After they had finished, YF stared at the ceiling, as if doing so would delay his trip to the Ward Office. He could hear Erika dressing, and when he looked down she had just finished pulling on her leggings. She then zipped on a training jacket over her sports bra without a shirt underneath.

“Not a bad way to be woken up, is it?” she asked.

YF watched her tie her hair in a high ponytail, smiling to himself. “Not bad at all.”

“Better than staying with Eiji?”

“Uh huh.”

“Well you can get a better look tomorrow morning. We need to get you to the station,” she said, her tone turning serious.

“Right.” YF rolled off the bed and stood up, pushing against the nightstand for support. He half heartedly pulled on his underwear, undershirt, then slacks and slowly started buttoning his shirt after shoving his arms through the sleeves. Visiting the ward magistrate on a weekend was the last thing he wanted to do.

Erika turned and made as if to do something but then fixated her gaze on YF. She walked up to him, grabbed the left side of his collar and straightened it. She rested her hand on his chest, smiling. “Looking handsome today.”

YF kissed her on the forehead.

“Well it’s time to go. We’d better move before the rush gets in,” she said.

The two of them went up the stairs to the 40th floor parking garage, but this time Erika did not seem to mind it. Rather, she was in a lighter mood than usual, ascending the steps rapidly.

When they reached the car, YF made a jog for the driver’s seat. “I’ll take us there. Just drive home.”

“No, I want to drive.”

YF, who had already activated the gull wing doors and was standing in front of the opening, raised his head to look at Erika on the other side of the car. “Why?”

“I just want to.”

YF decided not to push the matter further. He circled the front of the car and climbed into the passenger’s seat while Erika entered the driver’s through the passenger side.

“So you didn’t need to tell Kuroda-san you’re going?” asked Erika as she engaged the autopilot system.

“I sent a request in before we went out in the morning.”

“Well that went fast.”

“The village magistrate doesn’t care what I do.” It was something he already missed, even though they hadn’t moved yet.

“So…” Erika looked left and right to make sure the area was clear, even though she wasn’t in control of the vehicle. When they were close to the exit, she finally relaxed her posture. “So,” she repeated. “What...what did it look like?”

“What did what look like?”

“You know,” said Erika.

“The body?” YF gripped the handle above his window as the car accelerated out through the garage opening. “I called the ambulance before I went down. I didn’t get a good look at him. And I wasn’t trying to either.”

“Who else was there?”

“A woman.”

“And that’s where your glove went,” said Erika.

“She didn’t feel safe.”

“And what about your safety?”

“I have a tracker on me and the ambulance was going roughly the same way. I was going to be fine.”

“Don’t. Do it. Again,” she ordered.

“How many times can I go out before we leave any way?”

“You’ll need it enough times for it to matter. Get one in town.”

“And our budget?”

Erika gave him a one second death glance before fixing her eyes on the road as they merged into evening traffic.

“I’ll get one,” said YF. He pointed at her clothes. “So you’re going to work out with Reina?”

“Yeah we’ll find somewhere to eat after. Then I’m going to go to her place so I don’t have to clean.”

“Hmmm. Movie?”

“We’ve been watching a historical show. It’s about detective work in the Industrial Era. Based on real cases.”

“What do you think about it?”

“I’m just glad that we have cameras and auto-barriers now. It’s hard to believe some of these cases were real. You know…” Erika paused. “What’s scary about some of the suspects is I wouldn’t have thought twice passing them on the street.”

“You went and looked up their pictures?”

“Of course.”

“You said suspect. So you aren’t convinced all of them did it?”

“Some of the cases are clear, some of them aren’t.”

“What’s an unclear one?” asked YF.

“Well you’ve definitely heard of the Flame Killer.”

YF could see the setting sun through the heavily tinted windows. “The one that’s obsessed with setting things on fire? What about him?”

“Well we’re not really sure it’s a him. There’s new theories she was a woman. Especially back in those days no one would have suspected one.”

“They get a sketch?”

“Looks just like a girl you or I would know.”

YF thought back to Reina’s face in the parking garage, her fangs still visible in the dim light. Technically, her fangs couldn’t have been too much longer than his or Erika’s, but they were just long enough to make people aware of the difference. Something always felt off about her, in an uncomfortably alluring sort of way; he felt some of that allure when she leaned through his window. But now thanks to Erika, the only thought that came to mind about Reina was how scary she looked.

“What is she doing living in Itsugo anyway, Reina?” asked YF.

