Earthquake Catfish

The next day.

"Akihi Yu, come with me for a moment."

"Alright."

The homeroom teacher coming to call him personally caught Akihi Yu off guard as he prepared to eat his bento, though he already had a guess in his mind.

"Akihi-kun, there's no need to be nervous."

"Just answer whatever they ask you."

When the teacher pushed open the door to the small conference room, Sure enough, two policewomen in uniform were sitting inside.

One was a short-haired officer who looked like a fresh graduate, still carrying the scholarly air of a student with a hint of apprehension in her eyes; the other was a mature officer who appeared far more capable and composed, clearly the one in charge.

?

Appropriately displaying a look of 'surprise,' Akihi Yu froze at the doorway until the mature officer smiled, stood up, and gestured for him to approach.

"Akihi Yu-kun?"

"Please, come and sit."

"Ah, right. Okay."

Like a normal student suddenly encountering the police, Akihi Yu sat down stiffly in front of the two officers, subconsciously glancing at his homeroom teacher.

"Teacher Yuanzhu, please rest assured, we will not make things difficult for this student."

"Could you give us some space?"

The two policewomen could tell at a glance that the homeroom teacher cared deeply for this student.

This was not surprising: the student named 'Akihi Yu' before them was handsome, his school uniform was neat, and he radiated the aura of a 'model student.' Coupled with what they had learned previously, his grades were also excellent. Any normal teacher would be fond of such a student.

Especially in a public school where delinquents were everywhere.

"Very well."

Since the police had spoken, the homeroom teacher could only nod, leave the small conference room, and pull the door shut.

"Now then, let's begin."

The two policewomen took out a digital recorder, as well as a pen and paper.

"Akihi Yu-kun, do you know Yamamoto Yagi?"

As expected.

"Ah, Yamamoto-kun?"

"Yes, I know him."

Akihi Yu was stunned for a moment, then nodded, and immediately spoke with hesitation.

"But Yamamoto-kun hasn't come to school for three days."

"It is precisely to investigate this issue that we are here,"

The mature officer interrupted Akihi Yu, firmly seizing the initiative.

"Akihi-kun, when was the last time you saw Yamamoto-kun?"

"It was in the third-floor boys' restroom."

"You see, due to family reasons, I have recently become a target for bullying by certain students..."

There was nothing to hide regarding these matters. Akihi Yu recounted his previous experiences point by point, his tone flat, devoid of resentment or anger, carrying only a faint sense of helplessness.

What was the point of bickering with a dead man?

However, the problems Yamamoto left behind were somewhat of a nuisance.

"...That is how it happened. I pushed them aside and ran out of the restroom, just in time to run into the class representative, Ai Nao."

After simply describing the events of that day, Akihi Yu asked with hesitation once more:

"Has something happened to Yamamoto-kun?"

Such a reaction was normal; for police to be alerted and visit the school, it certainly couldn't be a simple matter.

One had to know that the Japanese police handled over thirty thousand 'missing persons cases' every year, eighty percent of which resolved themselves within a week.

The rest... would be found much later in places like Aokigahara, Tojinbo, or on train tracks; or they would fall into the hands of the yakuza and vanish without a trace. It had only been three days; given the speed at which the Japanese police usually opened cases, they shouldn't have been investigating this quickly.

The two policewomen exchanged a glance but did not answer Akihi Yu's confusion.

"Akihi-kun, thank you for your cooperation."

The mature officer stood up and took the initiative to extend her right hand.

"Ah, you're too kind."

He shook her hand, marking the end of the conversation.

Yamamoto was just a nobody; the real issue must be those three adults from outside the school.

Standing in the corridor, watching the two police officers leave below, Akihi Yu stroked his chin.

Those three hoodlums were peripheral members of the Broken Tooth Gang, which was the very reason the police were investigating so aggressively: in fact, it was precisely because of them that Akihi Yu had decided to use the Broken Tooth Gang as his first target.

It seems the police still have far too much manpower to spare.

Lowering his eyes, Akihi Yu walked toward his classroom; at the same time, two crows on the roof silently spread their wings and took flight.

"Senior,"

"Why are we investigating a delinquent who has only been missing for three days?"

Inside the departing police car, the young policewoman couldn't help but speak up.

Her name was Kawai Mai, and having just joined the Adachi Ward police station this year, she was a low-ranking patrol officer.

Disappearances were nothing out of the ordinary in this country!

Especially for a delinquent like the target, "Yamamoto"—it was perfectly normal for him to run off to a friend's house for a week or two without contacting his parents.

"It's different,"

The mature policewoman driving the car shook her head slightly.

"The target, 'Yamamoto,' is linked to the Broken Tooth Gang, and it is said that behind the Broken Tooth Gang lies a major case that has shaken the entire nation."

