The police officers had left.
Only after the scent of the four police officers had completely faded did Tanimura Wataru finally relax.
"Mmmph, mmmph~~"
The girl in his hands struggled again, but with her ordinary strength, she was not even a kitten in front of Tanimura Wataru.
"Listen, I'll let you go."
"But you can't scream. Understand?"
After the girl, whose mouth was covered by one hand, nodded, Tanimura Wataru released his hand as promised.
"Hah~ huff~~"
The girl indeed did not try to scream for help. Instead, after catching her breath, she turned her head in surprise to look at the window.
"This is the third floor!"
"How did you get up here?"
...
Hey, now's not the time to talk about this, right?
Facing the girl, who was excited amidst her surprise, Tanimura Wataru couldn't help but feel speechless.
The girl he had released quickly walked to the window and stuck her head out to look.
"There's no ladder, how magical—"
Swish.
Just as she turned her head back, a sharp claw, like a dagger, stopped in front of the girl's eyes, stuffing her excited words back down her throat.
"Curiosity killed the cat."
"Haven't you ever thought that I might kill you?"
Looking at the girl before him, whose face had stiffened and was now trembling under his threat, Tanimura Wataru sighed internally and finally lowered his fingers.
"This world is not as beautiful as you imagine. The consequence of seeking excitement is to be shattered to pieces."
"Forget everything that's happening now. Studying hard is what you should be doing."
"What, you sound just like my dad..."
The girl muttered in a low voice, and the familiar words made Tanimura Wataru's expression change.
"I'm sorry!"
Seeing that the man with a full beard in front of her looked unhappy, the girl with a hime-style haircut quickly put her hands together and apologized.
"Do you, do you want money? I only have a few thousand in allowance..."
Seemingly realizing that the person in front of her was not a 'good person', the girl clumsily took out her pink wallet.
"...No, you don't need to apologize."
"And I don't want your money."
Lowering his eyes, Tanimura Wataru's tone was softer than it had been since he obtained 'demonic power'.
She's like...
So much like her.
The girl in front of him was very similar to his sister, Tanimura Akemi.
Of course, as her brother, Tanimura Wataru could still tell the difference between the two at a glance.
But... whether it was her tone or her actions, they made him feel a sense of恍惚.
Even this straightforward personality was exactly the same as 'Akemi's'.
"I'm the one who broke into your home. I should be the one to apologize."
He walked to the window and paused.
The burly Tanimura Wataru turned his head again.
"During this time, Tokyo will be very unsafe. Don't go out at night, and don't leave the windows open."
Swish.
After speaking,
he leaped out of the window again.
He landed lightly in the alley, pulled his hood, and his figure flashed and disappeared into the night.
As for whether the other party would call the police, Tanimura Wataru didn't really care.
To put it bluntly, the reason he was hiding from the police was just that he didn't want to cause trouble, not that he was afraid of them.
Ordinary small handguns were no threat to him.
...
"What a weirdo."
Looking down from the window, the girl with the traditional hime-style... or 'princess head' hairstyle, muttered, but still obediently closed the window and began to study.
She looked like a normal high school girl, at least in the eyes of Tanimura Wataru, who was observing from the shadows.
Enjoy your youth.
A girl who looks like 'Akemi'.
"Yes!"
"The first step of the plan is a success!"
In a certain floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department in Chiyoda Ward, Superintendent General Takeya punched the air heavily.
On the surveillance screen, Tanimura Wataru's departing figure clearly appeared, as well as his final glance and the silent opening and closing of his lips.
This was a specially created office for the 'Collar Plan'. All personnel had undergone layers of screening. Their ancestors for three generations were all from the island nation, and they had no private connections with any foreigners—or to be more direct, with Americans.
These personnel included psychologists, micro-expression experts, lip-reading masters...
They had only one thing to do, which was to analyze every word and action of the person named 'Tanimura Wataru', then build a psychological model to 'predict' his next move.
