Kiryu-san and I staked out just outside of Sanshomon. Mitsuru had placed an AkaBox delivery order at the bar. The idea was that Kiryu-san and I would be able to ask the Akabox employee about any coffin-sized objects that they were tasked to deliver, and where. In the meantime, though, all we could do was pass the time.
Hey, Tali, you see that human right there?
Kiryu-san pointed at a young man wearing headphones walking past us.
I do.
You ever wonder what sort of music humans listen to these days?
Oh, definitely. I happen to have a CD collection of my own, but it’s mostly stuff from the nineties and aughties.
Let’s play a little game, then. You guess something, anything about what that guy’s listening to.
What do I win?
Kiryu-san just laughed. This was a game just for fun.
Well… I bet that guy’s listening to something at 130 BPM. He’s walking quite fast, like he’s trying to walk to the rhythm.
Kiryu-san crossed his legs and closed his eyes. As a sylph, he could easily sense the soundwaves traveling through the air, even as muffled as they were through the headphones.
Well, well, looks like we have a winner. Devil’s Bop by Furontorodo. 130 BPM, just as you said.
Never heard of them.
Never heard of voice synthesizers? You take some voice samples, and you play around with them like instruments. Pretty good technology for producers who can’t sing themselves.
Voice synthesizers, eh? And people like songs with voice synthesizers in them?
They’re everywhere. Furontorodo just happens to be one of the leading artists of the… Well, I wouldn’t call it a genre. But voice synthesizers have a distinct charm to them, you know?
Wow. I’m so out of touch… I still listen to stuff like Suitoki and Vanilla Mordred. And my daughter, well… She doesn’t like it when I play that stuff. Says it gets annoying fast.
Oh, here comes another one.
A woman with earphones on came into our view.
Uh… Normal walking pace. I’m willing to bet that whatever she’s listening to is too fast or too slow to walk to. Uh… I don’t know, something foreign?
Kiryu-san seemed to focus again.
Two-for-two. Sefirot Jones’s “Dog-Eat-Dog World.” A song about…well, a dog-eat-dog world. Topped the charts in the States last year.
Really? Wow, I’m on a roll!
Kiyoshi stepped out of the bar.
Still no sign of them, huh? Thought they were the fastest in the business.
Give ‘em some time, Kiyoshi. They’ll be here soon.
Just then, we heard a roar coming from inside Sanshomon. The three of us rushed back in.
Looks like she found our courier.
Which way did they go?
She went out back. Be careful out there.
And so began our chase. The courier was dressed in red overalls; it was hard to miss her. Kiryu-san was fast on his cloud hoverboard, but the courier knew how to weave past people and obstacles, and was clearly no stranger to the layout of the city.
I myself could barely keep up. I sank my body into the ground, hoping to catch up with Kiryu-san and the courier. I kept my eyes above-ground to keep track of Kiryu-san, far away as he was. That was when he had an idea.
Tali! Let’s corner her! I’ll strike from the front; you tail her!
Got it!
Kiryu-san picked up speed, and I couldn’t see him anymore, but the courier came into view.
In mere seconds, Kiryu-san’s plan worked out, and the courier had nowhere to run. I grabbed onto her hands from behind, then restrained her with some self-made handcuffs. Kiyoshi soon followed.
Well, well, well. Thought you could run from the ether police, huh?
L-Let me go! I’ve done nothin’ wrong, officer!
Then explain what you were doing at Sanshomon.
It was just a standard delivery! Then the owner got real mad at me!
Yeah, she does that with everyone.
Not exactly helping our case, Kiyoshi.
Tsk. Well, you got any idea why the owner blew a fuse at you?
I dunno! I guess she thought I’d delivered a coffin-sized object or somethin’ before!
Well, did you?
Alright, alright, fine. Some anonymous client sent us to do that delivery.
Was it you?
Yeah… Would ya let me go now? I promise I’m not here to cause trouble.
Do you at least remember where you delivered that object?
I… I’m not allowed to say. T-They could be watchin’ us at this very moment!
Don’t worry about that. I’ll beat them to a pulp before they come for you.
You can trust us to keep you safe.
I… Oh, alright… If ya say so…
What's your name, miss?
I-It's Hariko.
We’ll have to take you to the address then, Hariko. Where is this place?
The courier was hesitant to say anything, but she eventually stuttered it out.