Evening and Winter (夕方と冬)

The Emblem

"Ow, ow..." Chifuyu rose from a nap on the sofa in Taylor's office, sitting down before sighing.

"You're finally awake," Taylor approached him with a folder, "We're taking on another murder case, are you well enough to do an on-site investigation?" he told the 17-year-old.

"Geez, why is Paris such a mess?" Chifuyu rolled his eyes as he yawned, "Let's get going then," he jumped up and started walking out of the room with Taylor following behind him.

"I've also gotten an update, apparently Roland is recovering pretty well so we might be able to interview him soon." Taylor said.

"Took good few months, seems like The Reaper is a handful." Chifuyu said.

"Have you been taking him lightly this entire time??" Taylor was somewhat in disbelieve.

"Of course not, old man." Chifuyu rolled his eyes again, "To me, The Reaper is nothing more than a crazy person. There's a big possibility that he's defenceless without his Harvesters, which is why I think the Harvesters are more troublesome than The Reaper himself." He explained.

"That is a possibility, but we can't be too sure." Taylor nodded slightly, "Still, I'm surprised you think of The Reaper that way..." he added in marvelment.

"For me, I can just not listen to what The Reaper has to say. I don't really have anything he can threaten me with," Chifuyu leaned his head, "I don't really think someone like The Reaper would target my pet ferret for a threat, that would just look like a lame ransom." He added.

"What about your friends? Take my daughter and Lucas for example," Taylor furrowed a brow, "And what about me? Will you not care if any of us were used for the threat?" he asked.

"You're all precious to me and I would totally come to the rescue if any of you were kidnapped, is that what you want to hear?" Chifuyu asked back as he folded his arms, catching Taylor off guard.

"What's with his attitude??" he thought.

"I've already went through the loss of those close to me, I hate to experience it again." Chifuyu averted his eyes to avoid Taylor's, "I don't have much time left either, so I'll do whatever I can before The Reaper decides throw a threat." His voice was solemn, which caught Taylor by surprise again.

"Chifuyu..." he was speechless.

"Getting off topic, why does Mister Clark smile 24/7??" Chifuyu suddenly raised his lower lip.

"Huh...?" Taylor paused.

"He's creepy, I could hardly imagine what he looks like when he's mad." Chifuyu furrowed his brows as he sinks into his imaginations.

"There he goes again..." Taylor was still not used to Chifuyu's mood swings. "Why are you so curious about that?" Taylor doesn't find Victor's friendly demeanour odd.

"I just said it, it's creepy." Chifuyu grunted slightly as the carriage stops.

"Oh my gosh! Thank goodness you're here as well, young man!" a woman ran to Chifuyu as soon as he jumped out of the carriage, "I'm so relieved you're also a part of this investigation, I want answers who would do this to my daughter!" she grabbed into Chifuyu's sleeves.

"This is Shirley Gordon, the victim's mother." Taylor told Chifuyu.

"The victim's mother? I see..." Chifuyu nodded his head.

"Please, I want to know who did this to my daughter! She doesn't deserve this!!" Shirley clenched her grip on Chifuyu's sleeves as she looked down to sob, Taylor was confused when Chifuyu remained silent and stared at the woman melancholily for a few moments.