Celty Comes Calling / The Truth About the Girl with the Swapped Head

"Hmm." Shirou nodded in agreement.

"Shirou, you know that black motorcycle, right?" Seiji asked at this moment.

"Celty, yeah, I live with her," Shirou said.

"Why does she want to date my girlfriend?" Seiji asked.

"If I had to say, it's probably because this girl's face looks exactly like Celty's lost head," Shirou said.

"And being chased by a bunch of strange people, that's really dangerous. Wouldn't it be better to call the police?" Teito said worriedly.

"I will protect her! Even if it costs me my life!" Seiji said.

"Yes, Seiji is very brave. Even when Shizuo threw him, he didn't run away," Shirou said admiringly of the young man.

"Hey? Are you alright? Speaking of which, your clothes are all torn and bruised too. Aren't you going to the hospital to get it checked out?" It was only then that Teito noticed the abnormality on Seiji's body, believing that there were already bruises all over his clothes.

"I'm fine! As long as I can protect the people I love, that's enough." Seiji looked at the girl, completely unconcerned about his own injuries.

"Love, Seiji said everything he did was for love. The power of love can even make pain disappear, that's amazing," Shirou said.

"No, I don't really understand either," Teito said, wiping his sweat. Although he didn't quite understand, he Shirou not to follow his example. Such love was far too heavy for a stranger.

"Speaking of which, um... so what are you planning to do tonight?" Teito couldn't help but voice his inner doubts. He was also conflicted, you know. If he let them leave but left the girl behind, it felt like he was the one doing something bad.

But if he let them stay here, he probably wouldn't be able to rest all night. But with a girl in the room, is it really okay for him to sleep like this? In the end, can he even fall asleep? Even if he just sleeps on a makeshift bed on the floor, Teito suddenly felt a bit disgusted with his rented room. If it weren't so small, he could rest in a cubicle.

"I'm not going back. I want to stay by her side and protect her until dawn! Even after dawn, we won't be separated!" Seiji said resolutely.

"Eh?" Teito exclaimed in surprise. He was supposed to be a natural friend, but this was too much of a formality.

"Yes, then I'll stay here tonight too. I've already informed Shinra, so I can sleep in the bathtub if I don't want to bother you," Shirou said.

"I don't have any of those fancy things here," Teito said helplessly. His place was just a tiny thirteen-square-meter room; what more could you possibly want?

After a series of silly antics, playful tantrums, and playful banter, the boys eventually drifted off to sleep. Even the cramped space couldn't ward off the sleep demons. Seiji leaned against the headboard where the scarred girl lay, Ryugamine Mikado slumped onto his small desk where his computer was, and Shirou lay down against the wall.

The moonlight of the night peeked through the window at the sleeping boys and girls inside, its transparent glow silently drifting into their ears, entering their brains, and then emerging from the other ear, drifting towards another person.

At 6 a. m., at Yagiri Pharmaceutical.

"Have you found out the boy's identity?" Yagiri Namie asked her subordinate.

Based on the video footage, Yagiri Pharmaceutical immediately took action. In this internet age where everyone has no privacy and is monitored 24/7, large companies certainly have the power to do so.

The man in black replied, "That boy's name is Ryugamine Mikado. He's a first-year high school student from out of town who attends Raira Academy. He lives in a run-down apartment near Ikebukuro Station."

"Dragon Peak? Since she lives in that kind of house, she doesn't seem to come from any prominent family." Namie pondered for a moment, then coldly ordered his subordinates, "Now that we've found her, quickly have those 'subordinates' bring her back."

"In broad daylight, that area would attract attention—" the man in black asked.

"It doesn't matter." Namie interrupted her subordinate without giving a chance to object. As a strong woman, she did not allow anyone to have any objections to her orders.

Yagiri Namie knew that her younger brother was also looking for that brat from Ryūgamine, and it would be bad if something happened to him.

Namie values her younger brother's safety more than the danger of being investigated by the police. As long as he doesn't come from a powerful or wealthy family, she can handle him however she wants, only needing to be professional in the cleanup. Fortunately, the Kiriya family is not short of money, so they don't lack such professionals.

