Kaito returned to the apartment as silently as he had left it. He wasn't empty-handed. In his arms, he carried a simple cat carrier. Inside, the captured Bakeneko, now just a two-tailed black cat, watched them with sullen, intelligent eyes. It was no longer a terrifying monster, but a prisoner of war.
He placed the carrier on the floor in the center of the hidden library and drew a small circle around it with a piece of chalk from a drawer.
"What are you doing?" Aiko asked.
"Interrogating the prisoner," Kaito said simply. "But you cannot question a spirit with threats or violence. You question it with power and authority. And you," he said, turning to her, "are going to be the interrogator."
Aiko's eyes widened. "Me? But I... I don't know how."
"You do," he insisted. "You listened to a Tsukumogami. You spoke with a Zashiki-warashi. Now you will question an enemy. The principle is the same, but the intent is different. Do not project welcome or kindness. Project strength. This is your home. It tried to invade it. It is a defeated soldier. Show it the power of this place."
Aiko took a deep breath, her fear mixing with a strange sense of resolve. She knelt outside the chalk circle, looking at the cat. Kaito stood behind her, a silent guardian.
She closed her eyes and reached out with her mind. She didn't send warmth. She sent the feeling of Kaito's cold fury. She projected the ancient contentment of the teapot spirit. She projected the playful, protective energy of the house's Zashiki-warashi. She surrounded the Bakeneko's mind with the combined spiritual weight of their home. You are a guest here now, she projected, her thought sharp and clear. An unwelcome one. Tell us what we want to know.
The Bakeneko's response was a hiss of pure contempt in her mind. A feeling of loyalty to its master. I serve the Kageyama. I will tell you nothing, human.
You are in a house protected by the Ishikawa, Aiko sent back, pushing Kaito's spiritual presence to the forefront of her thought. Your master sent you to your defeat. Show some respect for your conqueror.
There was a flicker of surprise from the cat spirit, and a grudging hint of respect. It had been beaten, fairly, by a superior power. Aiko pressed her advantage. Who sent you?
The Bakeneko hesitated, then finally relented, sending a single, clear image into her mind: the face of a young, arrogant-looking man with a cruel smile. Below the image was a name: Takeda Kageyama.
Aiko opened her eyes. "His name is Takeda Kageyama," she reported to Kaito.
"The clan leader's youngest son," Kaito murmured, his expression turning to ice. "Ambitious. Reckless. He is the one leading the hunt."
They had their information. Now, for the message. Kaito didn't harm the cat. His plan was far more elegant, and far more terrifying. He went to a desk and returned with a small, red silk ribbon and a tiny, rolled-up piece of paper.
He opened the carrier, and with a swift, gentle movement, he tied the ribbon around the Bakeneko's neck. The cat hissed but did not fight him. He then walked to the main window of the living room and opened it, letting in the cool night air.
"Go," he commanded the spirit. "Return to Takeda Kageyama. Give him a message from the Ishikawa."
The Bakeneko leaped from its carrier, shot across the room, and vanished into the night.
Aiko watched it go, then turned to Kaito. "What was on the paper? A threat? A demand?"
"No," Kaito said, a chillingly calm smile on his face as he closed the window. "Thugs send threats. I sent him something far worse."
He looked at her, his eyes dark with the promise of what was to come.
"I sent him a map," he said. "A very detailed map of his own home. And on that map, I drew a small, simple circle around his daughter's bedroom."