"Don't get too happy yet, Superintendent General."
Beside him, Iori Ichika habitually poured cold water on her superior.
"This is just the first contact. We're still far from success."
"Ichika, has anyone ever told you that if you spoke a little less, you would have been promoted long ago?"
"Yes, you said that last time you demoted me, Superintendent General."
Iori Ichika, with her biker gang big sister look, answered without any scruples, making even her own superior shake his head.
Although he also admitted Ichika's ability, this mouth... she really brought her demotion upon herself!
"Anyway, 'Akemi' and the other party have successfully made contact and were not killed on the spot. This is undoubtedly a great victory, and it's all thanks to you, Ichika!"
"You're too kind, Superintendent General."
Looking at this room filled with various photos of 'Tanimura Wataru', countless surveillance screens constantly tracking the figure moving through the city, and the 'Akemi' who was seriously doing her homework, as the proposer of the plan, Iori Ichika still couldn't help but feel a sense of awe at the power of the state.
That's right.
All of this was a 'play' arranged by the Metropolitan Police Department.
Whether it was those Zanshi-gumi members who were forcefully trapped in place, the electricians repairing the sewer lines, or the routes of the patrol officers...
It was all a carefully arranged stage, to create a place for the 'male and female protagonists' to meet!
Tanimura Wataru and 'Akemi'!
The dead cannot be resurrected, at least the island nation's government did not have that ability.
But to find a girl who was seven, or even nine, parts similar to 'Tanimura Akemi' was not a problem.
In the face of the fully operational state machinery, it was truly like searching mountains and seas. In a short period of time, they found a girl with facial features similar to 'Akemi's'.
Driven by the great cause of the nation, the girl readily agreed, followed by intensive rehearsals and various precautions. Although in the eyes of professionals, the girl's performance just now was full of flaws, the person she had to face was not some seasoned actor, but a university student who had suddenly obtained supernatural power.
"Perhaps this kind of naive acting is closer to reality?"
"That makes sense. A performance that is too crafty might backfire..."
Several performance experts were discussing. Since being informed of their work, they had cut off all contact with the outside world, and at the same time, they understood the importance of their work.
That was a 'yokai'... no, it should be called a 'supernatural being'!
Once out of control, with the other party's destructive power, it would immediately cause huge casualties.
So they couldn't let go of any detail, any expression, and strived to make the other party submit in a 'gentle' way.
That girl, 'Akemi',
was the 'collar' prepared by the government for Tanimura Wataru.
With Tanimura Wataru's current vigilance and hostility towards the government, rash contact would only lead to a fight. If hard tactics didn't work, then they would use soft tactics. Everyone has a weakness, and Tanimura Wataru's weakness was undoubtedly his sister.
The real Tanimura Akemi was already dead, so they would 'create' another one for him!
"Tanimura Wataru has returned underground."
Around the sewer manhole covers in the entire Adachi Ward, a large number of cameras had been urgently installed.
In the battle at Kita-Senju Town 1-chome before, Tanimura Wataru's bloodstains had disappeared at the sewer entrance. The reason the government hadn't sent people down to search was that they were waiting for the other party to show himself.
This time, they not only wanted Tanimura Wataru to work for the government, but also to use him to secretly investigate the supernatural beings lurking in the island nation!
On the side of Kita-Senju Town, experienced experts had already discovered a second battlefield:
Traces of Tanimura Wataru's battle with other 'supernatural beings'!
Originally, the government thought that the supernatural being who created the fog was Tanimura Wataru's companion, covering his escape.
But from the traces, it seemed that the other party was actually after Tanimura Wataru! And from the traces left behind, it was clear that Tanimura Wataru had suffered a great loss.
Even combined with the crash of the American Black Hawk helicopters, it was possible that there were even more supernatural beings involved at the scene!
In this case, it was even more necessary to investigate clearly what those unknown supernatural beings were planning.