Although she was called "Senior," the mature policewoman, Fuji Seiko, was merely a police sergeant and had no idea about the inside story: unlike high-achievers like Iori Ichika, who had passed the Type I civil service exam and been parachuted in as an assistant police inspector, she had graduated from high school and spent five years grinding out her seniority to reach the rank of sergeant—the standard promotion path for an ordinary person.

"Next, we are heading to Imperial Sakura School to gather information from that Akihi Yu's younger sister."

?!

The crow perched on the police car tilted its head, a flash of red light crossing its eyes.

"Imperial Sakura School, I'm so envious."

The young policewoman Kawai Mai clasped her hands together, her face full of longing.

"Students who graduate from there can directly take the national Type II civil service ex—"

Rumble~~~

???

A violent tremor suddenly erupted from below, and the police car—no, every vehicle moving on the road—lost all control.

Car after car skidded across the concrete, leaving behind twisted, charred tracks! The sounds of screeching brakes, collisions, honking horns, and sirens erupted in a chaotic symphony!

"Ah, Senior! This is—"

"An earthquake?"

Earthquakes were nothing out of the ordinary for this country, or for Tokyo.

Tokyo experienced forty earthquakes with noticeable tremors every year; while magnitude 4 or 5 quakes weren't exactly daily occurrences, they were certainly not rare.

"Watch out!"

While shouting a warning to her junior, the mature policewoman slammed the steering wheel, aiming to crash into a fire hydrant by the side of the road.

Bang!!

With a dull thud, the police car slammed into the hydrant, which began to leak a bubbling stream of water.

"Cough, cough,"

A few seconds later, the doors were pushed open. Having unbuckled their seatbelts and pushed aside the airbags, the two policewomen crawled out of the mangled police car.

"What is the Meteorological Agency doing? They didn't even detect such an obvious earthquake?"

The young policewoman's hat had vanished, and she rubbed her shoulder while complaining.

The emergency braking just now had nearly snapped her neck.

"Earthquakes aren't that easy to—"

The mature policewoman stopped mid-sentence, frozen in place.

Because:

Boom!!

Amidst the violent shaking, a building nearby suddenly "bulged" upward, cracks spreading across its walls like a spiderweb.

The next second, the human structure crumbled to pieces like a dry biscuit!

"What... is that?!"

As dust poured down like a waterfall and earth and stone flew, a massive monster emerged from the ruins.

It was a black, fish-like creature with a huge, flat head. Its gaping mouth revealed two rows of sharp teeth, and two long "whiskers" swayed like giant pythons. On its back, it carried a vermilion torii gate wrapped in a white shimenawa rope.

"Get back—"

Having just recovered from her shock, the mature policewoman shouted a warning to her junior, but it was already too late.

Bang!

A piece of flying building debris slammed into the young policewoman's head.

Amidst a spray of fresh blood, the young policewoman collapsed without a sound.

???

"Mai! You damn monster!"

Seeing her adorable junior fall into a pool of blood, rage surged to the mature policewoman's brain. Without a second thought, she drew the handgun from her waist.

Forget the investigations, the regulations, the consequences.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Go to hell, all of you!

The bullets whistled through the air, all finding their mark.

Yet, the monster that had burrowed out from underground didn't even "glance" at her.

Its hill-like body lurched forward, crushing a house like a biscuit amidst a thunderous roar, and then:

The fish-shaped monster twisted its body, and as if it were swimming in water, its massive frame began to "sink" into the ruins.

"Monster! Monster, mon—"

Her sharpest weapon was utterly useless. The mature policewoman felt the rage stifled in her chest, and she lowered her muzzle with a tremor.

Was she expected to draw her baton and engage in hand-to-hand combat with this mountain-sized monster?

Pshhh.

Just then, a hissing sound came from the ruins.

Invisible gas stirred the dust and smoke, carving a turbulent trail through the air.

A natural gas pipeline?

Before the mature policewoman could react, a sudden flash of light blinded her.

BOOM~~~

A single spark expanded violently.

The spark ignited the leaking natural gas, finally manifesting into a roaring, flaming skull.

"Ke-ke-ke-ke-ke-ke~~"

Amidst the ear-piercing laughter, the giant flaming skull stretched its "body," manifesting skeletal arms and legs.

"What kind of monster is this time?"

She instinctively raised her handgun again. The oncoming heatwave instantly parched her throat, and her hair began to wither and singe. Although her identity as a "police officer" kept her standing there, what could she possibly do?

Bullets had been useless against that "big fish"; could they possibly be effective against this skull clearly composed of "fire"?

Just as the mature policewoman felt despair, a white mist surged toward her.

What is this?

The mist arrived so abruptly, like a rolling curtain, swallowing the city, the roads, and the buildings whole.

Immediately after, a "figure" walked over.