Di remembered the exact moment his contact had come to him with the information regarding the latest killing. The vagrant hammered at Di's door , fumes of liquor and the squalor of the streets radiating off him in a noxious cloud. It was four forty eight am in the morning - a time which well to do men and women were still deep within the arms of slumber. It was clear that this vagabond had not had a wink of rest this night. Truth be told Di too had been burning the midnight oil though unlike the beleaguered hobo this was part of his natural routine.

Unfastening the chains that kept his apartment safe from nightly predations Di allowed the man in pointedly ignoring the odour. What struck the detective first about his guest was the man's eyes. Bloodshot and raw from all the alcohol they possessed a terrible clarity that had burned through the fug of inebriation. Di knew something of this man's history. He had fought in the Seven Bells War before loosing an arm to one of the rogue conquerors puppet like automatons. This was a person who had seen the horrors and misery of war but something tonight had rattled him, rattled him bad.  

Di immediately knew that he had made the right decision in deciding to pay the old veteran to keep watch. The mans military training had taken over and even while his mind reeled with the horrors his body went forth to report to his commanding officer – in this case Di. Not wishing to waste any precious moments Di made the expected inquiries.

“What did you see? Where was the scene of the atrocity?  How long ago did you discover it and did the Anbu know it was there?”

The man's mouth moved for a few seconds before he could produce words, chipped yellow teeth stained by alcohol and opium visible to the dragon.  

“Bodies, it was bodies. I saw four I think. Lots of gashes all over. Not enough to kill em I know what a lethal cut is like and these wern't it. They bled. Must have bleed for at least an hour before the crow nailed them up. Must have hurt like Yama's own skewers. Sugi street it was on. That's right Sugi – the one with all the cedar trees growing on it. And no the Anbu don't know yet – at least they didn't when I found the thing. Amida help me I can see the poor bastards in my minds eye right now bad as anything from the war.”

Throwing the man a small purse full of ryo Di was already gathering his hat and cape and heading out into the early morning gloom. Having ushered the old man out of his dwelling Di locked the door firmly. Tearing a page from one of his many notebooks Di took and inkwell pen from the confines of his cloak and proceeded to scrawl a quick note in hiragana to Kirei. His parner would either be asleep or patrolling the city – either way Di knew that the birds he kept would be able to track the youth down easily enough. Reaching into the hutch next to his door Di roused a sleepy hawk, the raptor looking around wearily as if totally nonplussed by the rude awakening.

The birds expression soon focused when it saw the message that Di attached to it's leg. The bird had been trained well and it knew that such a missive meant the difference between getting a large and very tasty bonus or not.

“Find Kirei and give the note to him. Then Find Mokuzai and lead him to the scene”

Di spoke to the bird in a low but commanding tone.  The bird was damn quick and even if the ninja wasn't at home the hawk would locate him without fail. Launching the bird off his arm into the air Di was already off at full speed towards Sugi street. The Anbu had been notorious for covering up the work of Yatagarasu. Part of this was due to the grotesque nature of the crimes – such tableau’s would no doubt leave deep psychological wounds in the minds of ordinary citizens who came across them. But there were other reasons too. The Anbu had thus far been useless in stopping the crimes – falling far short of their status as unparalleled trackers and each murder was a testament to their incompetence . Yatagrasu had made a fool of them, or as others suggested darkly the Anbu were in cahoots with the raven faced killer. Yatagarasu was themselves an agent of the Kirigakure government tasked with carrying out punishments considered too extreme for even the totalitarian reign of Ayakashi.

Either of these possibilities could well be true – but all Di knew for certain was that he needed to get there before the Anbu muddied the waters, throwing off any potential Kirei and he had for a lead. Di almost considered heading into his dragon state and riding the winds across the town to get there faster. He eventually decided against this course of action though as he had come rather close to blowing his cover a few nights back and didn't want the kind of attention drawn to himself that such a revelation would bring. Di needed to investigate the crime scene not be taken in for questioning regarding his true nature and intentions.

The earliness of the situation did hold one advantage though. The streets were mostly empty with only lamplighters and a few stray travellers remaining on the side-walks. No one challenged Di as he moved at breakneck pace across the cobbled tiles and through back alleys and twisting lanes. The mist that Kiri was known for hung like a pale shroud giving the entire city a ghostly air. Perhaps there were spooks moving about in the fog and on another night Di would have encountered them as he seemed to do frequently. Any bogeybeasts and night-things knew well enough to leave the young dragon alone at this particular interval.