“Reina?”

“Why does she live in Itsugo, of all places?” YF repeated.

“Why wouldn’t she be here?”

“You’d think with that type of money, she could just move back to the city proper.”

Erika raised an eyebrow. “What would you know about her money?”

“Well isn’t she one of those…you know…aristocratic types?”

“Feudalism died something like two thousand years ago.”

It was just then that they passed over the statue of Revir Enellen, the most famous Triarch of Kazen. There was a statue of her almost everywhere, with the most famous one in Akeha’s Market Square, where her defense of the road bought precious time for the refugees to escape. Her complex relationship with another Triarch, Menetakh Efon, was an equally popular story. After all, what Reo doesn’t love a tragedy when it doesn’t happen to them?

“Well, speak of the Jomuun—,” Erika started.

“And she appears,” YF finished.

“Anyway, her story is more complicated than whatever you’re thinking.”

“Reina’s, or the Jomuun’s?” thought YF. “I heard one day a team of bodyguards showed up at your school and escorted her away somewhere,” he said instead.

Erika’s eyes softened. “I don’t want to get into it. It’s not that I want to hide things from you. But Reina’s past is her own story to tell, not mine.”

Upon the words “hide things from you”, YF thought back to Eiji’s suggestion of a family tracker. Try as he might, he could not shake off the thought of Erika and his brother sitting and chatting together in some sort of high class café. What would they have to talk about anyway? What would have made her so angry? YF looked at Erika, sitting poised on the driver’s seat with her eyes planted firmly on the transparent double guiding light ahead of them that marked their lane. The vehicle was still engaged in auto mode – Erika didn’t quite like driving the way YF did – but she was still very tense, her hands gripping the wheel as if she would lose control at any moment. Her foot was also poised over the brake, which hurt YF’s ankle just to look at.

YF then gazed at her training clothes hugging her body closely, her jacket showing the clear curve of her waist as it transitioned into her well fitted leggings. He thought of Hiroyuki looking at her the same way, and then tried to push the thought out as much as he could.

“What?” she asked, her eyes only glancing away from the road for a second.

“Nothing.” YF gave a half smile.

“I’m gonna miss you,” she said.

Those words did more to assuage his insecurities than he would like to admit. “Me too.”

“Well say hi to Eiji for me,” she said cheerily.

“You don’t like Eiji.”

“You won’t see him for a while.” She cracked a smile.

“Good point.”

As they approached the train station entrance platform, YF scrolled through his receiver one more time to make sure he had downloaded all the files. Erika tapped through the screen to pick a landing spot and engaged the auto lander.

YF released his cross seat belt when the car stopped. “Thanks,” he said as he stepped out of the car. Right after he shut the door, he could hear the window rolling down.

“You forgot something,” said Erika.

YF turned and leaned his head through the window.

“I’ll come get you tomorrow morning,” she said before giving him a quick peck. She then handed him his neckband, a thick black circular device with a disconnected portion to allow for flexibility.

“Thanks,” he repeated, taking it.

“Yep.”

The window shot up and Erika took two glances to the left before bolting off the landing platform, merging into the evening rush hour traffic back out to Itsugo.

As he stood waiting for the train, YF knew he should probably review the documents, but was already wanting to go home. He usually went to the ward magistrate once a month at most. The two of them did not have the greatest relationship, something he always suspected had a hand in his failure to enter the academy. There was nothing significant between them until the first annual meeting when all the village magistrates of Nishida Ward gathered to review the budget, discuss issues, and of course have a big party afterwards.

It wasn’t necessarily standing up for his boss at the formal meetings that got YF in trouble. It was his decision to intervene when he saw Uraga trying to leave the final party with one of the secretaries of another village office. YF pulled her away from him and said something about how she lived in the other direction, so needed her own cab. Magistrate Uraga berated him in the middle of the street for what seemed like an eternity about making assumptions and how YF didn’t have any evidence to assume the worst in him. Technically, the ward magistrate was right. In the end, no one stood up for YF — not even Eiji — and the woman thanked him indirectly by dropping a box of homemade chocolates at his house. YF then had to explain this sudden female attention, traditionally used by Reo women to confess their love, to Erika. She didn’t seem too convinced, leading to a tense few weeks.

