The Butterfly and the Shadow (Shinobu x OC)

Chapter 15

Inei's POV. Emperor Taisho's Quarters, Imperial Palace, Tokyo.

After a few minutes, Captain Ryu went back to the quarters and gave me the maps that I requested.

Shinobu: What will you do with those maps?

Inei: Captain Ryu, where did the first disappearance occured?

Ryu: The first disappearance? I guess it was around........

He pointed at the map of the Imperial Palace, specifically, near the Edo Castle.

Luckily, I have a fountain pen which I got when I saved a wealthy family from demons during my mission.

I used it and marked the said location.

Inei: Near the former Edo Castle.

Inei: Emperor Taisho, do any of the Imperial Guards or the staff come to the Edo Castle?

Taisho: The staff, no. The guards, well, there are valuable antiques and treasures there and as much as possible, we got to preserve what's inside the Edo Castle.

Taisho: As it also holds records of the Shogunate until the Meiji Restoration.

Inei: I see.

Inei: How many disappearances have occurred so far?

Ryu: Around 39 reports of missing persons have been reported, from the Palace and even to some parts of Chiyoda.

Shinobu: A populated place such as the Chiyoda is a perfect hiding place for a demon. But.......

Shinobu: Captain Ryu, you said that there was traces of blood at the place where the said person was last seen, am I right?

Ryu: Yes.

Inei: For now, help me pinpoint the location of where the people disappeared.

After plotting the remaining 38 spots.........

Most of them, are inside the Imperial Palace grounds.

Inei: What the hell? Most of them are within the perimeter of the palace grounds.

Shinobu: The Palace itself is almost at the size of a village. It is pretty convenient for a demon to lurk here and they have a staple source of food.

Inei: ..........

Inei: Could it be? From 10 years ago?

Inei: Was the demon who tried to attack the Emperor, just one of the horde?

Taisho: What do you mean?

Inei: Think about it. The soldier who survived the recent demon attack, said that there is probably a horde of demons lurking around.

Inei: And then, some of the traces of the blood.......

Inei: Leads to the Imperial Palace if the disappearance happened outside of palace, but if the disappearance happened within the palace grounds........