Then Di was upon Sugi street. The tall cedars which gave the route it's name towered above the detective like looking giants. Slowing his pace, Di's gaze swept across the way. There they were six pallid forms barley lit by the weak moonlight so occluded by mist. The next thing to hit Di was the smell. Not the sickly odour of rot but the nauseating stench of vomit and faeces. His draconic vision adjusting to the limited light Di got a better look at the victims. Three cadavers in total, two male and one female. Each was naked, their bodies covered in countless lacerations. As the old tramp had said each of the cuts were painful but on their own not enough to outright kill a healthy man or woman.

This was no mere murder. Each of these victims had been brutally tortured to death. The instrument was a bladed weapon of some sort – judging by the size and length of the cuts a knife. Di knew that even though corpses would void their bowels these victims had soiled themselves long before death.  Filth and blood mingled across torso and legs. Di noticed that one of the female victim had clenched her hands so tightly her long nails had bit deeply into the flesh of her palms. One of the males showed cracked and splintered teeth were involuntary jaw clenching had caused fractures in the enamel.

Even more macabre was the severed tongues that were pinned to the victims. The spectacle reminded Di of Jashin and the foreign goddess Kali whom the dragon prince had seen depictions of wearing wreathes and belts of such items coupled with human genitalia. Each of the tongues had a dagger placed into it anchoring the appendage firmly to the corpse. Each of these tongues lolling out of a wound as if a parody of a gaping mouth. The amount of carnage that this act needed must have been vast. The final and perhaps most integral detail was that each corpse was impaled through the torso and into the wall by a shaft of steel rod. Judging from the warping on their ends these bars had been ripped out from a longer piece of metal.

Disturbingly weals in the metal hinted that this had been done with 'human' or at least humanoid hands. Activating his detective vision technique Di scanned the area for tell-tale signs left by justu. Nothing – no physical remnants that came with the use of elemental chakra being used nor the disturbances that came with pure energy being channelled. Yatagarasu had through their own strength ripped a steel beam to pieces and then impaled it through three victims straight into a stone wall of a building compound. That was impressive to say the least.

Di thought back to the books he had read on human anatomy. While the texts the dragons had were out of date as they presented humanity as they were before their species were merged with that of the Otsutsuki he could still use the information to make a few calculations. The strongest human ever recorded before the convergence had been able to produce 1300 pounds of force. The strength it took to rip apart steel like that would require at least 40,000 pounds of force. That meant that Yatagarasu was able to exert more than thirty times the amount of force than the strongest pure-bred human to have ever lived....

Even in these times where superhuman abilities had become commonplace this was a rare level of potency. Two more factors made it even more surprising. The tear seemed clean as if Yatagarasu had broken the metal with one simple motion – meaning the action lacked exertion, this was easy for the killer. Secondly the imprints in the bar suggested that the hand that grabbed the metal was not exceptionally large – possibly even smaller than Di's own. A pity that Yatagarasu had used gloves or they might have given away their identity with their prints on the metal.

“Sweet Bailong”  

Di uttered taking his grandfathers name in vain. Possibly Yatagarasu wasn't human at all. Demons , kami and yokai could all display this sort of strength – with some being far stronger. Either of Di's parents could replicate this feat when in human form easily. Then again Di really, really did not want to be faced up against someone who was as powerful as his parents. Reaching out his hand Di conjured forth the light of the false Hitodama. This jutsu detected the presence of supernatural entities and if something of that calibre had committed this crime no doubt some of it's essence would have rubbed off on the area.

Forgetting to breath Di watched the flame as it sparked into a healthy orange glow. Well there was his answer. Yatagarasu was for better or worse human – or at least whatever passed for human these days. Taking out his notebook Di began to make a detailed sketch of the scene making sure to note each and every feature down to the smallest minutiae. The knifes in particular got a special page dedicated to their form. If Di could have taken one of the blades without raising suspicion from the Anbu he would. Bringing the weapon to a blacksmith or famed metalworker around Kiri could divulge much information about where they were crafted and who may have purchased them. Of course they could simply be weapons that Yatagarasu had found on the property but any lead was worth following in a case like this.

It had barley been five minutes since Di had arrived at the crime scene but he was already hoping that Kirei would arrive soon. Di wanted the youths opinion on the scene before the inevitable crowd of onlookers and Anbu showed up to tear down the sanctity of the untouched tableau. While Di and Kirei had earned some reputation as crime fighters they were not part of the Kirigakure government and from the talk around town these killings had all the marks of something that the ruling elite wanted to be handled by people who answered directly to them. Di had no master save the truth and  he planned to follow her whenever she led.

