aside and focused on the job before him.

Whoever it was that had been arrested had been transported to a large police station in Hachiouji, but if it was true that the real Toujou Miyabi had been killed, this would be a job for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department or even the Public Security Bureau. It would be necessary to prepare a prisoner transport vehicle to bring him here as soon as possible.

Suddenly, the department chief’s cell phone rang.

The number displayed on the screen was that of a familiar subordinate.

However, he heard a completely different voice when he answered.

It was a girl of about ten.

“The real danger is yet to come,” she said.

“...Who is this?”

“I am not protesting your actions. You did the right thing. But that has brought about a problem that we cannot have brought to light. Our world will not allow it. So be on your guard. Be very, very careful that your prisoner transport vehicle does not under any circumstances meet an unforeseen accident before arriving.”

“I see. So you are from that side of things.”

The girl replied with the soft tone of someone explaining the difference between the geocentric model and the heliocentric model to someone who did not understand the structure of the world.

“We exist right alongside you. There is nothing dividing us and there are no restrictions keeping anyone from moving from one side to the other. That is why I am telling you to be careful. Our world is always watching yours. And we are close enough to easily – so very easily – reach out and touch it.”

“So you’re telling me not to get involved?” The department chief gave a derisive snort. “If your side had done your job properly, this never would have happened. Is that what you want me to say?”

“Are you not going to say it?”

“I don’t see it that way. The Japanese police system is not perfect. That is what creates the openings for the likes of you to play at being allies of justice. That’s all this is. This is nothing we should be upset about or anything you should be proud of. It never was and it never will be. Do you understand what I mean, young lady?”

“I see.” Her voice seemed unable to hold something back. “If you have that much determination, we need not worry about leaving this country to you.”

“So to the very end, you’re going to play the part of someone on the side of justice, is that it? And you’re going to look down on me as you do it?”

“Well, I hope you will stick with this game of make believe a little longer, then.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“All the Jinmensou that spread from Tsumada Mio disappeared as soon as the concentrated mass of lies was destroyed by the truth of Detective Uchimaku Hayabusa discovering the real Tsumada Mio. However, one thing remains: the Inugami contained within the body of the man going by the name of Toujou Miyabi. No matter how you restrain him, he will undoubtedly break out of jail as soon as he inevitably regains control of that Youkai.”

“...Are you saying you can do something about that?”

“If possible, we would like to retrieve him, but I doubt you would agree to that. As your reward for resolving this case on your own, I have contacted you instead of our usual contact so that I can tell you the means of neutralizing that Inugami.”

“...”

“Control of his Inugami comes from the special bone marrow inserted into his spine. If you burn away that bone marrow with x-rays and transplant some new bone marrow in its place, the Inugami will leave him.”

“Do you know Japanese law? We cannot commit any acts of violence on a restrained suspect. Cutting open his body and exchanging bone marrow is out of the question.”

“But if the suspect’s life is at risk, you have the right to perform an emergency operation at a police hospital without the suspect’s consent. ...And the suspect is in a fair bit of danger with his hands missing. What if a detailed examination found another illness needing treatment? Couldn’t that provide enough reason for the operation?”

“...Are you asking us to clean up your mess?”

“I will leave the ultimate decision to you. However, only we have the fluorescent substance that will display only the Inugami bone marrow. If you do not ask for our help, this person going by the name Toujou Miyabi will eventually escape. We will take care of it if that happens, but I can make no promises as to the number of people who will lose their lives before we get there.”

“Understood.”

The department chief let out a sigh.

The dignity of the police was important, but he preferred to prioritize the safety of all involved.

And so he gave his answer.

“Send the fluorescent substance here. We will finish this.”

Notes

1. ↑ A Seman or Seman Doman is a type of Japanese magical charm with roots in Onmyoudou.

2. ↑ Inugami literally means Dog God.

3. ↑ It’s worth mentioning that the four names Toujou, Houjou, Saijou, and Nanjou are each made with the kanji for one of the four cardinal directions (Tou = East, Hou = North, Sai = West, and Nan = South) and a kanji pronounced “jou”.