Kamishiro Amane looked at the cashier in front of him, recalling the memory, while the cashier avoided Amane's eyes.
"Hey! Are you buying something or not? If not, get lost."
Hearing his voice, Amane was even more certain of his identity.
"You're the guy with the sunglasses... the man in the black suit who escorted me home the other day."
Suddenly, the atmosphere became awkward.
"You've... got the wrong person, it wasn't me."
"No way, I remember very clearly that you were the one who walked me home that day. Well, I suppose it wasn't really all the way to my house."
Seeing that the act could no longer go on, the cashier dropped the charade.
"Fine, fine, yes, I was the one who walked you home that day. But what does that have to do with you now?"
Amane lowered his head.
"Thank you for walking me home that day, so I really look up to you guys."
Naoya froze.
"What? You look up to me? Are you kidding me? I'm just a miserable wage slave. I'm hardly willing to do this kind of dangerous work at night."
People behind them kept yelling at Amane to move, as he was blocking the checkout counter and holding up the queue.
"Move along, hurry up, hurry up."
In the afternoon, Amane was sitting cross-legged with his head resting against his suitcase. He had just finished work and was heading out when he spotted Amane.
He nudged Amane, waking him up.
"Why are you still here? Do you want me to walk you home again?"
Amane immediately jumped to his feet, pulled out his resume, and bowed as he handed it to him.
"Hold on, what are you doing?"
Naoya looked at Amane's resume.
"I want to work with you. I have nothing left in the world, please help me out."
Naoya pulled out a cigarette and lit it, finding Amane's posture somewhat comical, like a pathetic clown.
"Wow, you're a riot. The job I do isn't that simple. You could end up dead before you even see any money."
Amane looked up at Naoya.
"Yet you're still willing to do it."
Hearing that, Naoya froze for a moment.
"Fine. If you're determined to get yourself killed, I suppose I can't stop you. I'll take you with me tomorrow, and you can forget about all that resume nonsense."
Naoya offered a cigarette to Amane, who waved his hand in refusal, prompting Naoya to stuff the cigarette back into the pack.
"My name is Shiro Naoya. Newcomer, time to introduce yourself."
"My name is Kamishiro Amane, you can call me Amane."
Naoya took a drag of his cigarette.
"Meet me here tomorrow, understood? Don't be late."
With that, he turned and walked away. Naoya headed for the parking lot, coughing relentlessly along the way, looking like a sickly invalid.
Naoya put on his helmet, rode his motorcycle out of the parking lot, and while waiting at a red light, noticed that Amane was still standing right where he had left him.
Naoya rode the motorcycle over, the engine roaring, and lifted his visor.
"Hey, why haven't you gone back yet? What are you still doing here?"
"I... don't have a place to live, and I don't know what to do next."
Amane pulled his suitcase along, his expression desolate, as if he had lost all faith in life.
Naoya drove his motorcycle right up in front of Amane.
"Get on. I'll take you to stay at my place for now, and we can deduct part of your wages for rent. How does that sound?"
Amane froze in thought. Finding a place to stay was indeed the most urgent priority, so he agreed.
Click.
Naoya opened the apartment door, with Amane following closely behind. Inside were a living room, a bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a balcony.
Amane pulled his suitcase inside. There was an unfinished bowl of instant noodles on the table, unthrown-out trash by the door, and mismatched chairs.
In the bedroom was a set of bunk beds, with the top bunk piled high with random cardboard boxes and plastic bags.
"This is where you'll be sleeping. Just clear off the stuff on the top bunk and you'll be good."
When Amane walked toward the bathroom, a strange odor hit him. The smell was so foul it nearly made him retch, completely unbearable, so he walked over to the window to open it for some fresh air.
"No! Stop!"
It was already a moment too late. Amane pushed the window open, and a harsh, screeching sound rang out, giving them both goosebumps.
"Don't go touching things around my house like that, alright?"