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Kirei's change of mask was something of an unexpected development to Di. The detective knew the youth had originally adopted the affectation in homage to the hounds that his father kept. One of which had even joined the pair on several missions. But apparently that dog had been called home and now Kirei was striking out on his own to forge his own legacy. Di could respect that as he himself had done something very similar. Were he to simply go along with the path preordained for him by his forebears he would be doing little but training for his eventual appointment as minister of biological affairs for the continent.

Not that Di found such things boring – zoology was fascinating in it's own right. But it was not his greatest passion grim as it was proving to be.

"These aren't ordinary murders. This is full of rage and hate, like an evil spirit. Spontaneous cruelty like this is unsettling. We won't have much time, ANBU has been quick on the scene every other time. Take some skin samples, we can find a Medical Ninja to use the DNA for clones and find out the victims' identities. That might tell us why they were killed."  

Kirei's words cut very close to what Di had been thinking. Indeed just moments ago he had checked out the very possibility of the killer being otherworldly in origin. As the young vigilante took samples of the deceased's skin Di noted what a good move it was. While the Kirigakure administration had been supposedly forthcoming in the nature of each of the victims Di knew enough about politics to understand that this might well be a smokescreen. Should the killer have ties to the government the powers that be might be willing to cover up such details and if the killer WAS part of the ruling elite themselves they could personally see to the alteration of such inconvenient facts.

Independent analysis would confirm if the powers that be were telling the truth or creating a smokescreen. That alone could give vital insights into the true nature of this case.

"What the hell are we chasing, Di?"

Di drew in a breath to reply to his friend.

“ Honestly the thought that it was an evil spirit that did this crossed my mind. I have techniques that can verify the presence of those entities however and I can assure you that our perpetrator is human though the level of depravity here would be more akin to a portrait of Naraka or Jigoku. Good call on the medical front by the way. I'm not hugely familiar with the level of expertise that humanity has reached with their modern techniques but the creation of simulacra to verify the identity is a fine move.”

Di's already grave expression darkened as he continued onto his next point.

“What we can deduce from the scene is that the assailant possesses an incredible amount of strength. Note the positions of the steel bars that are impaling the corpses and the manner in which they have been warped. Looking to the way their ends have been rent each bar was once part of a single larger rod. The five indentations in the end of the rod are finger marks – leading me to believe that Yatagarasu simply ripped it apart by hand as you or I would break a stick.

This was of course before they impaled it through their victims and into solid stone no less. The marks also suggest a hand that was around the same size as my own possibly even slighly smaller. Definitely larger than yours Kirei but not the grip of a giant by any means. I know that ever since humanity’s lineage became entangled with extraterrestrial life mankind's abilities have increased exponentially but as I cannot find evidence of any jutsu being used I must assume that this was done  with sheer passive strength.”

Di's words now came fast but clear as if the detectives urgency were a burning flame within him trying to escape.

“Few individuals can claim to possess this kind of power and even fewer can go unnoticed with it. I think our best lead would be to investigate those in Kirigakure with these kind of abilities. The lord of the small island of spiders is one such personage. Plenty of unsavory rumors exist regarding his actions and it seems widely acknowledged that as the leader of these 'seven swordsmen' he is an exceptional individual. I have also head tell of a woman who is known as a powerful combatant that serves in the Kirigakurei government. I believe that you have had the occasion to train with her in some form of exercise. If you think it is a good idea we could investigate her more fully as she too seems like a possible suspect.”

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Human society really was like a spiders web. Not in that it served as a trap to catch unwary prey though Di was sure that those from ingenuous tribes and countless animals felt that way. But rather that it consisted of numerous strands that needed to support the whole. If one strand were to fray and go bad then it would send the entire thing spiralling down into chaos. Compared to this Dragon society was more like a series of islands. Each dragon served as an individual source of stability with various servants and attendants clinging to them.

In the society of dragons it only really mattered if a dragon itself became corrupt. Servants were at best desultory when it came to maintining the actual stability of society. Not so with man's complex weave. Yatagarasu seemed to understand this to a degree. Their crusade was in it's own way a twisted form of exercising the harmful elements of society in order to create a more stable foundation. The hypocrisy of course was that by doing this via extra legal methods they themselves began to cut cords left, right and centre.

As Kirei worked on collecting samples Di wondered if this push for justice was merely a feint on the behalf of the crow titled murderer. Having some minor training as an alienist and a slight knowledge of game theory (two things which had been cultivated by the dragons long before the first human had been drawn from the collective gene pool by the gods) he knew the importance of being able to put oneself into the psyche of others. It was possible that Yatagarasu simply loved killing for it's own sake – indeed the savagery that was on display here pointed to a deeply disturbed mind indeed.