She quickly gave instructions to her subordinates:

"Listen carefully, immediately contact all your 'subordinates.' Regardless of the target or their lives. If things get out of hand, have them deal with them directly."

The black-clad subordinate saw no compassion in her eyes, and, terrified, broke out in a cold sweat. Fearing to anger her, he quickly bowed and replied:

"Yes! I'll take care of it right away!"

Chapter 953 Celty Comes Knocking

In the morning, Ryugamine Mikado woke up with red marks on half of his face from sleeping with his arm under his head.

He suddenly sensed something was wrong, as if someone was moving around outside the door and window, sneaking around trying to peek inside.

The man in black led a group of cleaners to the ground floor of Ryugamine Mikado's rental apartment.

"Is this the place? How many people are inside?"

"That kid should be living alone. Regardless of how many there are, get rid of them all!"

"You stay here and keep watch! You go to the back, don't let them climb out the window."

The man in black gestured to his men, with two men standing on either side of the blue iron gate, and three or four others behind them. They took out handkerchiefs smeared with hallucinogenic fluorocarbon, ropes, and bags to wrap people up, waiting for the door to open so they could force their way in, subdue and tie up the people inside.

Because of the strict orders from above, they had to bring the scarred girl, the experimental animal, back regardless of her life or death. In order to prevent things from escalating, they also had to deal with the other kids.

The boys and girls in the room had already woken up and sensed something was wrong.

When the scarred girl woke up and saw Seiji, she went up to him on her own initiative, as if she trusted him a lot.

Teito's eyes widened, finding this situation somewhat unbelievable. "Didn't you lose your memory? Didn't you not know that girl at all? Why did you hit it off so easily? Why are you spending time together so naturally?" If that's the case, would saying the same lines to Sonohara Anri work?

"What should we do?" Teito pointed outside and asked in a low voice, knowing that it was most likely one of the people from last night who had come looking for them.

"It's alright, I'll protect you. Just stay with me, no matter where we run off to, I'll take good care of you," Seiji said, gazing tenderly at the pitiful, scarred girl.

"..." The girl blushed, but still didn't speak, only nodded.

Seiji smiled for the first time, then took a ballpoint pen out of his bag.

"Anyway, it was launched, right?" Shirou nodded. Perhaps this was what love was. Although he didn't quite understand it, such intense emotion was indeed quite shocking.

"Hey, shouldn't we call the police?"

"No, I don't want to see the police. I'd be better off protecting this child myself," Seiji said, refusing.

"But..." Teito knew that the girl's current situation was awkward, and if they went to the police, it might not necessarily end well.

"Open the door! Open the door! I know you're in there," came a knock from outside.

"What should we do? Is it too late to call the police now?" Teito asked anxiously.

"It's alright, I can take on ten of them," Shirou smiled at Teito, reassuring him.

But how could he possibly feel at ease in this situation? Cold sweat beaded on Teito's forehead as the knocking on the door grew more frequent and intense. The constant banging noise made him feel increasingly anxious and uneasy.

"3, 2, 1. Open the door, then Seiji, you take this child and run away, okay? Let me see just how far your love can go," Shirou said.

"Yes, let's do it this way!" Seiji nodded without hesitation.

"Alright, let's go!" Shirou chuckled and charged forward, kicking over the black-clad man blocking the doorway. He grabbed the arm of the guy holding the stun gun, twisted it, and used the momentum to throw him to the side.

While not possessing the exaggerated strength of Shizuo Heiwajima, who could wrestle with a bear and send it flying, Shirou's physique, enhanced by the Monstrous Strength of a yokai in this world, was ultimately far beyond that of an ordinary human. He single-handedly defeated the cleaning staff who tried to kidnap them, one by one.

"Go, Seiji! Leave this to me and Teito, for your love!" Shirou said, giving the young man a thumbs up.

"Eh! Why did you have to drag me along?!" Teito exclaimed, his mind a complete mess.

However, if he wanted to, he could still do it. Teito grabbed a broom and used one end of the stick to smash the stun gun in the hands of the cleaner who was trying to attack Shirou from behind, knocking it to the ground.