A little while later.
Amane was organizing his belongings, taking a photograph out of his suitcase and setting it aside.
Hearing a fit of coughing coming from the bathroom—one cough after another—Amane walked over to the bathroom door and knocked.
"Um, are you alright?"
Naoya walked out of the bathroom, while Amane looked on with a worried expression.
"What is it with you? Are you done unpacking your stuff? If you're hungry, there's instant noodles—go ahead and make a cup for me too."
Naoya lit a cigarette inside the bathroom, looking down at his palm, which was already stained with blood. He then stubbed out the cigarette and tossed it into the trash can, which also contained a medical report. Naoya walked out of the bathroom.
"Get to sleep early, I'm taking you to process your onboarding tomorrow. And by the way, why so gentle just making a cup of noodles?"
Amane needed to blow on his instant noodles to cool them down before he could eat, whereas Naoya ripped the lid off and wolfed his down straight away.
His phone rang, and Naoya stepped outside to answer it.
"Alright, I've got matters to handle tomorrow, I'll come over later. How is the old man doing now? Okay, you get some rest early too."
Naoya hung up and came back inside.
"I'm going to take a shower, I'm not eating anymore."
The next day.
"Newcomer, stick close to me and don't get lost."
The two of them entered a company, which was an office for a perfume brand, wrapped in numerous wisteria blossoms. They stepped into the elevator and went up. During the elevator ride:
"Naoya-senpai, why do you do this kind of dangerous work?"
"Why did you come to do it, and what is your true purpose?"
Amane lowered his head.
"I'm doing this to find my older brother. My brother is missing. And of course, there's also..."
"Money, is that it?"
"Your brother is missing and you want to find him, while my purpose is very simple: because I'm poor, and I want to make a lot, lot of money."
"And after you make all that money, then what?"
"You're an idiot. Once I've made all that money, I can buy whatever I want and spend it however I please."
At this point, Amane noticed that Naoya's gaze looked wrong. The elevator reached the top floor.
"Let's save the discussion of dreams for later. Follow me."
"Our job is reconnaissance, handling, and helping unlucky souls just like you the day before yesterday."
Chatting as they walked, they arrived at the office door. Naoya pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took a drag.
"There's... a no smoking sign written right here."
"It's fine, it's just a habit I can't break."
Naoya knocked on the door, and Amane gently pushed it open.
"Hello."
Naoya shoved the door open hard, walked right in, and sat down in a chair.
"Newcomer, get in here quickly, stop dragging your feet."
Sitting in the leadership chair at the desk was an elderly man approaching sixty.
"Old man, this newcomer wants to tag along with me, and since there's an open spot, we can let him try it out."
The old man looked Amane up and down.
"How old are you this year?"
"Nineteen."
"Naoya, isn't the newcomer you found a bit too young? This is the age full of youth."
"You can't blame me for that, he's the one who wanted to do this job of his own accord."
The old man pulled a piece of paper and a seal from his drawer and placed them on the desk.
"As soon as you sign this contract, you can officially start working. This is the headquarters of Yin."
"Yin?"
"I forgot to tell you, the positions of the staff here are all called Yin. It's an organization—the kind of mysterious organization you usually see in anime."
The old man coughed twice, fixing Amane with a piercing stare.
"Furthermore, should anyone violate the rules of Yin or betray Yin, we will completely eradicate you by any means necessary."
"Don't mind him, he's just trying to scare you."
"That's enough of the rules. Naoya, take him to get his required work tools."
On their way to the locker room.
"Yin's operations are always conducted in pairs. Don't try to be clever unless you receive orders."
"Then, Naoya-senpai, what about the person who was with you that time?"
"She sacrificed herself. She was attacked by a Foul Demon."
"I told you, this job isn't simple. For all you know, you might be the next one to die."
Hearing this, Amane felt a chill run down his spine as the two of them walked into the locker room.