The guise of a moral crusade could be either a way to self rationalise the actions they were committing – there is after all nothing more dangerous than someone who can convince themselves that their cause is pure. Or it could be something used as a red herring in order to disguise the true motives of whatever these murders were. The other and most distasteful option which Di had been musing on for a while was that Yatagarasu was simply a mercenary and the grotesque manner of the slaying were used to distance themselves from the cold efficiency of the Kirigakure legal system.

Itai jumped from roof to roof making the bounds easily with the enhanced strength and precision afforded by mature ninja physiology. Kirigakure Anbu were one of the most feared enfocers of the law in any country. Each and every time the crow faced killer struck it was like a blow to the face. The very idea that the anbu were about to bring swift justice to anyone who would transgress the laws of Kiri should be enough to keep miscreants in line. Yatagarasu spat on that their murders suggesting that Itai wasn't good enough at his own job and that there needed to be a new force of law in Kiri.

**** that. Itai's family had been a long line of Anbu and he himself had fought in the Seven Bells war. As far as he was concerned Yatagarasu was nothing but a coward who refused to face up against a real patriot like himself. If he ever managed to get a hold of the renegade he would make sure that they suffered really badly for the disgrace that they were bringing on both Kirigakure and himself in particular. Some of his companions had said that this was making him too erratic and he should stop taking things so personally but he just couldn't.

He hated having to act as a glorified clean up crew for this psychopath. But it was either that or have his failings presented for all the world to see. Truth be told he was just itching for a fight. As he landed on a drain he saw two figures who while shrouded by the morning gloom appeared to be poking around at the crime scene. While neither of them bore the silhouette of the infamous killer it was still not appropriate for civilians to be interfering with a crime scene in this manner. Plus Itai was just plain old pissed off with the world right now.  


Di's senses which were normally pretty sharp were on overdrive given the nature of their work. Even the normally stealthy anbu's motions made him spin as if reacting to gunfire.  Speaking in a low but clear tone to Kirei Di indicated the nearest alley.

“I think it's time that we made our leave. The anbu just arrived and I suspect that their leader just spotted us.”

As Di spoke he was already moving towards their route of egress. At this point in time Di trusted only a very small amount of people. Those who were working with Kirigakure on this could well be in on the murders and Di didn't want to have to fall into the clutches of a potentially hostile power.

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Di

Drawing deep upon the chakra well that lay within him Di called forth the energy needed to craft the aquatic simulacra colloquially known as water clones. From his form sprung the copies each taking the appearance of the be-coated figure. Di had purposely left the details on the mirror images somewhat distorted as the light of the early morning was still poor which would make figuring out which body was which in the darkness tricky. Should one of the anbu actually catch up with a copy Di reasoned that it would be better for them to come across something with vague half formed features rather than a pure profile of his face that could be used to track him down later.

Off they ran into the hazy dusk , Di uttering a prayer to Kohryu that he would not be identified. Though the detective did not know it this was a bad move...

Itai

Itai smiled with barley contained malice. The absolute novice had used a water clone technique against one of the legendary Anbu of Kirigakure. So simple and yet so easily tracked by his sensory jutsu. He would not be stopped by parlour tricks such as these. Motioning for his fellows to split off and track down and herd off the runners into his grasp he readied his technique making the required hand symbols of his art.

Komori

Blissful release from the foetid cage that was flesh. The spirit soared across the sky revelling in the joy of movement and the early morning light softly peeking through the mists. Once she had traversed the galaxy dancing upon solar flares and playing foolish but exhilarating games with the deadly pull of black holes. She had been a queen – nay a goddess of the expanse and of the countless worlds that lay before her. To think that she would be confined to such a planet such as this would have been ridiculous.

Worse still she was prisoner not only of this world but of her own body. What had once been possessed a divine beauty lusted after by the lesser denizens of the many realms was now tainted and malformed. Bulky and bulbous malignancy festered like cancer and her womb once saved for the special person that she would one day meet was now a yawning pit of evil vomiting forth horrors into the world. Was it pride which had brought her low? Surely she had ample amounts of the vice in her nature. She would not grovel as her sister had done. Bending the knee to another power was something anathema to her nature. And so to avoid shame she had been subject to a greater debasement.

During these flights she had watched the murders committed by the mad Kage. It was not that the grisly spectacle engrossed her – she had acts just as heinous committed on worlds whose suns would not appear here as even the faintest star. No it was those who were dedicated to solving these crimes that she wished to become acquainted with. These 'anbu' were a joke, powerful for those of impure blood went but utterly blind to their own failings and dogmatism.  

