Chapter 14: Detective Work

Being the perfectionist that he was, Sora didn't feel comfortable leaving something halfway done.

Seeing as how he was already involved and he didn't manage to kill him the first time, he felt compelled to find him and end it for good. If not for his perfectionistic personality then for the fact that his secret would be in danger if he didn't find him and silence him.

'First things first. I have to visit the scene of the crime.' He thought, mentally ready to begin his investigation.

'Wait a minute. Where exactly is the crime scene?' He thought, stopping in his step.

He had no idea where it was and he couldn't just ask the broadcaster where it was. It was during moments like this that he regrets not having a phone or a laptop.

'Everything was so much easier with the internet.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Looking as if he just swallowed a something bitter as he walked down the street with a phone in his hand.

He stared at the object that made a dent in his wallet with slight disdain. He had tried swiping a phone from a passerby but it was useless. He gave up after the fifth phone was also locked.

If he had a laptop or another device, he could easily unlock it but he was pressed for time. Putting that out of his mind, he began his search.

With just a search, information about the kidnappings and other things that could be related to it popped up.

'So much easier.' He thought as he sieved through different websites trying to separate useful and non useful information.

Some of them said it was some kind of alien invasion. Despite knowing that aliens exist in this world, due to the similarities between this event and the previous one he halted, he severely doubted it was the case.

It took about ten minutes to comb through what he found. At this point, he had already found out the estimated area where the latest kidnapping happened and was on a bus towards that location.

In the next few minutes, he arrived at his destination. Upon getting there, the first thing he noted was the increase in activity in the area. For every ten men that was seen, a cop could be found.

'Are they stupid? They're not even trying to hide the fact that they're patrolling this area. Nobody would be stupid enough to try and commit a crime here.' He thought as he judged the move of the police force as stupid.

Moving out of sight temporarily, henged into a random nobody's and began moving around. He specifically chose the alleys and the roads close to the alleys.

'I took care of his men last time. Does he have someone else to do his work for him or is he doing this part on his own now?' He pondered as he took a walk into the alley to his left.

He took his time, slowly observing his environment for anything unordinary.

'To kidnap someone, he'd have to have had a means of escape. You can't carry a knocked out girl on your shoulder without drawing a few looks, meaning that they may have seen him leave but didn't notice suspect anything afoot.' He thought as he checked the ground for tire tracks.

'Or maybe they didn't even see him leave…' he thought, remembering the unnatural power that the man he searched for possessed.

He then looked around for anything that could have hinted to super human ability. He quickly and discreetly climbed up the wall to the roof of the buildings around.

Despite that, he couldn't find anything strange. Without drawing attention, he got down to ground level. He had been searching for almost an hour, frequently switching between disguises.

At the 45 minute mark, he decided to take a new approach. Watching people roaming around the vicinity, seemingly in search for something would definitely draw attention to those who were observant enough.

While he would still be able to search the area for clues, he would be somewhat limited. He walked towards the cyber cafe in the vicinity, looking nonchalant so as not to draw attention.

'Luckily they haven't shut down businesses here.' He thought as he had already thought of a solution. He had seen a few security cameras around. The camera on street lamps and the cameras belonging to the stores around.

He chose a computer in the secluded corner of the cafe. He didn't want anyone peeking into what he was about to do.

•••••••••

[Template Name: Sasuke Uchiha]

[Template Progress: 9.9%]

[Skills]:[Engineering Mastery Lvl 41]

•••••••••

Despite how much he tried, he couldn't get the progress bar to increase. It hadn't gone up for a full week now even with how much effort he put.

Putting the thoughts at the back of his mind, he focused on the task at hand. Engineering mastery not only covered the mechanical aspect but also software aspect of engineering.

With the skill at level 41, it took less than ten minutes for him to gain access into the cafe's outdoor cameras.

'I wonder if they know that their security system is this vulnerable.' He thought as he downloaded the footage of the previous night into the phone via the wire connecting them.

'I really need to get my own computer soon. Maybe I can build one…' He thought for a passing moment.

Due to the computer systems not being connected to the security system of the surrounding businesses, it took him more time to access the other cameras. It took him another fifteen minutes to gain access and download the footage.

After making sure no one could find traces of his activities on the computer, he exited the cafe. As he left, he noticed something out of the corner of his eyes that made him grin.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sora walked into his apartment with a grocery bag and a brown box in his hands. Upon first glance, it seemed like a box filled with junk but to the technical eye it was an engineer's best friend.

While he was leaving the cafe, he saw a young man about to throw away the box of used junk and miscellaneous parts.

It had taken a long time to convince him to hand it over but he had succeeded. As for why he didn't simply put him under genjutsu, there was no need for such unnecessary actions.

'With this, I already have most of what I need. Another man's trash is truly another man's treasure.' He thought as he dropped the box in the guest room.

In the month that he had been in the apartment, he had redecorated and reorganized the room to act as a makeshift workshop.

Different sorts of incomplete gadgets laid on the second table at the back of the room. He had a few ideas for things he wanted to build but he hadn't gotten around to finishing them.

Looking at the bunch of items in the box, he held back a sigh, knowing that he was in for a long night.

'I better make something to eat. I don't see myself finishing this anytime today.' He thought as he made his way to the kitchen to get something to eat.

He returned later with a plate of sandwiches. Rolling up his sleeves, he poured out the content of the box to the floor and began his work.