Work Text:
Terui Ryu hated this city. Windy, rainy, disastrous city, full of crime and pain and suffering.
But what else was he supposed to do, especially when the city took away the people most important to him?
Someone murdered his family and they made it a statement. And Terui Ryu was not going to back down until he figured out who and why.
He had enough practice with his studies that he got hired at the severely understaffed police station. And now, he was investigating, but it felt like…
It felt like the city itself was stonewalling him.
The city held secrets and conspiracies - alliances and enemies written in blood and gang wars, and Terui Ryu wished he could cut it in half, but it would not have worked.
He had to untangle this web of lies and deceit, if he wanted to get the truth.
Thankfully, he had people in his corner.
Even if some of them were also on the shady side. To fight the grime of the darkness, you needed help from there, after all.
She called herself Shroud, because many people in the underworld used these fake names. She lived in the market, on a small business ran from a boat, a had and scarves always covering up her face.
He didn’t need to know her face, he just needed her help.
And she had many connections, and would sometimes appear around Ryu’s home and workplace, when nobody else was there.
Like she indeed was nothing more than a shadow.
But that night, she showed up at his workplace, when Ryu was there alone, looking after a suspect in the cell, who refused to talk, but who might— who might have known something.
He just had to wait it out.
“Are you sure you are on the right track?”
Shroud asked him that as she moved across the empty police station, preparing some tea for Ryu, like she had done many times, when she visited her boat.
“I don’t have a lot of information. You know that. And even less evidence - I have to follow every single lead I might.”
“...not every lead can result in answers you’d be happy to hear.”
That was more or less what they also told him. They were also around, their own stake in the issue, and they had a hand in finding this suspect, but this wasn’t about them now.
Shroud walked over, the cup in her hand, and Ryu just sighed.
“As long as it’s the truth - I do not care.”
Shroud nodded - and this wasn’t the first time Ryu had wished he could have seen her face, as she handed the cup over.
The rest of the night felt— Shroud left, and he felt like he had zoned out a bit but then—
And then Shroud touched his arm, saying goodbye - and advising him one last time.
“Maybe you should let this go, you know. Just a bit.”
Ryu glanced at the clock.
“You were here for like fifteen minutes, and you didn’t give me any good information, have you? Don’t question me.”
“...if you say so.”
And with that, she had left.
But then things went from bad to worse, when the suspect was dead in the holding cells.
And the timing of the death seemed to happen suspiciously when he was all alone.
Nobody could officially charge him yet, but it was only a matter of time, but—
…but he had to ask from help from them.
Even though Shroud showed up again at the office, staring at the clock (probably), before looking at Ryu (or at least turning his way).
“Sometimes time needs to pass, and you cannot do anything about it, Terui.”
“I will find the truth. No matter what.”
“You never let anything go, do you?”
“Never.”
So he had to ask for their help again.
As soon as Terui Ryu had arrived to the shrine, he got whacked in the face with a broom.
“I have never met another miko like you.”
“There is no other miko like me,” Akiko, as she was called, leaned on her broom, straightening her back proudly. “I heard you are a murderer now.”
“I am not a murderer. Where are those two?”
“Nuh-huh. You will not get to suspect them again!” Akiko said, raising her broom, and Ryu just raised his hand in defense.
“I need their help.”
Now that made Akiko grin.
“You still owe us for our services for the previous one, you know!”
“You got contracted by the police. You get salary from there. Are they inside?”
“As always.”
This temple was responsible for multiple things.
Of course, it was always a place of worship.
And it was always a place where you could go and ask for help, and they would help uncover and deal with any supernatural trouble. Ryu wasn’t sure they weren’t scamming people at least most of the time, but usually—
Usually, by the end, whatever was the cause of the trouble, they did their best to make sure no grievances were left behind.
Hidari Shotaro was no priest, but he lived there, and Ryu found him praying.
Or at least pretending to be praying.
“Well, well, well. The windy city had blown you in our way again. Are you perhaps in need of more of our special skills?”
“Not yours,” Ryu snapped, his eyes around, and he found another figure who was sitting there, cross-legged. “His.”
The other figure was just simply called Philip, and he tilted his head to the side.
“Shotaro and I are a package deal. You know that. And so is Akiko.”
He didn’t mind Akiko coming along, but Shotaro just looked like a smug cat who had stolen the catch of the day.
“I don’t know why you act like you are above us,” Shotaro grinned, putting a hat onto his head. “You need all of our help. Someone is trying to set you up with murder.”
“Or someone doesn’t mind, if you take the fall for them,” Philip continued, before standing up. “Let’s go then, Terui Ryu. But be prepared, that you might not like what we find.”
“Shroud said the same thing,” Ryu shook his head. “I am telling you the same thing I told her. As long as I find the truth, I do not care. That man might have been my only lead to find who am I looking for. And I need to find who doesn’t want me to get there.”
And with that, all four of them moved out, walking towards the police station.
