This story takes place around fifty years before the main story, and is unrelated to it.
Michiyo Sorahashi lived with regret until her pre-teen years.
She was born into a normal working couple, and lived without a problem until she was a little girl. But one day, she found a picture of her father with another woman, and asked her mother who that was.
Since that day, the once harmonious relationship deteriorated into fighting, and eventually, divorce.
She did not understand why her family had to split up. And when the young girl asked her father, he berated her and told her it was because she showed that picture.
That led to more fighting.
She was shocked to hear this from her usually gentle father, and cried a lot. But her parents were too busy fighting to mind her.
Her mother then took her back to her parents’ house.
The divorce led to her changing her last name to Sorahashi. She was not used to it at first, but it felt natural by the time she entered grade school.
Her grandparents were kind, and bought Michiyo everything she wanted.
They dotted on her a lot, and although they lived on a pension, they gave her not just things, but plenty of love as well.
Because of this, she was never lonely.
Something happened when she entered grade school.
There was talk, even in the news, about a former seeker criminal living in her town.
In school, they were instructed to go to and from school in groups, and went home separated by school areas.
There were ten of them at first, but one after the other, they went down separate roads.
When there were five left, it was time for Michiyo’s exit. Being alone for a couple of minutes did not worry her, but she saw someone severely injured for the first time.
“A-are you okay?”
She asked fearfully, and saw the woman opening her eyes.
“…Come here, little girl.”
“The woman covered in blood got up, and motioned for Michiyo to follow her.
She shrunk back and looked around, but saw no one. Even the other children had already gone ahead.
She wanted to run away, but slowly approached, feeling the woman was desperate.
“I’m sorry if I scared you. I have a favor to ask.”
“Favor?”
“Yes, give this to the person in the photo.”
Michiyo suddenly felt her consciousness going far away.
She did not understand what that was, but she thought she had to hear what the woman wanted.
Ten years later, she understood this was the Hypnosis skill, but the young Michiyo had no idea what it was, or any way to guard against it.
“Can you do this for me?”
She nodded to the woman covered in wounds, and took two film canisters and a photo.
She then went straight home without looking back, and entered it as if nothing happened.
Immediately after, several men entered a vacant house, but no one noticed it.
◇ ◇ ◇
Michiyo forgot what happened that day.
She was influenced by the bloody woman’s skill, but no one pointed it out.
She did not know what were the photo and film canisters on the desk, but put it deep in her backpack for some reason.
Had she placed them in an easy to find place, she could have avoided a tragedy.
A week after the onset of the rumors about the former seeker criminal, life went on as usual.
As she walked home from school, the nice smell from a home where dinner was being cooked made her hungry. The growing girl’s stomach growled, and she hastened her pace.
Along the way, she said goodbye to the others, and walked the short path home.
But for some reason, the usually not very traveled road was filled with people to the point where she could not advance.
She peeked to try and see what was going on, and felt a burning smell and saw flames.
The big fire excited the small girl, but she trembled when she realized it was her house.
W-why is my house…
She thought.
She pushed her way through the crowd, and saw many firetrucks as well as firemen putting out the fire.
The fire did not stop at her house, and spread to the others, which gave the firemen a hard time. A lot of water was expelled from the hoses as they tried to stop the fire, but Michiyo’s house was already completely burned.
“Grandpa, grandma…”
Her mother was working in a nearby supermarket, so she was not home at that hour. However, her elderly grandparents should be taking it easy at home.
Surely they were fine, they must have ran away, she told herself as she looked around for them. But she did not see them, and pushed her way through the crowd and away from it.
But she still did not find them, which made her anxious.
It’s okay, it’s okay…
She believed.
But after the fire was extinguished, two bodies were found holding each other in the ruins of the building.
Her mother was struck with grief, and Michiyo broke down crying.
Still, her mother rose up to raise Michiyo.
She had her parents life insurance, so money was not a pressing issue, but she worked as hard as she could for Michiyo’s future.
She left in the morning with her, Michiyo stopped by her mother’s workplace, and they returned home together.
This went on for a year, until one day someone calling himself a policeman visited.
The reason was simple, they had found who did that to Michiyo’s grandparents.
