Chapter 10 The Mark of Death
This isn't the first time Tsukino and Chiya have explained to people what a "mark" really is.
Something like this happened on a certain day in the past.
At that time, Wangma Xiaoji had only been taken in by Qianye for a short time and was still in a state of "recovery" and was forced to stay in bed.
The purple-haired boy leaned back against the pillows behind him. Because he had spent most of his time in bed these days, he was no longer wearing his favorite white straitjacket, but had changed into a comfortable set of pajamas.
Without the black and white checkered scarf to block the view, everyone who saw Wang Ma Xiaoji could easily see the mark below his neck.
—A scarlet mark on the collarbone, like a vicious claw mark left by some brutal beast.
Sunlight streamed through the glass window, falling on the pale-faced boy lying on the bedroom bed. Caught off guard by the sudden glare, the boy, whose face was bloodless but whose demeanor remained composed, instinctively squinted and shielded his eyes from the obstructing light.
The next second, with a "whoosh," the curtains were immediately and considerately drawn shut, thus blocking out the sunlight.
"Such a thing has existed before."
After drawing the curtains, Tsukino and Chiya casually pulled out the chairs in front of the table, placed them next to the bed, and sat down.
"However, unlike the one on your body, the previous mark looked like it was torn apart by a wild animal."
"Most of those people were marked by strange creatures that lingered in the vicinity after they stumbled into some haunted places. If they fail to remove the mark, the 'marked person' will die in oblivion."
"Forget what you were doing before, forget where you have been, forget your relatives and friends, forget your address, even forget who you are... and then die in the confusion and fear of forgetting everything."
After he finished speaking, the room became eerily quiet because no one responded.
The sunlight was mostly blocked by the heavy curtains, and in the dimly lit room, two boys of similar age sat in silence.
Perhaps because of the dim lighting indoors, Wang Ma Xiaoji's purple eyes were unfathomable and difficult to decipher.
After a while, as if startled awake, the purple-haired boy suddenly exclaimed "Ah!" and widened his eyes in realization: "Weren't we playing a game where whoever speaks first loses? So we're actually taking turns telling ghost stories in a dark room?"
Wang Ma Xiaoji clenched his fists with great enthusiasm: "Alright! I'll bet on the name of Xiaoyueye's grandfather, I absolutely won't lose!"
"No, we're not having a ghost story competition. And if you're going to bet, bet your grandfather's name."
Tsukino and Chiya spoke patiently.
"I just wanted to say... although this mark looks different from the marks I've heard of before, it's most likely left by an anomaly."
"I'm not sure what effect this mark will have yet, but it's clear that if it's not removed in time..."
His voice sounded softer than before, but it was still clearly audible in the already quiet room: "You will die."
Wang Ma Xiaoji: "..."
Wangma Xiaoji: "...Oh, he's surprisingly strong. Am I going to lose?"
Tsukino and Chiya: "This isn't a ghost story contest, Kindaichi."
"Really? But for patients, being suddenly given a critical condition notice is probably the scariest ghost story ever."
Wang Ma Xiaoji smiled and let himself sink into the soft cushions, letting out a satisfied sigh.
"However, this kind of calm and ruthless approach—directly exposing the most cruel aspects to people and forcing them to confront them—is exactly what our evil secret society needs. I admire you, you know. So, Kozuki, how about becoming my subordinate?"
Tsukino and Chiya seemed to think for a few seconds: "Well, I don't have any plans to get involved with evil organizations for the time being. More than that..."
The black-haired boy continued, "You're calmer than I expected."
"Because I am the mastermind of evil, life-or-death crises are commonplace for me. I used to live a life of constant danger, where people I knew could be killed at any time."
Wang Ma Xiaoji shrugged and accepted the "calm" assessment without any modesty.
"In short, I think I understand what Kazuha Kozuki wanted to say."
"I..." he paused slightly, "...I'm going to die."
"—Anyway, that's how it is. Okay, I understand the background. So, let's get to the main point: how do we remove this mark?"
Tsukino and Chiya didn't ask each other how they knew things weren't at their worst. Instead, upon hearing the question, they nodded slightly and replied, "Simply put, as long as we deal with the anomaly that left the mark, the mark will disappear, and we'll be saved."
Wang Ma Xiaoji tilted his head: "Us?"
“That’s right,” Tsukino and Chiya admitted. “After bringing you back, I discovered that I had an extra mark on my body. The location of the mark is very similar to yours... but my mark is on my back near my neck, and it’s currently covered by my clothes.”
