Author's Notes: This is the rewrite of The Stranger From A Foreign Land. Now you might be wondering as to why and well, to explain my side of things, the previous work was set to be doomed due to timeline errors or inconsistencies. When I was writing the previous one, I wasn't able to find any concrete timeline of events in Slashdog until yesterday while I was writing the next chapter. It sucks though, rewriting your work is a pain but oh well for the sake of the plot and events I'll keep going. Don't worry there will be no changes in the pairings, I might add some in the future though.

He knew that this was not either a dream or a vision of sorts. This, was a memory that he had from the past.

It was when he was a seventeen years old. At that time, he had accidentally wandered to an unfamiliar territory while finding a suitable university to his liking like how a typical graduated high school teenager would and should do.

As the the warm spring breeze of March touched his cheeks and neck in the middle of early night, he find himself stumbled upon a predicament that he did not expect to come to him in that specific day.

A murder scene.

Men twice his age garbed in black kimono had surrounded a mother and a child, brandishing a Japanese sword which they hold firmly in their hands. One of those swords have been stained with blood.

"Mother! Mother...!"

The cry of the child, of a daughter, echoed throughout the vicinity as she straddled against the lifeless body of her parent lying on a pool of her own blood.

"Dammit! There's a witness!"

One of the man blurted out the moment they were alerted by his presence.

"Then kill him and the girl too! Leave no witnesses behind."

The moment that those words left another man's lips, he saw several figures immediately jumped at him with their steel blades were engulfed in fiery blaze, emanating with malicious intent.

A wicked purpose of ending his life in one fell swoop just for witnessing something he shouldn't have.

He could not understand why he was put in such a situation. He had already paid his dues, accepted the short end of the stick that fate had drawn for him and embraced the gruesome end of his journey.

And yet here he was, being pushed once again by invisible forces in a circumstance that he did not want to partake with.

"Wake up, please...! Waaa...!"

...Perhaps sacrificing his peace that he wanted to keep for himself in this lifetime might be not a bad thing. Probably. So he raised his hand in front, trying to draw something out from within that which he had already forgotten on purpose and said.

"Hack."

At that moment the men garbed in kimono responded to his word with a pain-stricken face, their movements halted and the flames imbuing their swords vanished in thin air without a trace. One by one they fell on the cold pavement unable to move or twitch a muscle even the slightest.

And then he noticed a pair of violet orbs gazing on him. A mixture of fear, grief, confusion and despair emanated from within them as the body of the owner trembled while her bloodied hands desperately trying to hold on the seemingly lifeless body of her mother.

Seeing this, he raised his hand once again and muttered something under his breath.

Yes, he knew that this was not either a dream or a vision.

PROLOGUE

First week of April—.

It was around ten in the morning when his first client of the day stepped in his humble office, Hakuno Kishinami sat calmly as he took a sip of tea from his cup.

After finishing his degree in Criminal Justice, he went on becoming a private investigator. Due to how he managed to graduate within a two and a half year time frame and being the youngest detective ever to held office in Japan, many PI agencies were sending him letters and invitations to join them.

Unfortunately for them, he politely declined all of their invitations and went on setting up his own agency somewhere in Kyoto. To be fair, he weighed the pros and cons of joining any existing private investigation agency and decided that it was best for him to establish his own.

The reason for that was very simple—his agency cater more than your daily normal cases. The client garbed in pure black sitting right in front of him was one among many proofs that he is better operating on his own.

"Ah, such beauty! What a great time is it to be alive."

Saying so while flicking some magazine with his finger was a man with short black hair tinged with golden bangs. He was an acquaintance of Hakuno that he had met a few years ago. He also happens to be a research fanatic and a proud super pervert, Azazel. His smile was lecherous.

"My office isn't a lounge for reading deviant publications, you know?"

Hakuno responded as his eyes stared at his client.

The man had come to Hakuno saying that he have something that he wanted to be investigated. From Hakuno's perspective, he couldn't help but feel that it was just a ruse so that the man can engage in his perverse antics.

That is, reading a pornographic material on broad daylight.

He could only let out a sigh, knowing that people like Azazel would flock to him sooner or later. As much as he does not want to admit it, his existence attracts those whose mentality and alignment can be categorized or grouped as "chaotic" and "evil".

Hakuno had already given up on trying to answer such dilemma in that regard and just roll with it.

"Oh, come on. With the stress I have accumulated from the mountain of paperwork, can you blame me for seeking respite?"

"By reading porn?"

Azazel just laughed and chuckled. Hakuno sighed, rubbing his temple with his thumb.

After he finished reading a part of the publication, Azazel snapped his fingers. A document materialized in his hand.

"When I said that I want you to investigate something, I wasn't lying. Even though I lie all the time."

The man bolstered a smirk as he placed the file on Hakuno's desk. The lad took the document and read the contents in it.

"This is..."

"As much as I want to handle it on my own, I'm currently busy with important things back at home. I hope you can look on to it in my stead."

Azazel responded to him. This time, the smirk and mischief that was on his face earlier had been replaced with a serious expression. Hakuno could not blame him after reading the contents of the document.

"Don't worry, I'll look on to it as soon as possible."

Hakuno then placed the file in one of his desk's drawers.

As he reached for the door, Azazel turned his head back at Hakuno and say.

"As the Governor-General of Grigori, it is a pleasure doing business with you detective."

He gave an apologetic smile, and departed.

From his seat, Hakuno rested his back against the cushion of his chair. He closed his eyes as his mind were then flooded with various thoughts.

How much time had passed since he arrived here?

How much time did he spent living in a borrowed body?

How much time did he spent using a borrowed name?

How much time did he spent fulfilling a borrowed dream?

Those were the thoughts in his head. Frankly enough, Hakuno wasn't sure how to answer it without feeling any conflicting emotions erupting in his chest.

"Well, I am who I am."

He said as he opened his eyes. Grabbing the file he put in his drawer, he then began to slowly dissecting each part of the report.