"Ouch!" Yagiri Seiji rammed his body into the man in black blocking his way.

The other person paused for a moment when they saw Seiji's appearance clearly, and after being knocked aside, they forgot to stop him.

"Mr. Seiji?"

Yagiri Seiji clearly didn't recognize the man in black. He ignored him and, while running, comforted the girl, saying:

"Go quickly! Don't worry! I will definitely protect you."

"..." The scarred girl nodded quietly, took Seiji's hand, and ran away with him.

Just then, a black motorcycle came rushing down from below, roaring like a wild beast, and smashed into the sanitation workers on the ground.

The guy on the other side was suddenly leaped high into the Izaya, who kicked him to the ground with both legs and trampled him underfoot.

"Oh! Celty! You've finally arrived." Shirou smiled and waved to the female knight who was rushing downstairs. He had received the message yesterday, so he sent her the address. As for the guy upstairs, he had already tied him up with rope.

"Eh?!" Teito exclaimed in surprise. Could it be that he was betrayed by Shirou from the very beginning? But now that the scarred girl had been taken away by Seiji, he felt a bitter feeling in his heart that he couldn't express.

"What should we do with these people? Of course, I can let them sleep for three days and three nights, that's fine too," Shirou said, pointing to the bound men. He sensed hostility from them, so he didn't hold back.

"Don't leave them here!" Teito protested.

"Well, I'll handle this." Izaya walked over, then stepped on the man in black's head, leaned down, and whispered in his ear with a smile.

"However, I have no interest in selling my trading partners, so please get lost!"

"Damn it! Just you wait!" The man in black, now freed from his ropes, threatened the cleaners, got into his car, and fled in a sorry state.

"Shirou, tell him for me that I was looking for a missing friend, and when I saw her, she suddenly screamed for some reason," Celty said to Shirou through a shadow link, seeing that things were settled.

Shirou nodded, then explained to Teito, "Now let's talk about our situation. Actually, Celty wants to find her head."

"That's not what I said!" Celty angrily smacked Shirou on the head. But in reality, even if she had said that, Teito wouldn't have believed her.

[I want you to tell me about that girl. I just want to confirm whether the head on that child is indeed my lost head.] Celty sighed helplessly and held the phone, which had been typed, in front of Teito.

Seeing the screen, Teito breathed a sigh of relief; at least the other party wasn't uncommunicative.

"Um... can I take a look?" Teito asked softly.

Celty looked at the boy with some surprise, his eyes filled with curiosity mixed with fear, like a child seeking thrills.

"[If you can promise you absolutely won't scream.]" Celty typed, then handed the screen to Teito.

"Yes, please." Teito nodded repeatedly.

So Celty took off his helmet, which was empty inside, with only black smoke emanating from above his neck.

"Thank you... thank you so much." Teito bowed deeply to Celty, his face beaming with a childlike, innocent smile.

[...] Celty was somewhat at a loss for words at the boy's actions. To this day, there are very few humans who can accept her headlessness, let alone laugh like the boy did.

Then Shirou acted as the translator, or rather, the messenger, explaining the matter in detail.

"She doesn't talk much about that girl, but when I brought her here, she said she didn't remember anything," Teito said.

Wait! A flash of inspiration struck the Teito, and he suddenly realized something crucial.

"Please wait a moment, it will take a little time, but everything is under control!" Ryugamine Mikado said as he sat down and turned on his computer. He turned on the computer very skillfully, his fingers flying as he quickly logged into the website and entered several account names, just like a legendary hacker.

Chapter 954 The Truth About the Head-Swapping Girl

The Headless Woman, The Headless Knight, Yagiri, The Pharmaceutical Company, The Missing Girl, Akane Mika, Sonohara Anri's Explanation, Yagiri Seiji, Human Traffickers, DOLLARS.

Connecting all the events together, a glint of light flashed in the boy's eyes, as if he had found a common thread among these different things.