YF never found out if Erika confirmed with a source or not, but she eventually completely about-faced on the issue, professing how proud she was of him. That attitude lasted until the first wait-list delay notice came in the mail. The ward magistrate shouldn’t have had the power to do something like that, but there was no other explanation except that there was a flood of highly connected candidates. Erika continued to remind him about how proud she was of what he had done, but he could tell that the burden of holding up their finances was taking its toll on her.

The train stopped right in front of him and its doors swung open swiftly.

“Attention all passengers: you have thirty seconds to engage environmental protection equipment before the sanitation cycle begins. Please do not remove protection until prompted to do so,” the robotic voice announced.

YF stepped through the opening and tapped his receiver, material within the neckband shooting up and forming a helmet around his head. Such devices were originally made to allow Reo to walk around freely during the daytime. But the barriers soon found other purposes. The inside of the train was fairly crowded, as most residents in Itsugo worked in Nishida. People tried not to push and shove, but as the commuters piled in, some pushing could not be avoided.

The train took off with a hum toward Nishida City. Outside the window, YF could see balers making hay for the end of summer, multiple machines rolling through the fields with a few people nearby watching and halting progress when necessary. Thirty seconds after the train had left the station, a mist cloud descended into the car, disinfecting all surfaces. Though YF’s ray shield had an air filter, he could still smell the odd, pungent odor of the chemical.

“Thank you for your patience. Please stand by for the drying process.”

As soon as the spraying stopped, a dull red light shone from every corner of the car, drying the chemical in seconds. YF could feel multiple sweat beads rolling down the back of his neck as the seconds passed like minutes. Instantly after the drying process finished, the air conditioning turned back on at full blast, the sweat from before evaporating and cooling his skin. This process repeated a few more times as they picked up more passengers on the way to Nishida City.

When he stepped off of the train at Nishida Station, a man in a Ward Police uniform immediately started jogging toward him. “Hey! YF!”

“Eiji!” YF acknowledged, waving back.

“Come on, let’s get something to eat before you meet the old bag. Meeting’s at fifth hour right?” Eiji asked upon arrival.

“Yeah,” Eiji confirmed. “Erika says hi,” he added.

Eiji had already started leading him to the departure area when he stopped. “She must be in a good mood then.”

“We might move back to Ikusayama.”

That that meant the two of them wouldn’t meet much anymore seemed to have passed over Eiji’s head. “Why? Her dad sick or something?” Eiji asked as he continued to walk.

“He’s had trouble moving since that incident with the truck,” said YF. About five years prior, right after they got married, Erika’s father decided to visit Akeha after staying with them for a week. As he was waiting to cross the street, a metal bar fell off the back of a truck and struck him in the leg, causing a clean fracture. YF’s father-in-law was too old when it happened; though he healed, he never fully regained his mobility.

“Figured that’s what it was,” he said in a tone YF did not like.

“Why?”

“Nothing.”

“Listen.” YF planted his hand on Eiji’s shoulder and gripped it, causing the latter to stop. “She’s still my wife. Don’t talk about her like that.”

“You’re still defending her, even after the video.”

“I never actually watched the video.”

“You’d rather believe her no matter what. What about me? What reason would I have to lie to you?”

“I never said you were lying.”

“Then why not at least take an extra precaution?”

“Eiji!” said YF. “I have my way of doing things. You know I don’t back down from a confrontation.” He looked into Eiji’s eyes. “Just like that time you didn’t back me up.”

Eiji seemed to have gotten the message, a flash of guilt showing in his expression.

“So if I find something, you can be sure I’ll talk to her about it. Now stop peeping on my wife,” said Eiji.

“Look! I’m not setting the cameras on her, I only told you what I caught in a data review.”

“Yeah, the reviews where you have to filter for people’s names.”

“I’m just. Trying. To help. I’m your bro!” Eiji protested.

“And I appreciate that. Show me some respect and let me handle it then.”

Eiji breathed out and turned around, continuing to lead him to the departure dock. Around them, people were too busy to care about what they were saying, and no one had stopped to listen to their conversation.

“Magistrate Uraga knows what this is about?” asked YF after a few long minutes.

“You bet your ass he does.”

“And he won’t elevate? Even this?”

“If he doesn’t and the Province Office finds out, you know he’ll be canned. And these things have a way of leaking.”

“Then? What’s the problem?”

“Just cause he’ll work with you doesn’t mean it’s going to be pleasant.”

“So he’s going to insult me for thirty minutes and then do what I want him to? Don’t see the problem with that.”

“It's slightly worse than that."

"What do you mean?"

Eiji sighed. "You'll see."