Komori had reached the scene a scant few minutes after the initial inspector had performed his spirit searching technique. Had she been present it would surely have given quite a different spin to the case. When she did get there though her shock was immense. The man clad as a detective was not a human nor even one of the potent blooded but a dragon taking human form.  Komori had every reason to be wary of dragons given her current plight but this one seemed a very different creature to the ancient tyrant who had enslaved her. Her curiosity had become even more piqued when a second figure joined the dragon.

Even in her spectral state Kormori could feel the potency of the blood flowing in his veins. Her vision acting on levels beyond the physical could see that his eyes mirrored the sharingan that existed within her Sahasrara albeit in an immature form. This boys ancestors must have recognised the potential within their own lineage and kept out diluting influences. Was it possible that she could share a bond with such a being, one that might help him find her material remains?

As one the anbu began to cast sensory jutsu. Powerful for mortal men and women but not for one such as her. If left to their own devices the two would doubtlessly be caught and imprisoned. Komori had been wary of using her abilities lest they attract the attention of her turncoat sister or the terrible wyrm that held her captive. However she had to act now. If the pair was arrested it might spell an end to her greatest chance for freedom.

Itai

As Itai cast the jutsu he expected to feel the rush of heightened senses that now second nature to a hunter such as himself. Instead he found himself face down on the ground. How the hell had that happened? Whats more the ground was not the pavement of Kirigakure but instead a spongy loam of orange hue. Beside his head strange fungi grew in shapes that seemed to defy the principles of gravity, stalks supporting far more than their frail appearance would suggest. Raising his head he saw twin suns lighting the sky casting a harsh light upon the vista.

Itai's first thought was that he had been placed in a genjutsu. One of the bastards had managed to pull a fast one on him somehow. However they had made a grave mistake. The best genjutsu were either those which were subtle enough to remain undetected or those which inhibited the users mental activity in ways where using Kai was difficult. This was too outlandish and to the best of his knowledge he was fully in command of his senses. And thus Itai attempted to perform the Gejutsu Kai technique to break this spell. And got nothing for his efforts. Shit – what was wrong here?

And there before him floated a naked form. Pale and beautiful with a skin of flawless alabaster, the firgure's hair was long and silver in hue. Were he not so shocked Itai may have been aroused by the firm breasts and the light thatch of silver upon the maidens mons pubis. However these were not the things that drew his attention the most. The figure had three eyes. A vertical slit within her forehead displayed what could only be described as the  mythical Rinne-Sharingan while her two more mundane orbs bore the appearance of Byakugan. Before this even the horns that sprouted from the floating woman’s head seemed a detail of little consequence.

When the woman spoke it was with a voice that sounded like it had once been full of mirth and good cheer now fallen to melancholy.

“The one you seek is not this pair. It is Ayakashi – your very own kage who carries out these murders. Of course this is not information you will carry back with you into the waking world. Such   a development would interfere with the progress of the two searchers and it would do well for them to be tested with such a case. Should they persevere they might prove my salvation. Something that you lack the imagination or foresight to achieve.”

With that the figure waved her hand and Itai's mind went blank. His memories of the last few hours consigned to the abyss of his deep subconscious never to return to the world of coherent thought. Much the same occurred to his two companions having witnessed similar visitations they too fell into a coma – one which they would awaken from with the true dawn their minds scrubbed clean.


Komori

Even as the Anbu's bodies hit the pavement Komori had begun her manifestation. This was even more dangerous than utilising the inside of the anbu's mind but she wanted this Kirei to know that she was real. Translucent and ethereal she would appear before the young uchiha. Komori would appear as did the great matriarch of the Uchiha clan however unlike Kaguya she did not possess the severity and command that the lunar princess bore. This was not to say that she was not divine in her own right – indeed she would make a fine goddess of spring, young and virile with rounded curves contrasting the rabbit queens harsh, glacial demeanour and frigid beauty. When she spoke the voice would seem to echo within Kirei's mind

“Little nephew I do not have much time. Find Yatagarasu, track them down and put an end to their slaugter. Then awaken the blood within you our lineage. Enlist the dragon and find me. I must be freed from my bondage and allowed the sweet release of death. I entrust this to you Kirei – you must do what is necessary.”

With that Komori would fade from view as if she never was.

Di

Di had fled several blocks before finally slowing down. It appeared that his pursuers had not managed to follow him. From here he would head to the detective agency. Kirei would know to meet up with him there and they could discuss their findings at greater length as well as their new plan of operations.

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