Hatred is Infectious

Workers from the Interior Ministry came to retrieve Yomi's body and advise those at the Rose House to keep their mouths shut. After the ministry withdrew from the red light district, Jun headed towards the automobile, but Shimol stopped her.

"Don't you think there's something to do before you go?" Shimol asked.

Jun ordinarily wouldn't do something so pointless, especially when the members of Rose House were powerless to do anything but cry over what Jun would tell them, but both Madam Gwang and Luna had helped her out, and Yomi at least deserved to have her last words heard by those close to her. She turned and headed back towards the Rose House.

"We'll be waiting for you at the automobile," Shimol said, then left.

Madam Gwang and Luna were waiting out front. The madam came running up to Jun.

"Thank heavens you're still here. Please tell me what's going on. The men from the Interior Ministry just said Yomi was dead and wouldn't tell me anything!"

"On that one part, they were telling the truth. Yomi has passed away," Jun said.

Madam Gwang grabbed Jun's uniform coat and sobbed. "Why? Why did she die?"

"Madam…" Luna trailed off.

"I'm not at liberty to give you the full details."

"Surely you didn't come back just to tell us that," Luna snapped. "You're not the same as those other ruffians. But I'll ask what the Madam can't. Did you kill Yomi?"

"That much I can say. Neither I nor anyone from my team killed Yomi. She was silenced by someone, but we failed to catch the culprit."

"I see," Luna said with resignation.

"Did her end come quickly at least?" Madam Gwang asked.

"She didn't die painfully. Her last words were 'The gathering wishes will bring damnation.' I don't know what she meant, but she must have resisted her fate until her end."

"That doesn't sound like Yomi at all," Madam Gwang said.

"You're right, but I feel like I've heard people in Rose House say something about damnation," Luna added.

"Who?"

Luna shook her head. "It's no use. I know I've heard it, but whenever I try to recall something specific, it feels like there's a haze drowning out the sounds. I'm sorry I can't be of more help."

"Something is happening in Shinra," Jun said.

Madam Gwang appeared to consider her words carefully, then said, "I know there's a lot you can't tell me. Whatever is happening though, if those were her last words, Yomi must have been pulled into it. I beseech you to get to the bottom of this, so her spirit may rest."

"Of course. I will find the truth without fail." Jun personally hoped that Yomi's spirit had already ascended. Meeting a lingering spirit of someone you had known in real life was never pleasant. Their regrets always brought out the ugliness in them and transformed them in ways that tarnished how Jun remembered them in life. It never brought her any joy to slay such a spirit, and it never had, including when she exorcised her parents' spirits.

Jun left them and rejoined her team at the automobile in the alley.

"Welcome back," Shimol said.

"Eugene, Desun, I didn't have time to ask you this earlier, but did you find anything at the gambling dens?" Jun asked.

"The dens are run by the mafia, specifically the Solradian mafia. A capo named Ryugo from the Solradian capital has set up shop here in Shinra," Eugene said.

"That's interesting, but how does this tie to Mr. Yang?"

Desun grinned. "Here's where the juicy tidbits are. The capo obviously brought some of his men from Touchuu, but it takes a lot of people to run an organization, especially in a foreign country. He hired a lot of grunts locally, and those grunts were mostly former slaves and butchers, including those from… Count Beck's estate."

"Would any of them have reason to hurt Mr. Yang?" Shimol asked. "It's not as though he was in debt to the mafia."

"Perhaps not from a business perspective," Jun answered. "But what if we thought about it from a personal one? Count Beck mistreated them, and Mr. Yang looked down on them. Being a part of the mafia now, those former servants had an opportunity and motive for revenge."

"Let's pay Ryugo a visit then," Desun said, cracking his knuckles.

"Don't do anything violent. The mafia has the unofficial backing of the Solradian ambassador," Shimol warned.

Eugene scratched his head. "Just what we needed. More politicians making our lives difficult."

