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Chapter Seventeen: Nobu’s Files:

At Ju-Oh-Cho, the shinigami went over the Eda-Kimoto murder case. So far, most of the victims were accounted for. Yet, another piece remained missing. The boys looked over the list again.

"Something doesn't look right," Tatsumi said. "We have accounted for the murders by Yasuo and Shichiro, but there is still a huge number left unanswered."

"Haruka's doing?" Tsuzuki suggested. "She does have the experience." Hisoka shook his head.

"Even so, I highly doubt she would have the time to do all of this," he pointed out.

"So who else?" his partner asked.

"Her son," they heard someone say. The boys looked up to see Watari walking into the conference room.

"But we've covered Yasuo and Shichiro!" older Gushoshin said.

"Not them," the blonde scientist said. He placed a new picture on the table. The boys took a look.

"Nobu?" Tsuzuki asked.

"That's right," his friend said.

"Okay," Tatsumi said. "What do you have?"

"Plenty," Watari replied. He started up the laptop and pulled up the files.

"Kimoto Nobu," Watari read. "Age forty-nine from Kobe, Japan. Number of kills: twenty-seven known. I'm still trying to sort out the details."

"What's his kitsune?" Hisoka asked. Watari scrolled down.

"It's normal," he said. "No abnormalities like Kohaku." He moved to the next paragraph.

"The first kill took place in 1977," Watari went on.

"Any foreigners?" Tsuzuki asked.

"Just Americans," Watari said. "Speaking of which…" He scrolled to the next page.

"Meet his wife," he said. The boys crowded around for a closer look.

"She's an American?" Tatsumi asked.

"Uh-huh," Watari said. "Her name is Sharon Marie Kimoto. They married in 1983. I'm still gathering more information on her."

"Is she involved in the kills?" Tsuzuki asked.

"As far as I found, no," Watari replied.

"No?" his friend asked.

"They almost live separate lives," the scientist said as he pulled up another file. "She's a kindergarten teacher in Kobe. No criminal record and she comes from a rich Catholic family. No physical or mental illness in her health records either. She's just… normal." Watari turned to a confused bunch of shinigami.

"You're kidding, right?" Konoe asked.

"How… did they even meet?" Tatsumi asked.

"Why is it that anyone who marries into that family is either crazy or uninvolved?" Tsuzuki asked, blinking. Watari shrugged.

"I can't answer either question for you," he said. They all turned back to the screen.

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"I love you too, honey," Nobu said on the phone in his car, driving. "I'm going to stay a couple more days in Tokyo. I'll bring you a gift, okay? Say hi to Vicki-chan for me. Love you too, bye." He hung up the phone as he turned down Oda Lane. In twenty minutes, he found Kimoto Manor again. Nobu gave himself a little smile. That old house hasn't changed at all.