In other words, although the mark was in a place where it could be seen without removing any clothing, ... due to the limitations of the hoodies worn by Tsukino and Chiya, if they wanted to see it clearly, they would have to pull open the back of the collar at a closer distance.
So after saying that, Tsukino and Chiya were subtly silent for a few seconds before continuing.
"Do you... need to confirm this?"
*******
That's pretty much it.
The street was not a good place to talk, so after obtaining the consent of Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji, Tsukino and Chiya led them to a bar downstairs from the Inokami Detective Agency.
This tavern was said to have originally been run by a friend of Yin Shen Gu Yaqian, but now that it has lost its owner, it is almost deserted.
Tsukino and Chiya weren't entirely clear on the details, but they knew that Hidden God wouldn't mind using the tavern for a while.
Moreover, the agency usually only attracts monsters and humans related to monsters. Now that they have come to an empty tavern, they don't have to worry about being disturbed by outsiders.
This is a great place for conversation.
After seeing the mark on Wang Ma Xiaoji's collarbone, the two police officers quickly agreed to discuss the matter in a different place, and then followed Qianye and the others there.
Should we say these two police officers were highly skilled and daring, or simply perceptive? But whatever the case, that's not the point right now.
The key point is—
"You mean the mark on my body was left by a monster, and if it's not dealt with quickly, it could be life-threatening?" Matsuda Jinpei summarized the current situation in a few words. He didn't explicitly express whether he believed it or not, but simply asked, "How long have the marks on your bodies been there?"
“Actually…” Tsukino and Chiya coughed lightly, “it’s been more than a year already.”
Before Oma Kokichi's body recovered, Tsukino and Chiya went alone to the place where they first met—Chiya was very sure that the place where she was marked was there.
Unfortunately, he went several times but returned empty-handed. Later, Wang Ma Xiaoji also came a few times, but still found nothing unusual.
As time went by, Tsukino and Chiya were not very clear about Ohma Kokichi's actions... but he did go to some places with supernatural rumors, but unfortunately he still did not find any clues related to the mark.
Fortunately, neither of them had any physical or mental problems. If Qianye hadn't been so sure that the mark was definitely not a good thing, the mark, which had remained completely still all along, would have looked like nothing more than a decoration.
But that's impossible. That mark is just lying dormant, ready to reveal its hideous and terrifying true nature at any moment.
Then--
“…Not long ago, we suddenly sensed the presence of the mark,” Tsukino and Chiya said. “It was a very strange feeling; the mark, which had been completely silent as if it didn’t exist, suddenly revealed its presence. And at that moment, I clearly realized—”
"My death is imminent."
That's why Tsukino and Chiya made a last-minute appointment to meet today, in order to try to investigate the "Ghost Painter" who has been getting a lot of attention lately.
Yesterday, Tsukino and Chiya, who were staying in their dorm, did not slack off. They meticulously investigated information related to "Ghost Painter" online.
If they hadn't accidentally seen the mark on Matsuda Jinpei's body, they might have already arrived at the doorstep of Saiyama Eiichiro's house, which seemed to resemble the style of the ghost painter.
However, this is not necessarily a bad thing, because they can now easily find locations that might be related to the supernatural from Matsuda Jinpei's recent itinerary, which is obviously more convenient.
“That’s it.” While Tsukino and Chiya were explaining, Ohma Kokichi, who had been unusually quiet, added, “So if you don’t want to die, hurry up and tell us what strange places you’ve been to recently, old man.”
“…Uncle?!” Matsuda Jinpei’s brow twitched. “What an unlovable brat.”
"Well, well." Kenji Hagiwara reached out and patted Jinpei Matsuda on the shoulder. "So, Jinpei, what do you think about what those two boys were saying just now?"
"This one..."
When the conversation turned to serious matters, Matsuda Jinpei immediately became serious.
"Although it does sound quite far-fetched, but..."
Even though it was hard to believe, Matsuda Jinpei did realize that something unusual seemed to have happened.
“Because on our way to the tavern, I actually experienced… that kind of premonition from the mark, that ‘dying is coming’ feeling that you just mentioned.”
Recalling how he felt at that time, a bead of cold sweat slid down Matsuda Jinpei's forehead.
"This is hardly a pleasant experience."
A note from the author:
----------------------
When Chiya said, "This has happened before," she was referring to the plot of Death Seal. [cat emoji]
The police academy group survived thanks to the butterfly effect caused by the crossover anime. I might not go into the details of how they survived, but they just did (lol).
Hagiwara: What exactly is this feeling you're talking about?
Matsuda: It's basically just losing sanity.
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