the Garden of sinners

In September 1998, a string of seemingly random suicides leaves Japan baffled and devastated. But a detective agency specializing in paranormal occurrences notices that there are a few glaring, disturbing similarities tying the deceptively unrelated cases together: All the victims are schoolgirls, and all of them have jumped to their deaths from atop the condemned Fujou Building...

In the winter of 1995, Mikiya Kokutou passes a young woman during a late night stroll in the snow. Clad in a striking white kimono and bearing an enigmatic gaze, Shiki Ryougi smiles at Mikiya who stares back with curiosity. As they become acquaintances through lunchtime conversations, Shiki begins opening up to him, with Mikiya learning about her unique upbringing.

On a solemn night in July 1998, teenager Fujino Asagami is mercilessly raped by a street gang in a dilapidated bar. No matter what physical or sexual abuse they deal, however, the girl regards her captors with the same apathetic expression. The next day, mangled bodies are discovered in that same building, so torn apart that investigators find it infeasible to even consider the culprit human...

June 1998: After spending two years in a coma caused by a traffic accident, Shiki Ryougi awakens with amnesia. She is visited by Touko Aozaki, a wizard and proprietor of a studio called Garan no Dou. Shiki has lost not only the memory of her accident, but also any real sense that she's even alive. Strangely, enigmatic beings begin to attack her...

In November 1998, a double homicide occurs at the newly constructed Ogawa apartment complex. Shiki meets a boy named Tomoe Enjou, a runaway who claims to be the murderer, and lets him use her apartment as his hideout. From that day onward, their strange cohabitation begins. Coincidentally, Mikiya Kokutou is investigating a tip regarding the murder at that unique apartment complex...

January 1999: Apprentice mage Azaka Kokutou, Mikiya's younger sister, has been ordered by her mentor, Touko Aozaki, to investigate a certain incident in which fairies steal the memories of students at Azaka's school, Reien Academy. Azaka launches an investigation with the help of Shiki.

In February 1999, a string of murders has Shiki Ryougi and Mikiya Kokutou on edge. These crimes share a disturbing resemblance to a similar set of homicides from 1995, when Shiki and Mikiya first met, and awaken a dark, murderous desire that has laid dormant within Shiki's soul ever since then.

March 1999: Mikiya Kokutou meets "Shiki Ryougi" again at the same place where he met her for the first time four years ago…

August 1998. At this moment, serial bomber Meruka Kuramitsu is certain of victory. Flip a switch. In the ensuing explosion, Shiki Ryougi’s body will scatter into pieces. Can Shiki survive the battle against this person with precognitive power?

Shiki ends up keeping a black cat while Mikiya Kokutou is out of town. Meanwhile, Ririsu Miyasuki, a student of Reien Girls’ Academy, suffers from the loss of her best friend who committed suicide by jumping off the Fujou Building. When she tries to kill herself, she encounters her classmate Asagami Fujino, who has psychokinetic power.