They climbed into the automobile, and the magitech engine hummed to life. Jun backed up out of the alley, and as much as she would have liked to slam the pedal, she instead drove forward at a frustratingly slow pace as pedestrians cleared the way. Activity in downtown was at its peak.

Further south from downtown, the automobile stopped in view of a manor surrounded by a wall with traditional architecture, albeit with a Solradian flourish to it. A red-faced demon was painted on the front gate. Two men in loose, Solradian-style black robes stood, one on each side. Vigilant, they had one hand on their katanas. Jun had always thought the Solradian robes looked silly with no pants, but as a set with the katanas, they had a certain menacing presence.

"I bet I could take those two before they can react," Desun said leaning in from the back seat.

"Leave the investigation of the mafia itself to the police. We're not here to pick a fight with them," Shimol said.

"I'll stay with the automobile." Eugene cocked his rifle. "In case things go south and you need a little help. They wouldn't let you bring weapons in after all."

The other three stepped off and slammed the doors shut.

"Let's go. Lieutenant Jang, I'll let you handle the negotiations. That's your strong suit," Jun said.

"Yes, sir, Captain," Shimol responded with a salute.

They walked up to the front gate with Shimol leading. The two men drew their katanas.

"Halt. This is the headquarters of the Black Iris Society. Anyone without legitimate business is not permitted to enter," the bony guard with a scar on his cheek said.

"Legitimate business? I have my doubts that people entering here would be involved with such a thing," Shimol responded with a poker face.

"What are you insinuating?" the guard with fuzzy mustache asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Nothing at all. I merely wish to speak with Ryugo," Shimol said.

"Who are you? You think anyone can waltz up here and demand a meeting with the boss?" the scarred guard barked.

"Forgive my late introduction. I am Lieutenant Shimol Jang of the Interior Section. Now, while I'm sure Mr. Ryugo is an upstanding citizen, we have something to discuss with him, purely for informative purposes. He is not a suspect of anything. Though, if you insist that we cannot meet with him, we will have no choice but to bring a warrant, and who knows what the Ministry workers might find in that case?"

The scarred guard bit his lip.

"We merely seek his cooperation. If he helps us out this time, perhaps we could help out some other time. What do you think?"

"I'll inform the boss of the situation," the mustachioed guard said. He sighed and opened the gate and went inside.

"I didn't know you were such a scary guy," Desun whispered.

"I wanted to do things in a peaceful way. Every situation has a different attitude required."

The guard soon returned. "Follow me."

He led through a zen garden with snaking shadows in the sand and up to a large building with traditional Solradian architecture, similar to Radiauroran architecture but with more gold accents. The guard opened the double doors and entered the building, the others following. He walked through a corridor with needlessly many sliding doors each leading to the next when opened, and he stopped at one.

"The boss is waiting inside." He slid open the door and stepped off to the side.

They entered the room, and a young man with a sharp beard wearing black robes sat at a polished wooden desk with a folding screen with a painting of a serpentine dragon behind him. The floor was made of fine bamboo, and the slight gloss reflected the electric lights above. The guard slid the door closed, and the young man looked up. There was a fierceness in his eyes but not like that of a wild animal, but rather a calculated, rational ruthlessness.

"I am Ryugo. To what do I owe the honor of Radiauroran agents tonight?" he asked.

"A doctor in Count Beck's manor suddenly went missing. We were hoping you could assist us with the investigation," Shimol said.

Ryugo looked calm. "I don't know that I could be of any help."

"Several of your grunts were previously working under Count Beck, alongside Mr. Yang."

"Are you suggesting I had something to do with his disappearance?"

"Not at all. But your grunts may have had personal affairs tangled up with the Beck estate. Perhaps they could shed some light on the investigation."

"Do you have a warrant?"

"No, we are not looking to arrest anyone at the moment."

"Then it appears you are in need of my help. And my help isn't free."

"I'm the captain of this team. What is it you want? Keep in mind we are government officials, so nothing illegal," Jun chimed in.

