DETECTIVE ARAYA sighed angrily, much to Kazuya's surprise. "First, the intruder. Now, some idiot robbing a jewelry store! Our mission begins today, and we're not even in our disguises yet!"
Kazuya bowed, awkward in a seating position. "I apologize."
Detective Araya sighed. "It's not your fault, Detective Himura."
"No, it is," Kazuya stated. "I was irresponsible in leaving the door unlocked. I should have been more aware of my surroundings-"
Suddenly, the car they were chasing made a hard right turn. The car went off the road, cutting between two cars. The car being cut in front of stopped abruptly. The sound of metal hitting metal echoed in Kazuya's ears as the cars in the opposing lane crashed against each other.
Kazuya's eyes widened when one of the cars went spinning toward them. She gripped the handle as Detective Araya made a sharp left turn, also driving them off the road. The car sped past them.
As Detective Araya yelled into the radio that they needed an ambulance and backup, Kazuya saw the car they were chasing. She looked a little farther and saw three hot air balloons.
"He's going toward the hot air balloons!" Kazuya yelled.
Detective Araya floored the gas pedal, cutting through the two lanes. But they didn't make it to the car on time. The car stopped and the man hopped out, clutching onto his bag. He ran toward the hot air balloons.
"Dammit!" Kazuya swore as she saw the man hop onto a rainbow-colored hot air balloon and hold the woman on board at gunpoint. The man yelled at her and soon, the hot air balloon took flight.
Their car hadn't stopped fully when Kazuya had already hopped out. She ran toward the first hot air balloon she saw was about to take flight, Red the Angry Bird, and climbed on with Detective Araya at her heels.
"We're law enforcement!" Araya yelled at the man handling the hot air balloon, showing him her badge. "Follow the rainbow hot air balloon!"
Their hot air balloon took flight, following the rainbow hot air balloon.
Detective Araya sighed. "Angry Birds? Really?"
"I think it fits well," Kazuya answered smoothly, looking at Detective Araya. "I am an angry bird."
"That makes two of us."
Kazuya nodded, turning to look toward the other balloon. "Whatever happens, don't lose-"
Detective Araya frowned, turning toward Kazuya. "Don't lose what?"
Detective Araya gasped. Kazuya was clutching- no, hugging, one of the ropes of the hot air balloon. Her face was pale and she was sweating. Her eyes were fixated on the distance below.
"Detective Himura, what's wrong?!" Detective Araya shrieked.
"I-I forgot," Kazuya stammered, covering her mouth as if she was about to throw up.
"Forgot what?"
"I have a...fear...of...."
-----
"Gojo what are you doing here?!" Utahime yelled, annoyed.
Gojo turned from the TV, grinning at her. "Welcome home! Did you have a good day?"
"Gojo, get out of my house!"
"House? This isn't a house," Gojo said, gesturing around. "It's an apartment."
"Stop correcting me and start answering my questions!" Utahime growled.
"Oh, I was just looking at the footage from your camera," Gojo said, spinning one of the DVDs in his hand. "I can't believe one of your strongest students had acrophobia."
Utahime flinched. "Why are you so interested in three dead kids?"
"Stop~ You're making me sound creepy~" Gojo teased, smiling. "I just noticed something interesting from this."
"Like what?"
"Like the fact that someone I know has the exact same pair of sunglasses that one of your students had."
Utahime stared at him emotionlessly. "Many of my students wore sunglasses. And before you can say anything, they were cheap ones you could find at Daiso."
"Okay, fair enough," Gojo said, putting his hands up. "But you wanna see this?"
He placed the DVD in the player and pressed play. He skipped through most of the footage until he got to a specific part.
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU TWO!" Yukimura shrieked at the top of her lungs.
"Ah, shit." Minami was heard saying.
"We fucked up," Takenaka muttered.
They appeared to be hiking and were at the top of the hill that looked down on the city. But Yukimura was gripping the wooden fence, her knees knocking together pathetically. She was sweating and looked like she was going to pass out.
But that didn't stop her from glaring daggers at the two kids behind the camera.
Gojo paused the video suddenly. "Look! Here!"
He pointed to the dark part of Yukimura's sunglasses. Although they were reflective, one part looked like a normal sunglass: a small, dark-tinted flame at the upper left corner of the right lens.
"Wow, Gojo, it's a small fire," Utahime said, clapping her hands slowly.
"No, no, that's not it!" Gojo said. "My friend had this exact same design! And I've looked all over the internet. There's not a thing like this!"
Utahime was not impressed. "...Then it's probably the younger sister..."
"Eh? Younger sister?"
Utahime nodded, eye twitching. "The younger sister of Yukimura. Or a family member of Yukimura."
Gojo's face went slack. "Then that means..."
"What's wrong with you now?" Utahime asked.
"...Nothing," Gojo said, standing up and heading out. "Thanks, Utahime~!"
"Ugh," Utahime rolled her eyes. "Finally."
Gojo stepped out and his smile faded. His mind had been on Himura's sunglasses for a long time. They had seemed so similar to the dead girl's ones.
And now that Utahime told him this...
The sunglasses. Himura. The cursed spirit attack at the DOPI. Himura's nosebleed. Kuchisake-onna. Ume. Yukimura Kaya.
He bit his lip.
They couldn't possible be all connected. Right?
——-
Kazuya was flying.
No, not flying. More like floating. No, like suspended. In the air. For a second.
And then gravity overtook her.
She was falling. She was plummeting to the ground from who knows how high up in the air.
How did she go from being inside the hot air balloon to falling from the sky?
Detective Araya's face was one of horror, reaching out to someone who was too far to grab.
"HIMURA!"
_____________________________________
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Gojo and Kazuya are both confuzzled rn
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𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐗 ⟼ g. satoru
Fanfiction❝The sexiest animal? Definitely the phoenix. It's the hottest.❞ In which a sleep-deprived crime buster meets a man-child on a permanent sugar high. He only hung around her for the sake of annoying her...that is until he began to see her as something...
