The light of dusk spilled over Natsuki City, draping the metropolis in a coat of dim, yellowish hue.
On the utility poles, sparrows chirped noisily, curiously watching the pedestrians passing below before fluttering off into the sky.
A cool, crisp breeze blew gently, drifting leaves leisurely toward the earth.
Tsukiyomi Ruri held down her skirt to prevent it from blowing up and exposing her.
They had now left the café and were heading back toward the Mental Hospital. Although they no longer needed to stay there, they still had to return and pick up their belongings.
It wasn’t long before the Mental Hospital loomed before them.
Upon entering, Tsukiyomi Ruri and the others discovered a large group of orderlies frantically searching everywhere. Even Mizuhashi Tetsukotsu, in his white lab coat, was looking around for something.
“Dad, what are you searching for?” Mizuhashi Yuzuki walked over and asked curiously.
Mizuhashi Tetsukotsu turned to see his daughter and said helplessly, “Today, the police brought someone in for a psychiatric evaluation. We’d barely finished the assessment when this person just vanished. We have no idea where she went.”
“A new mental patient?” Mizuhashi Yuzuki asked.
“No.” Mizuhashi Tetsukotsu shook his head. “After our examination, that yankee girl turned out to be a perfectly normal person.”
“If she’s normal, why run?” Mizuhashi Yuzuki wondered aloud.
“That’s something you’d have to ask her yourself,” Mizuhashi Tetsukotsu said, spreading his hands.
A yankee girl?
For some reason, upon hearing this, Tsukiyomi Ruri felt an odd sense of déjà vu.
After a moment of thought, she asked, “Uncle Mizuhashi, do you have a photo of this person? We could help look for her.”
“I do have a photo, but your help won’t be necessary.” Despite his words, Mizuhashi Tetsukotsu pulled out a file containing a picture of the subject.
When their gazes fell upon the photo, all four members of the Urban Legend Club were left speechless.
They knew this person.
It was the Ane-go from the Yankee Gang!
Tsukiyomi Ruri rubbed her temple. She hadn’t expected that girl, of all people, to show up again. Why would she be brought in for a psychiatric evaluation? Regardless, since the evaluation result was “no mental illness,” that should have been a good thing. So why had she run?
“Director! Director!” Someone came running over in a hurry.
“What is it?” Mizuhashi Tetsukotsu turned and asked.
“Gounon is also missing! We can’t find him,” the person quickly reported.
Gounon was missing too?
Mizuhashi Tetsukotsu’s eyes widened. “Can’t find him? What about the surveillance footage?”
“We were already pulling it up while searching for that yankee girl. We should have something soon,” the person replied.
“Hurry, let’s go check,” Mizuhashi Tetsukotsu said and rushed off.
Tsukiyomi Ruri and the other three exchanged bewildered looks.
However, this matter likely had nothing to do with them… As if!
“Why would Gounon disappear? And why would the Ane-go, who’s been cleared of mental illness, run away? Why? I’m quite curious,” Izumi Shirayuki said, her purple eyes sparkling.
The other three: “…”
‘This is bad. We were just about to leave, but now we might have to stay again.’
Tsukiyomi Ruri thought helplessly.
“Don’t get curious. With the surveillance footage, this should be sorted out quickly,” Mizuhashi Yuzuki said, tugging at Izumi Shirayuki. Then, leaning closer, she whispered, “Let’s deal with that Fukuyama Shoichi first.”
Since Fukuyama Shoichi had already been processed for discharge, even though he was gone, others would just assume he’d left on his own.
Hearing Mizuhashi Yuzuki’s words, Izumi Shirayuki nodded.
The group returned to their room.
Shortly afterwards, Izumi Shirayuki excused herself to leave the room, taking the key Mizuhashi Yuzuki had given her to go to the place where Fukuyama Shoichi was being held.
Opening the door, the dim light spilling into the room made Izumi Shirayuki freeze.
“Why is the window broken?”
She looked over in surprise. The bars on the window had been broken off.
Her eyes quickly scanned the rest of the room, and her brow furrowed.
Fukuyama Shoichi was gone.
The window bars were broken, and Fukuyama Shoichi was gone. What did that suggest?
Had Fukuyama Shoichi escaped on his own?
Izumi Shirayuki thought this possibility was slim. After all, Fukuyama Shoichi was genuinely a Mid-Level Reincarnator. Under her Absolute Freeze, he should have been trapped for a long time with absolutely no ability to free himself.
That meant someone else had come and rescued him?
Was it other members of the Flame Bird Group?
Regardless, Fukuyama Shoichi’s disappearance was bad news. Izumi Shirayuki promptly sent messages to Mizuhashi Yuzuki and Inoue Keiko, explaining the situation.
Mizuhashi Yuzuki’s reply came quickly: “Fukuyama Shoichi is gone too? How can this be? And he’s gone, Gounon is gone, that Yankee boss girl ran away… Could there be a connection?”
“So this might not even be related to Reincarnators?” Inoue Keiko speculated.
Seeing Inoue Keiko’s message, a thought struck Mizuhashi Yuzuki. She secretly sent a message to The Faceless, asking about the Flame Bird Group.
Tsukiyomi Ruri hadn’t yet recalled her Faceless persona. The Faceless was still hidden in the shadows, holding Tsukiyomi Ruri’s other smartphone.
Seeing Mizuhashi Yuzuki’s message, Tsukiyomi Ruri had The Faceless reply: “Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the only remaining member of the Flame Bird Group now is a man named Fukuyama Shoichi.”
When Tsukiyomi Ruri, as The Faceless, had confronted Hino Kaoru in the sewer, Hino Kaoru had mentioned that the group now only consisted of herself and one other person. Since Hino Kaoru hadn’t known Fukuyama Shoichi was captured, the other person she referred to must have been him.
Seeing the message from The Faceless, Mizuhashi Yuzuki breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as no other Reincarnators were involved, that was fine. Perhaps someone had accidentally discovered the frozen Fukuyama Shoichi and taken him away? The person who took him was probably either Gounon or the Ane-go.
Mizuhashi Yuzuki shared her thoughts with Inoue Keiko and Izumi Shirayuki, then asked Izumi Shirayuki: “Senpai, how long can your ability keep a Mid-Level Reincarnator frozen?”
Izumi Shirayuki replied: “Without intervention from a Senior Reincarnator, he can be frozen for at least a week.”
Seeing this message, Mizuhashi Yuzuki was completely relieved.
Now, they just had to find the target within a week.
“We need to investigate this thoroughly. The priority is to find out where these people went. Yuzuki, go check with your dad to see if the surveillance footage turned up anything,” Izumi Shirayuki sent in a message.
“Okay,” Mizuhashi Yuzuki replied, and promptly excused herself to leave the room.
