"You need what now?" Zach’s voice was sharp, though he leaned closer as if Takumi’s request was somehow a mistake he had misheard.
  Takumi sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. The words had been difficult enough to say the first time, but now he had to repeat himself. “Samantha’s belongings. The ones taken from her office and from her home for evidence after the incident.”
  Zach sat back in his chair, his expression shifting from disbelief to suspicion. “You’re kidding me. That’s highly restricted material. Chain of custody rules. You know I can’t just hand it over.”
  “I’m not asking you to hand anything over,” Takumi replied evenly. “I just need access. A chance to examine them.”
  “For what?” Zach asked, his tone laced with doubt. “You think her hairbrush or her diary is going to solve this mess?”
  “It’s not about the belongings themselves,” Takumi said, his voice calm but firm. “It’s about what they might reveal. Patterns, traces—clues that could explain what’s been happening.”
  Zach raised an eyebrow. “You’re reaching, Takumi. Those items are evidence in an active case. If you tamper with them, it compromises the entire investigation. You know that.”
  Takumi leaned forward, his voice dropping to a hushed, conspiratorial tone as though the walls themselves might betray him. “Zach, you’ve seen the reports. You know this isn’t a conventional case. Dr. Andersen's belongings might contain more than just physical evidence. They might hold... remnants.”
  “Remnants?” Zach echoed, his voice tinged with skepticism yet threaded with undeniable curiosity.
  “Energetic imprints,” Takumi clarified, his gaze steady. “When a person disappears, the last objects they touched can retain... threads. Threads that I can trace—anomalies the standard forensic team wouldn’t even know to look for.”
  Takumi exhaled deeply, a shadow of frustration crossing his face. “I already searched Dr. Andersen’s office, but it was empty. The police must have taken everything connected to her last known whereabouts.”
  Zach frowned, his brows knitting tightly. “This thread you keep mentioning—what exactly is it? And how are you able to locate it just through someone’s possessions?”
  For a moment, Takumi hesitated. He had anticipated this question, yet the answer was a door he dreaded reopening. His pause was deliberate, the silence weighted.
  “You were part of my terrifying past, Zach,” Takumi finally said, the words landing like stones between them.
  Zach’s expression hardened, the words cutting deeper than intended. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
  Takumi pressed on, unflinching. “You were the one who investigated my family home after it collapsed that day. Do you remember? You guessed everything correctly—almost.”
  “What are you trying to say?” Zach asked, his voice edged with suspicion, leaning forward in his seat.
  Takumi’s eyes dropped to the floor, his voice lowering to barely more than a whisper. “You were right, Zach. Everyone was. The only explanation that made sense was a bomb—a deliberate explosion. But there was no debris, no evidence, no trace. And when you found nothing, your suspicion turned to me.”
  Zach’s face darkened, the memory clearly stirring unease. “What are you trying to admit here?”
  Takumi’s voice grew heavier, the words tinged with guilt and resignation. “You were right to call me a monster during that interrogation. You were right to blame me. Because the demon you were hunting for, the one responsible for your career’s downfall, was sitting right in front of you.”
  The eerie silence engulfed Zach's office. Though faint echoes of officers' voices filtered in from beyond the door, Zach heard only static—a dissonance born of doubt and unease.
  Takumi broke the stillness, his tone calm but laced with an undertone of gravity. “I am not like other humans, Zach. Neither is Dr. Andersen. And I believe you’ve already heard whispers—perhaps even warnings—about us from someone, somewhere.”
  Takumi’s gaze shifted toward the door, where he knew Dryzza and Sai were lingering, eavesdropping without even trying to conceal it. He smirked faintly. “After they rummaged through my family’s manor, they likely uncovered pieces of a past I’ve tried to leave behind. A past you were told to avoid. And yet, here we are.”
  Zach’s eyes followed Takumi’s, narrowing at the door as his thoughts turned inward. He hadn’t fully trusted Dryzza when she’d come to him with her findings, claiming they’d stumbled upon something impossible at the manor. Even Esmeralda, who witnessed the events firsthand, struggled to accept what she’d seen—mentioning a grimoire and even snippets of time travel.
  Zach, no stranger to the supernatural quirks of the town, had hesitated to believe it himself. But if there was one person he might trust in this chaos, it was Takumi—a bond forged in ways Zach couldn’t fully explain.
  Takumi’s voice pulled him back. “Now...”
  Zach’s gaze snapped back to Takumi, whose expression was unreadable. “If it pleases you, feel free to interrogate me again. This time, I’ll cooperate fully—in exchange for a favor.”
  Zach studied him for a moment, then sighed. “I don’t care about what happened in the past, Dr. Takahashi,” he admitted, his voice firm but not unkind. “Don’t misunderstand me—I’ll help you, just as I did before. The case is still open, after all. But this time, I need you to understand something.” He leaned forward, his eyes unwavering. “I’m on your side. So let us help you—help you face whatever it is from the past that’s still haunting you and Dr. Andersen.”
  Takumi groaned inwardly. Zach’s focus was unshakable. He knew Dryzza had probably muddled the truth about Samantha’s alleged reappearance. How she even came by such knowledge was a mystery, given she wasn’t there that night. If Tomoya had confided in her, perhaps he’d have answers. But things were moving too quickly, and there was no time to place blame.
  Takumi had hoped dredging up the past would distract Zach, but clearly, he’d underestimated the man. He had no choice now but to play his first card.
  “You’re aware of the recent disappearances, aren’t you?” Takumi asked.
  Zach nodded, his expression guarded. “I am. But the case is being handled by another precinct. Why?”
  Takumi leaned in, his tone lowering. “Here’s what I know: when I was younger, a friend told me about a group—syndicates, if you will—who exploit people like me, people with... abilities. They use us for their own gain.”
  Zach’s brow furrowed, his interest piqued. “And you think these syndicates are behind the disappearances—including Dr. Andersen’s?”
  Takumi hesitated before answering. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. And yes, the missing individuals—at least some of them—are like me.”
  Zach’s eyes widened slightly. “You mean demons?”
  Takumi grimaced. “I only used the term demon metaphorically, Zach.”
  “Oh. Right. My bad.”
  Takumi continued, choosing his words carefully. “People like me are cursed. We are born of a demon’s will—created to serve as their food. These syndicates exploit our abilities to open a door to a place no human should ever set foot.”
  Zach leaned back, regaining his composure. His piercing gaze seemed to cut through Takumi’s guarded words. “So you want me to track these people down and put them behind bars? And if we do, we’ll find Dr. Andersen and the others all at once?"
  Takumi nodded firmly.
  Zach frowned. “Then why are you only telling me this now? It’s been three months since Dr. Andersen vanished, Takahashi. This doesn’t add up.”
  Takumi met his gaze steadily, his voice unwavering. “Hard to believe, but I only discovered the connections today and went right away to you.”
  Before Zach could respond, voices outside the door caught their attention. Dryzza’s familiar greeting filtered through, followed by the arrival of two strangers—a man and a woman Zach didn’t recognize.
  Takumi rose from his seat as the newcomers entered. “These two are survivors of the abductions. They’re here for you to question,” he said, motioning to them. “But remember this—I hold the truth. If you agree to my favor, I’ll show you everything.”
  Dryzza stepped inside, guiding the pair into the office. “Zach, this is Ruby and Jay,” she said.
  Ruby greeted Takumi with a small nod. “Doctor.”
  “Evening, doc, detective,” Jay added, both of them settling into the chairs before Zach, who regarded them with confusion.
  Takumi turned to Zach one last time. “I’ll be waiting for your answer.”
  And with that, he left, the door clicking softly behind him.