The fire that killed them was no simple fire. The house was broken into, the grandparents were handcuffed, and the house was searched.
This was good news, but the mother’s heart was unmoved. The culprit being found would not bring back her parents.
But the police officer continued.
The culprit died in that fire.
…I see.
Michiyo’s mother sounded both languid and relieved.
The police officer then showed her the picture of a woman, and called her the culprit.
The mother trembled a little as she took the photo
Seeing that made Michiyo remember something, but although she was scared, she said nothing.
That was the woman who gave Michiyo something.
She did not say it. She could not understand why she forgot about it. Her heart was filled with fear.
Was she there to take back what she left with her?
“Do you know anything?”
Asked the police officer as she faced down.
It was easy to say she did not know, but she wanted to escape her guilty consciousness. Could it be that receiving that caused her grandparents to… She thought.
“Michiyo, do you know anything?”
Her mother’s questions made her cry and confess.
She said she received something, and was asked to give it to someone by a woman covered in blood.
Her mother listened with a serious expression, but did not admonish her. But the air around the police officer changed.
“…Where is it?”
The police officer asked with a smile, but it was a creepy fake one.
Still, since a police officer asked, she tried to respond, but could not. And she could not point to the backpack either.
The woman’s Hypnotism bound her.
“What is it Michiyo? Do you feel sick?”
Her mother looked on with worry as Michiyo’s face turned pale, but she could only shake her head.
Her mother thought it was strange, and thought to ask the police officer to return another day.
“Excuse me, but my daughter…!?”
A gunshot echoed. A red mist went up and stained the floor.
“Mom…?”
She could not understand what happened.
Her mother suddenly collapsed, and something red flowed. It took some time for her to realize it was blood.
“Mom! Mom!!”
She ran to her mother, and called out to her, not knowing what to do. She appeared to have been shot in the abdomen, and her breathing was faint.
She reached towards a rotary phone to call an ambulance, but a gunshot and voice stopped her.
“Little girl, I will spare you if you tell me where the thing the woman in the photo gave you is.”
The phone was shot and fell.
The dial was broken, and would not be making any calls.
The police officer approached with a creepy smile and spoke to her.
He shot the phone, and her mother.
“W-why?”
Why did he shoot her, she asked, but he pointed the gun at her with no intention to answer.
“I don’t have time, old man. Can you answer before I count to five?”
She could not process what was happening, and her thoughts almost froze.
Why did the police officer shoot her mother?
“One.”
At this rate, her mother would die. She had to call an ambulance! From the neighbors house!
“Two. Hey, where do you think you’re going?”
Another shot was fired, this time hitting the floor close to Michiyo.
“It’d be easier if you just said it. Three.”
The police officer loaded the revolver.
At this point, Michiyo finally realized her life was in danger, and the fear made her freeze.
“Four.”
Help me help me help me help me help me help me help me… Someone help me!!
“Five. Too bad. Goodbye, little girl.”
The police officer’s finger moved to slowly pull the trigger.
Then glass broke, and someone entered the house.
“Wha!?”
The gun was pointed away from Michiyo and at the intruder.
It was fired multiple times, but the invader dodged it all and approached the police officer.
“Gah!?”
A fist hit the police officer in the face, and he smacked into the floor hard.
The impact was such that the police officer bounced and rolled.
And there stood a man, snorting.
“Trash officer! What are you pointing at a kid!!?”
The invader was furious as he looked down at the police officer who was already unconscious.
Michiyo could not hope to keep up with all this, and stood in a daze. She only realized she was saved when the man healed her mother.
◇ ◇ ◇
The man looked around the room and placed his hand on the mother. She was shot in the lung, and in critical condition. Normally, there would be no hope of saving her.
“Heal.”
With that, a warm light surrounded her mother, healing the wound and saving her from that desperate condition.
Michiyo saw this wondrous sight, and as she stood in a daze, she somehow knew her mother was being saved.
And she was right.
“It’s okay.”
The man said with a smile as he got up, and Michiyo gulped. She did not thank him or asked how he knew, instead…
“A lady gave me something to give you.”
It was the man in the photo the woman gave to her.
This was her encounter with Eiji Amatsu, who would go on to form the seeker association.
Join my patreon to support me and read ahead.