He actually did not know how did the three of them found each other. They were all orphans, Akiko told him once, but that didn’t explain much. Philip didn’t like to go outside, and when he had to, like right now, he always pulled a hood onto his face, not unlike Shroud, albeit not that covered up.
Philip also didn’t remember his past before waking up in the temple.
The previous priest was working on a lot of other things, and more often out of there than in there, and if he knew things, he didn’t tell. So now, it was just them, and Terui somehow got mixed up in this situation, when there was a dead body uncovered during some renovations around the temple.
And then another.
And another.
And then things were getting more and more complicated, and one investigation seemingly lead to another, and then suddenly they were investigating a kidnapping, and now the culprit - the culprit was dead under Ryu’s watch.
Things were complicated, and Terui Ryu had to admit he needed the other three.
That said, as much as they have worked together, Ryu didn’t know exactly how this worked. Akiko easily emptied the room from everyone else - with a wicked grin, and producing a camera from under her miko outfit somehow, and asking care to pose for an article about police negligence did the charm, every time.
Her articles were… something. But her main job was not that. She said she only did that to make sure everyone knew what they had to do, and people could not silence the truth they were uncovering.
Right now, she was setting up charms and incense, and Philip stood in the middle of the room, as Shotaro was taking notes.
The three of them knew what their jobs were, and all Ryu could do was to wait.
The smoke from the incense filled the air, and Philip walked around like in a trance, before stopping in front of a clock - and when his legs buckled, Shotaro was there, catching him, and Akiko and Ryu hurried over to open the windows, making him take a deep breath.
He had no idea what Philip had seen. He often talked about dark winds, whatever that meant, but now, he opened his eyes, and looked at Ryu.
“I told you. We might not like what we find.”
“The truth is what’s important,” Ryu said bitterly, his stomach turning. “No matter what.”
Even if part of him already knew the truth.
After all, he was so disoriented that night. Something in his head didn’t make sense about the timeline of events - but if someone made him disoriented, and made him doubt his own sense of time—
Someone who had given him tea.
Someone who he had seen even later, looking at the clock.
The only person who has visited him that night.
Shroud’s boat was abandoned, and they found her on the bridge over the river, standing by the edge, looking down.
“This had nothing to do with your revenge, Terui Ryu,” Shroud said, not turning towards them. “Following this lead would not have given you any peace.”
“That did not give you the right to kill someone,” Ryu said, and Shroud shook her head.
“He needed to die, to protect those I care about.”
Finally she turned their way, and Ryu had the feeling she was not looking at him.
“I have to arrest you now.”
“After everything I have done for you?” Shroud laughed, stepping off from the ledge, and now, now Ryu felt like the target of her attention. “Is that how you thank me?”
“My gratitude ends with you murdering someone.”
“Well. You should very well know that a shrouded person like I am has many connections. I do not intend to comply when I have more important things to do.”
And with that she raised her gloved hands, and clapped twice.
And from both ends of the bridge, multiple figures appeared, sharp swords in their hands.
Shroud indeed had many connections in the underworld.
And this - this was the part where Shotaro was extremely important. He was quick on his feet, and knew how to strike to incapacitate, to survive. Philip usually was good at ducking, and Akiko was great at hitting people with her broom, but usually she ended up grabbing Philip by the hand and running off with him in tow, to leave the fighting up to Shotaro.
And Ryu, who was also there, twisting another knife out of someone’s hand.
Shotaro was a wall who easily stood in the way of anyone who tried to get after Akiko and Philip, and he refused to let anyone pass.
And Ryu— well.
He was to do the exact same, after all.
Later, after all that, even without Shroud having been caught, they got enough of the thugs and enough evidence from the police station to clear Ryu’s name off from the suspect list.
But there were still… too many questions.
Why kill this one guy? What was Shroud truly after?
Were they really out of leads?
And now - and now Ryu didn’t have his mentor either.
What next?
Before he could have sunken deeper into his thoughts, suddenly two hands grabbed his shoulder, and Shotaro was grinning in the corner of his eyes.
“Stop moping. Come over to the temple.”
“...don’t be ridiculous.”
“Am not. We cleared your name. And we do have access to Shroud’s ship - policemen are stationed there, even if we cannot investigate right now. Tomorrow, I’m sure you can get us into it.”
“You sound so sure I’ll let you in.”
“Of course you will. We are just as invested in this whole thing as you are - but tonight, come over to the temple. Have a drink with us.”
“...can Philip even drink?”
“Not much,” Shotaro admitted. “He’s a bit of a lightweight. But we don’t plan on getting drunk. Just enough to ease you up a bit. We all had a horrible couple of days, did we not?”
…he was right. After all, the first bodies came up from shrine grounds.
Ryu took a deep breath, before standing up, pushing Shotaro away.
“Do not make me regret this, Hidari. If we’ll end up in the priestess’ article tomorrow, I’ll hold you personally responsible.”