Ryugo smirked with the look of a wolf that had seen a stray lamb. "Baron Yun owes me some money, and he's been coming up with excuse after excuse to delay payment. As he's a noble, I've been limited in my options to… encourage him to pay. I've heard he's involved in some shady business. Perhaps you could pay him a visit and do an investigation."

"Are you serious? You want us agents of the Interior Ministry to blackmail?" Desun asked incredulously.

Jun blocked Desun with her arm. "I have two conditions. We get to talk to your grunts first. And I'll only agree to investigate. I won't be planting evidence or anything of that sort."

"We have a deal then." Ryugo stood up and reached out his hand. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance…"

"Captain Jun Song." She shook his hand firmly.

"Yamazaki! Take them to the Radiaurorans' quarters," Ryugo yelled.

The guard with the fuzzy mustache opened the door and bowed. "Yes, boss." He raised his head and looked at Shimol. "Right this way." He walked through a zig zag of halls and out the side and crossed a sandy garden. The red and white and yellow koi fish in the pond gathered at the edge, and some poked their heads out as Yamazaki passed by.

Perhaps this was a time to put Shimol's advice about appealing to people to work. "Do you tend to the koi fish?"

Yamazaki broke out into an unexpected smile. "Yes, it's part of my job, but I've come to like seeing their mugs every day. I wouldn't mind letting you feed them if you ever have any business here."

"I'll take you up on that offer if the opportunity arises."

They arrived at a building shaped like a corner of a rectangle, two long buildings joined at a ninety-degree angle. While not run down by any means, the coloring was simple brown and white as opposed to the red and gold flourishes on the main building.

"Wake up! Anyone who came from Count Beck's manor get out here!" Yamazaki shouted.

Grunts and groggy groans came from inside the quarters. The doors slid open, and the men in wrinkly white robes staggered out.

"Yamazaki? What is this all about?" a short-haired young man asked.

"These people want to talk to you."

They turned to Jun's team, and their eyes widened.

"Police?"

"There's no need for alarm. We're not here with regard to any organized crime investigations," Shimol said.

"Do any of you know if any of the others here had a grudge against Mr. Yang or Count Beck?" Jun asked.

The young man answered, "Typical police trying to turn us against each other. I'll answer it for everyone including myself. Yes. Why do you think we left that place? Between Count Beck's low wages and the way he treated us, there was no reason to stay. Mr. Yang didn't do anything bad enough for us to hate him, but he clearly looked down on us. But we've cut our ties. You're probably here because something happened to one of them, but we had nothing to do with it."

The others nodded along, but a rugged-faced man in his thirties opened his mouth to talk, then after looking around him, closed his mouth.

"You there. You looked like you had something to say." Jun stopped right in front of him.

"That's… well…"

"If you're innocent, speak up. No harm will come to you."

Desun quipped, "Is this the famed good cop bad cop routine I've heard about?"

"Hey, who's the bad cop here?" Jun retorted.

The tension in the man's face relaxed. "I had a dream. I know it sounds silly, but it was the strangest thing. Someone asked me if I hated anyone, if I wanted to damn someone to an eternity in hell. I didn't answer, but I thought of Count Beck." He shook his head. "Sorry. Forget it. It was just a dream."

The others looked angsty, and they eyed each other.

"Did all of you have that same dream?"

They nodded.

The young man sighed and said, "I didn't want to bring that up because it would make you police suspect us for no good reason. It was all just a dream. No one here did anything."

"Who was the person asking you in the dream?"

"I can't remember. Their face is just a blur when I try to think of it."

"It's the same for me," the rugged-faced man said.

Jun, Shimol, and Desun followed up with individual interviews for alibis and any other details, but nothing turned up.

Afterwards, Jun walked over to Yamazaki waiting on a corner of the quarters' veranda.

"You finished?" he asked.

"Yes. Thank you. Tell your boss that we will conduct that investigation on Baron Yun soon."

They left the mafia headquarters and returned to the automobile. Someone lay on the ground beside it. Jun ran over. It was Eugene, his head bloodied.