Chapter 53 – A wine-loving yokai

Third person POV

 "Is that a traditional Japanese canteen?" Kioko asked upon seeing the said canteen on the footage

 "Looks like it…" Saki added.

Sha then nodded.

Hoshi and Bokuto, including Kuro, now theorized that a yokai was behind, and Hoshi and Kuro were the only ones who knew a yokai that fit the description.

 Later, it was lunch time, so all of them went to a Japanese restaurant a few blocks away to have a nice, sit-down meal with traditional Japanese food. There as they eat, Kioko introduced herself to Hoshi and his group since she forgot to do that at the time she met them.

 "Nice to meet you, Kioko-san," responded Hoshi back positively and nicely. "My name is Hoshi Carmen Takada-Santos."

He then bowed deeply towards her for a few seconds.

His group did the same thing alongside their introductions to the female detective.

 "Nice to meet you all," replied Kioko back.

After that, they all resumed eating their meal.

 Then, Kioko asked them where they lived. "Oh, we are from Nara city," answered Saki.

 "All of you?"

Bokuto then nodded. "Yes."

 "Are you here in Osaka city for a summer vacation?" Kioko asked back.

 "Yes, we are," Taro responded back.

 "We are also here for a visit at the Takada estate, where Hoshi-kun's maternal relatives lived," Bokuto answered.

Kioko remembered that Hoshi was the grandson of the Takada Sake's current president, so she replied, "Okay then. That makes sense."

 A bit later, their meal is now over. "So, how do you think of any possible leads towards the culprit?" Kioko asked them as she wipes her mouth with a paper napkin.

 "Oh, we do!" Hoshi raised his hand for a few seconds.

 "Oh? You do?"

At this point, Hoshi and Kuro agreed to each other that Shuten Dōji was the one behind the abduction at the Kita district.

 "Yes, it was a yokai named Shuten Dōji," Hoshi replied back with confidence.

This stuns everyone at the table.

 "Shuten Dōji?"

 "A person?"

 "Who's that?" Kioko asked.

 "It's a yokai," replied Hoshi, before explaining to them its origins and description according to his research at the family estate library.

Since she hardly believed in the supernatural, Kioko was skeptical, while the rest of Hoshi's group did believe that it was possibly him.

Bokuto noted that a traditional Japanese canteen was on the said yokai's hands and had a habit of abducting women.

Taro then added that, based on his research prior to the summer holidays, Shuten Dōji terrorized Kyoto with his nightly rampages.

While the others agreed, Kioko remained skeptical and secretly, she believes that a drunken human was responsible for the abduction instead.

But will Hoshi and Kuro's possibility of a culprit be proven right?