Chapter Forty: Fire Bullet:

So much can happen in three days.

-Thirteen Years Ago-

Undisclosed French countryside

A young kuda-gitsune lay injured next to her father’s body. He had just taken his last breath. For days, hunters chased them down. One of them finally got them. She shed big tears.

“Papa,” she whimpered. “Papa!” She looked up when a shadow cast over her and the body. Haruka stood over them, looking down. The little kuda-gitsune broke down trembling.

“No, go away!” she cried. “We can’t take anymore!” To her surprise, the old lady reached down and pet her.

“Who did this to you?” Haruka asked. The kuda-gitsune’s lower lip quivered.

“Hunters,” she said. “They chased us down days and killed Papa.” Tears ran down her tiny face. “They laughed as they killed Papa!” Haruka wiped away her tears.

“Do you want revenge?” she asked. The little kuda-gitsune gave her a puzzled look.

“What?” she asked.

“Do you want to avenge your father?”

The little kuda-gitsune sniffled. “Yes.”

Haruka held out her hand. “Come with me.” The child took her hand with big eyes.

-Present Day-

6:00 a.m.

Shun and two other shinigami began another day on the Eda-Kimoto clan case. Since Mid-June, they made steady progress. In fact, they planned to make the arrest today.

“Tsuzuki was too wrapped up in Anna,” one of them, Aoba, said. “No wonder he couldn’t solve this sooner.” Shun’s eyes shifted left and right.

“I’m not sure,” he said. “Doesn’t this seem a little…?” His colleagues eyed him.

“What?” Yamato, the third man, asked.

“Easy,” Shun admitted. “This feels too easy.”

“Nah,” Aoba said. “You’re just imaging things.”

“Perhaps,” Shun said. “But still…” The men looked up when they heard the door open. A smile spread across Aoba’s face.

“Oh, you’re here early,” he said. “Ready to dive into the case? We’re about to make an arrest.” He paused when he heard a clicking noise. Aoba turned and…

It took three explosive bangs to rock all of Ju-Oh-Cho.

7:45 a.m.

The rest of the shinigami examined the burned out recording lab. All that remained of Aoba, Shun, and Yamato were piles of black ashes. Tatsumi could smell the curse.

“Where’s Touda been since morning?” he asked Tsuzuki.

“He’s been with me,” Tsuzuki said.

“Does this look familiar?”

His former partner leaned in. looking at the ash piles. He covered his mouth, gasping. “It can’t be!”

Tatsumi patted Tsuzuki on the shoulder. “We don’t know much yet. Everyone’s still looking.” The older shinigami pressed his lips together.

“Right…” he said.

1:00 a.m.

Haruka made a quick phone call. “Sosuke? I know it’s early, but hear me out, please. I need you to make some special bullets for me. Oh… Just some hot enough to burn like Touda’s flames. Can you do that?” She listened with a smirk on her face. “Perfect. I’m counting on you.”

Haruka went to bed, smirking.

8:02 a.m.

Watari completed his test results. Tsuzuki drew in a deep breath.

“Well?” he asked. The scientist looked rather grim.

“It’s like Touda’s flames,” he said. “But it’s not his.” Tsuzuki breathed a sigh of relief.

“Oh, good,” he said. Another thought crossed his mind. “Then… what caused it?” Watari picked up a fragment of what appeared to be steel.

“A spell,” he said.

“Huh?” Tsuzuki and Hisoka asked. The scientist shinigami held up the fragment.

“A spell bound to a bullet,” he added.

9:00 a.m.

Isabel sat in the grass, numb. Her hands trembled. It was for you, Papa! It was all for you!

“Isabel?” she heard a girl ask. The French shinigami whipped around with a yelp. Behind her stood Wakaba with a curious look on her face. Isabel made herself calm down.

“Oh, Wakaba-chan,” she said. “You startled me there.”

“Wong-san?” Wakaba asked. “What are you doing out here?” Isabel put her hand to her breast.

“Ah,” she said. “It’s chaotic in there.”

“Yes, there of our own were murdered.”

Isabel gasped. “How terrible!” Wakaba happened to notice a deep blackened burn in the older shinigami’s right hand.

“Wong-san, what happened to your hand?” she asked.

“Huh?” Isabel asked, looking at her hand. It didn’t take long for Wakaba put the pieces together from what she heard. Those men were killed with a bullet bound with a powerful fire spell! Wakaba began backing away. Isabel gave her a puzzled look.

“What’s the matter?” she asked. Wakaba’s jaw dropped as she trembled.

“You killed them!” she yelled.

“What?” Isabel asked. Wakaba ran into the Ju-Oh-Cho building as fast as she could. Isabel cursed under her breath and chased her down.