11 What He'd Gotten Into

Shugo finally returned to school that Friday.

Despite his absence the day before, his morning classes came and went the way they usually did. Barring one or two moments where he spaced out in class and got called out for it, things were back to normal as far was school was concerned. Though admittedly, that was partly thanks to Kaito sending over zipped files containing his notes via instant messenger, which saved Shugo the trouble of contacting their teachers one by one when he got home after running errands.

"So, what exactly happened to you these past few days?" his best friend asked in between their Music Appreciation and their Personality Psychology classes. "You don't get called over to the RCPD for a friendly chat and a bowl of ramen."

And so Shugo told him what he could. He couldn't tell Kaito exactly how the encounter with the kidnappers played out, of course, beyond talking about how he'd run into a lost child and got him an iced coffee while waiting for the kid's dad to come pick him up. And for the same reasons, he also had to gloss over what Ryoma and Riku had discussed with him. And since he obviously couldn't tell his best friend about his new arrangement with the police either, he simply said that the RCPD had taken him on as an intern and left it at that.

"And it's a paid internship, too?" Kaito repeated in astonishment and even a tinge of envy. "First Rena and now that? What, did you make a deal with the devil or something?"

'Man, you don't know half of it.'

Shugo simply smiled at Kaito's quip to mask his discomfort at just how close his friend had come to the truth. Since confirming that wild guess was out of the question, he instead gave an answer that still made sense, however much it may have been lacking in context. "Maybe the chief was grateful I helped them get his son back? I did tell them where to go, after all."

Just then, the bell rang, signalling the end of their 5-minute break and the start of the next class period.

For the day's topic, their teacher discussed Carl Jung and his theory of personality. Shugo took particular interest in Jung's contrast between the public persona and the shadow, which he felt was oddly appropriate to the recent developments in his life. As far as everyone else knew, he was just an ordinary student, no more or less special than the rest of his peers at St. Stephen's Academy. What they didn't know was that he'd contracted with a supernatural being that compelled him to hunt down and punish wrongdoers. And indirectly, that deal he made also led him to make a similar pact with the chief of the RCPD.

Admittedly, the first of those was an impossible situation. He didn't really have much choice but to accept the spirit's offer, seeing as his only other option was to literally just lay down and die. And since the spirit now bonded to Shugo would compel him to go after the bad guys either way, his similar contract with the RCPD would at least ensure that he'd also get paid for his trouble. Even then, what surprised him the most was his seeming lack of any second thoughts when it came to what he'd gotten into.

'You're forgetting just how you fell down the rabbit hole to begin with,' the voice at the back of his head reminded him.

That was fair, he mused. Now that Shugo thought about it, it was his choice to help that woman get away from her domestic abuser – and likely murderer – that jumpstarted this entire chain of events. Had he gone back into the house that night instead, none of the events that followed would ever have happened.

'Why don't you ask yourself something.'

'How long before your urge to get involved really screws you over?'

The bell that rang at that moment to signal the lunch hour was all that spared Shugo from going further down that train of thought.

------

Their lunch break started out in equally uneventful fashion.

Shugo led Kaito to the same corner of the cafeteria where he'd sat the other day, the better to avoid the noisy chatter coming from their peers. Everyone was chattering and yammering away the way they usually did about their usual topics – including quizzes, projects, terror teachers, who fancied who – without a care in the world. From where he was sitting, he found it almost incredible to think how he himself had been just as carefree less than a week ago.

'Good grief,' he thought, barely suppressing a chuckle at himself. 'I sound like a tired old man.'

"Doesn't look like she's here," Kaito suddenly said. "Figures, I guess. Rena's not usually here on Fridays."

Shugo looked up at that observation. Because of Rena's involvement in multiple clubs that made their presence felt all over campus, he generally didn't need to try too hard to see her at least once before the school day was over. But now that he thought about it, he rarely ever saw Rena around school on a Friday. 'Then again, she's got stuff going on outside too.'

"Something wrong, Shugo?" Kaito asked, an amused look on his face. "I know she's not here, but you don't need to sulk about it, y'know."

Shugo ignored the crack.

Instead, he focused on the pair of new arrivals who'd just walked into the cafeteria.

Of the two men, the younger one looked to be in his twenties, with close-cropped dark hair and a lean but clearly athletic build. Meanwhile, the older man on the right had graying hair and a loose demeanor that belied his extensive experience and close encounters with some of the worst of humanity. Both men were dressed in the navy blues worn by police officers, which begged the question of what brought them here.

But even more importantly, both men were ones he, Shugo, had just met not too long ago.

'…So much for getting back to normal.'

"That's them, Kaito," Shugo told his best friend while gesturing in the direction of the two cops. "Chief Hikawa Ryoma of the RCPD. The other one's his aide, Detective Ashihara Riku."

When Ryoma and Riku saw Shugo gazing questioningly at them, the chief and his aide briefly glanced at each other before heading headed over to the table at the furthest corner.

"Hey there, Shugo," the chief greeted the youth in question as he and Riku took the pair of vacant seats beside Kaito. "Sorry for dropping in on you like this."

"Hi, Chief, Detective," Shugo acknowledged both cops in response, with a respectful nod to each as he addressed them by their ranks.