In the old apartment, Ryugamine Mikado had already connected the computer, which he had just turned on, to the internet and quickly typed in a password at an astonishing speed. After logging into a website, he simply held the mouse with one hand and manipulated it rhythmically.

After browsing for a while, Teito turned to face the two of them.

Celty was startled. The Teito's gaze was no longer that of the boy who had just been dancing to the tune of his surroundings. Like an eagle spotting its prey, he looked at the two with unfathomable yet honest eyes, then lowered his head.

The person before her was completely different from the cowardly student from before, leaving Celty in a state of confusion.

Celty stared at Teito in surprise, wondering what he was up to. Beside her, Izaya's gaze sharpened, his eyes gleaming like a hunter spotting a rare beast.

"To be honest, I was still a bit skeptical at first..." Izaya looked at Teito, whose demeanor had suddenly changed completely, and his eyes revealed a glint of interest in someone.

"I told you, the Teito is very strong, you know," Shirou said with a smile. As a dream-like youkai, he was more sensitive to humans than Celty the Headless Knight. Although he was not good at human relationships, he could clearly distinguish different auras among humans.

The girls he befriends have an aura of being good at socializing; Seiji has an aura of strong vitality; and people like Teito, Anri, and Masaomi have the aura of being strong.

Teito is using the advanced internet to investigate related matters, searching for rumors related to missing or abducted girls. If necessary, he can also use hacking techniques to infiltrate company databases for investigation. He possesses top-tier skills in this area nationwide.

Teito's first encounter with computers was due to the technological wave of the new era, but it was also partly due to his good friend Kida Masaomi, who moved to Tokyo after graduating from elementary school. Although the two were separated due to transferring schools, they had kept in touch because Teito's family had a computer with internet access when he was still in elementary school, and their friendship was so good that they chatted online almost every day. Although they hadn't seen each other for a long time, their friendship hadn't faded, and the moment they met in Tokyo, it felt like they had met at home just yesterday.

Teito could have chosen to attend a high school in his hometown, but he came to Tokyo because he had longed for city life since he was a child, and was influenced by the descriptions of the bustling and colorful metropolis that Kida Masaomi had made in online chats.

Although he appears to be just a naive and thin first-year high school student, he is actually managing an online community with hundreds of thousands of members. This is a website that he created in junior high school out of curiosity and for fun. The community is called DOLLARS, meaning colorless and transparent, without rules or constraints. These are the most basic rules, and the members basically don't know each other.

The only requirement is to use the DOLLARS name afterward. Perhaps it is this free style that has attracted many people. At first, there were only a few people, but gradually the influence has grown. The members range from students to the elderly, covering all age groups, with all sorts of people joining, making the number huge.

Even some well-known figures in Tokyo joined in, seemingly forming what people called a gang of thugs. There were some intimidating-looking guys operating under the Dollars name. Those who initially helped manage the website felt the pressure or, for other reasons, left one after another.

Thus, Teito became the most senior figure on the website. Although many people had never met him in person, they vaguely regarded him as the leader of the entire group. When necessary, he could also issue orders to the members of the community, not by force, but simply to request help from those who were willing to assist.

In front of the sixth research lab located underground at Yagiri Pharmaceutical's research institute, a chilling voice resonated through the air:

"You're saying they got away? And some people were even arrested? You seven or eight people couldn't handle a few high school students?"

"I'm very sorry! But one of those high school students had some training, and later the black motorcycle and that information broker named Izaya Orihara also showed up. And... the person who took the girl away was Mr. Seiji," the man in black reported.

"What... Seiji, why is he hanging out with those guys?" After hearing his subordinate's report, Namie couldn't help but frown.

Speaking of Izaya Orihara, his reputation isn't great. Generally speaking, the high school students who associate with him are not good people. They're either leaders of violent gangs, petty thieves, or bad guys who bring drugs into the school and spread them around. Although you can say that minors are young and ignorant, the crimes they commit are so heinous that even being executed a hundred times wouldn't be enough to atone for them.

And then there's the black motorcycle. I never expected that something related to the head would come knocking on our door so quickly.

"With so many of you, can't you even take them all out?!" Namie clicked his tongue in frustration.