"Go inside and get your protective talisman. The talismans inside are all prepared."
Amane walked into the locker room, opened a locker, and was shocked to see a silenced pistol, a short blade, and a walkie-talkie neatly resting on top of a stack of clothes.
"Naoya-senpai, are you serious about this stuff?"
"Are you startled by your own equipment?"
Suddenly, Naoya grabbed a pistol from behind and pointed it straight at Amane's head, freezing him in terror.
"Speak! Tell me your true purpose for coming here!"
Instinctively, Amane raised both hands. With the gun pointed at him out of nowhere, tears were practically welling up from fright.
"I don't know what you're talking about! My only purpose is to find my older brother."
"Still lying."
Naoya pulled the trigger, and a bullet fired, striking Amane in the head. Amane collapsed backward onto the floor.
"Alright, I was just joking. The gun is fake—look how badly it scared you."
Suddenly, Amane threw a punch at Naoya, releasing pent-up anger that had been building inside him for a long time.
Although Naoya took the hit, he didn't get angry at all. Instead, he smiled and said:
"And here I thought you were just a simple-minded guy."
Amane also calmed down, his expression gradually returning to normal.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't control myself."
"You don't need to apologize. People can't always control their emotions. When I met you at the supermarket, the look in your eyes already told me everything you've lost."
Naoya placed the pistol into Amane's hand.
Amane looked up into Naoya's face, never expecting that Naoya could also wear such a gentle expression.
"People who stay naive never meet a good end, Amane. I'm telling you again—you can't afford to be too naive or innocent while working this job."
Suddenly, Naoya turned and walked away.
"Well then, make sure you don't drop the ball when we're on the job."
Amane hadn't anticipated that Naoya could change his expression so quickly, but with the frustration long suppressed in his heart now released, the pressure had lifted significantly.
After changing into his uniform, Amane walked out, inspecting the suit he was wearing.
"Country bumpkin, this clothing has been soaked in wisteria blossoms, which has a repelling effect on ghosts. As for what the fabric actually is, I haven't the foggiest, but at least it'll keep you warm out here at night. I can let you in on a little secret: to a ghost, wisteria blossoms smell like..."
"Like... what?"
"Shit."
Then Naoya pulled out a pair of sunglasses and forcefully shoved them onto Amane's face.
"What's this? Do I have to wear these for work too?"
Naoya smiled.
"Not at all. I just wanted to see how cool a country bumpkin could look wearing sunglasses."
"You... kind of remind me of my older brother."
"I am not your brother. Your brother is missing, not dead—or you could say his body hasn't been found yet. But don't you worry, your brother is definitely safe and sound."
"Alright, time to get to work. Just make sure you don't die before you find your brother."
By the time the two of them came down from the company building, twilight had fallen.
"Wait, don't we have weapons to deal with ghosts?"
"If our weapons were actually useful against ghosts, I wouldn't have said this job is extremely dangerous. You need to understand that our clothes only have that scent because they were soaked in wisteria blossoms; once the scent evaporates, they're just ordinary clothes. The same goes for this handgun, which is why we need to wrap up our shift before the scent fades."
"If your first shot from this pistol fails to drive off the ghost, every subsequent shot will be completely useless because the ghost will have already developed immunity."
"The only truly useful thing is this blade. This blade can genuinely inflict damage on ghosts, but how could ordinary mortals like us ever match up to a ghost?"
"That's why when we encounter a ghost, we run. Our job is reconnaissance, handling, and cleanup work. We just need to explore and report back."
A voice crackled through the walkie-talkie, and Naoya listened intently to the transmission.
"Are they assigning our tasks now?"
"Naoya, you're responsible for the area around Shiro-yama Street 117."
Hearing this, Naoya immediately lost his temper.
"You old codger, you know damn well I'm training a newcomer, yet you still dispatch me to that high-risk zone!"
"Pisses me off. Let's go."