"Did something happen?" Kaito added.

It was Riku who answered this.

"Oh, no, nothing," replied the detective with a reassuring smile. "We just came by to have a word with your administrators. Given current events, the chief thought it might be good for the RCPD to give a talk on public safety, specifically for the youth."

"We got my boy back, and it's partly thanks to Shugo here," Ryoma agreed, nodding to the youth in question. "All the same, we don't want any more kids getting snatched if we can help it. The next one might not be as lucky."

Shugo couldn't question their logic. From what Ayato had said the other night, the ones who tried kidnapping Taro were professionals, and the fact that they'd been able to abduct a child from right under the RCPD's noses proved they were no strangers to such criminal activities. And if criminals could somehow worm their way into a location as heavily guarded as a police station and accomplish their objective without being found out until hours after they'd escaped, it stood to reason that they'd likely have an even easier time snatching kids on their way home from school.

Even then, he failed to understand what their upcoming talk had to do with him.

"What do you need from me, boss?"

"It's about Taro," the chief replied. "I asked if you could help him deal with what happened, right?"

Shugo remembered. "How's he doing?"

"They put him to sleep, so he doesn't remember much of it," Ryoma explained with a sigh. "But it's still pretty fresh, and just because we got him back doesn't mean it didn't happen. I for one would rest easier knowing there's one more person helping him with what he went through."

That made sense, thought Shugo. He knew from their classroom lessons, as well as his own experience, that a robust support system went a long way in helping an individual heal and recover from traumatic experiences. No doubt Ryoma was both willing and able to have his son see a licensed therapist or trauma counsellor, but as the chief himself had said the night before, the fact that Shugo had already established rapport with Taro placed him in almost as good a position.

'And if nothing else, I'll at least be there to listen.'

"You can count on me, chief," Shugo pledged.

"Excellent, Shugo. That's twice I owe you now."

------

As Harusaki Ayumu closed the paperback novel he'd been reading for the past hour while laying in bed at a quarter past midnight, he reflected on how reality could sometimes be just as crazy as fiction.

And beyond that, he'd recently learned the hard way how reality could sometimes be even crazier.

The book he'd been reading was both a classic, and a personal favourite of his that he'd read at least a dozen times before now. But for some reason, Haru found himself struggling to take in the words printed on the page during this most recent reread.

It wasn't the fantastical nature of the book's genre that was to blame. If anything, Haru was an avid enjoyer of all kinds of fictional and nonfictional works, which was aptly reflected by the wide assortment of books of varying shapes and sizes that sat on his bookshelf. A visitor was just as likely to find wholesome children's books by Roald Dahl and C.S. Lewis in Haru's collection, as he was to find works by the likes of Harper Lee and George Orwell that discussed more mature themes. As for nonfiction, the presence of authors such as Robert Kiyosaki, Stephen Covey and Charles Bronson was demonstrative of his belief that reading was meant to not only amuse and entertain, but to educate and inform as well.

Admittedly, there were certain works and genres he wouldn't touch. He outright refused to even touch, much less read, that drivel by a sexually starved housewife about a blatant self-insert and her mutually abusive relationship with a sparkly vampire, nor could he be convinced to read the later series of books that was initially based on it before being turned into something entirely original and even filthier and trashier. Notwithstanding those rare exceptions, however, Haru's general rule was to read any book he'd been offered or recommended at least once, maybe twice or more if he liked it the first time around.

Needless to say, this deviation from his otherwise-daily reading habit was a clear indicator of how the past few days had Haru feeling less like himself, and how he'd been haunted by the otherworldly and downright evil entity he'd been lucky to escape with his life.

'FEAR.'

The job Dan had signed him and the rest of the gang up for was a departure from their usual work. While he referred to their little gang as a posse of problem-solvers, their jobs had usually been straightforward, and generally called on them to act as delivery boys and messengers. The actual packages and messages entrusted to them could and likely would have landed them in prison had they been caught, but the work itself was perfectly tame. It was just plain bad luck that their shadiest job offer yet turned out to be the one where they encountered…

'FEAR.'

The horrifying encounter had happened the other night, but the booming voice in Haru's head was every bit as loud and clear as he remembered it. Even worse than that were the images and memories that were brought to life in him, and which had all but refused to leave him in peace since.

'FEAR.'

That one word sent him back to the time when he watched from under the bed as a half-dozen men in crisp business suits shot both his parents in the face.

'FEAR.'

That one word brought him back to the moment when he came home from kindergarten, only to find the kindly uncle who had taken him in lying dead on the floor with a slashed throat and a shoe stuffed in his mouth.

'FEAR.'

That one word brought him face to face with his mother, his father, and his uncle – all looking as they did at the time of their deaths – who proceeded to brutally berate and crucify him for the life choices he'd made since their passing, before proceeding to brandish pistols and switchblades whose business ends they then introduced him to.

'FEAR.'

And it was that one word that caused Haru to see all of those on loop for what felt like an eternity, stretched out over the course of a few brief moments each time.

'FEAR.'

It was that one word that had tormented him for the past several days.

And it was only the sudden ringing of his smartphone that drowned it out and brought him back to reality.

And as he picked it up to see what whoever had called had to say, it was all Harusaki Ayumu could do to pray that it would all be over soon.