Don't forget to read the first part, or the previous post if you haven't!
In the last part, Junya started doubting his ability to solve the case after 4 days of nothing really being done. Thankfully, unexpected help will come, in a very surprising way. Let's begin, shall we?
???day ??:??
Home Apartment
[Phone ringing]
I hear a mobile phone ringing. Who is it? People are trying to sleep away their grief, you know.
"Hello?" I answered the phone with my head still half-asleep.
"You must be Lieutenant Kazami." It was a man's voice. I searched my memory, but I'd never heard this voice before.
"What you have before you is a very delicate case."
"It's not something the First Investigative Section can handle. That's why we turned our attention to you and Detective Kogure."
"You two are the ones closest to the core of this case..."
"Unfortunately, you are still caught in the shackles of common sense and cannot take the first step forward. Am I wrong?"
Am I still dreaming? How does this man know about the case?
"You can't handle this case on your own. So I've decided to bring in some help."
"Just who are you?" I asked, barely able to think straight.
"Me, you ask? Let's just say I'm from a 'certain organization' that's been paying attention to you."
[Disconnected call sound]
"...Huh? Hello?" He hung up. What was that all about?
[Image begins blinking before turning black]
I tried to think, but before I knew it, sleep took me back to the dream world...
Tuesday 7:55 AM
Home Apartment
The rising sun irritated my eyelids. I ended up waking 15 minutes before my alarm clock.
Somehow, I didn't feel like I had slept at all. I checked my cell phone on my bedside table.
When I looked at the incoming call history, there was one at exactly 3:00 AM. The caller was listed as "Not Available".
That late-night phone call wasn't a dream after all.
A 'not available' call means it came from overseas. I don't think that person could make a prank call from overseas, though...
And so, I entered the fifth day of the investigation with an uncertain feeling.
After finishing the deskwork in the morning, I met up with Mr. Kogure to investigate the school once more.
Tuesday 2:55 PM
Hanamine Private High School
When I arrived at Hanamine High, Mr. Kogure was waiting for me with a complicated look on his face.
He was accompanied by the folklorist Suimei Kirisaki and the coroner Hitomi Shikibu.
"Sir, what's going on?"
"Don't tell me, Junya-kun, you didn't ask us, too?"
"Eh? What do you mean?" "For cooperation. Someone asked us to help with your investigation. Our expert opinions were necessary or something."
"I was told your investigation was at a standstill, so I came here without suspecting anything... It seems that was somebody's idea of a prank call."I stopped him as he was about to leave with a disappointed sigh.
"Hold on, brother! Can I formally ask you to help with the investigation? The truth is, we really are stuck. Hitomi-san, please help us too." "Sir, are you sure?" "We can't afford to be complacent at this point. Let's make up some excuse to the principal and do some cheating."Although I thought this was an unbecoming proposal for a police officer to make, I still asked my brother for assistance as a last hope.
"Hello. I've been expecting you, Detective." Shintaro Nagamine, the principal of Hanamine Private High School, accepted us with a completely different attitude than he had yesterday.
"Um, Principal, sir. The truth is..."
"Yes, I heard. These are the people who'll help with the investigation, correct?"
"Eh?"
I was just about to make an excuse for my accompanying brother, but apparently, the principal was already aware of it.
"You already knew?"
"Yes, of course. Civilian experts would be accompanying you, and he asked me to give you his regards."
"Give me his regards... Who told you that?"
"Yesterday, after you left, there was another detective."
"He was a young detective who looked a little frivolous. He showed me his police ID and a recent warrant, so there's no doubt about it."
Who in the world is he? There should be no detective in the First Investigative Division willing to help us.
Mr. Kogure seemed to feel the same way, only shaking his head when his eyes met mine. "Do you know the detective's name?"
"That would be... I can't seem to recall it. I'm quite sure I heard it though... My apologies."
"There's just one thing that bothered me about him."
"What would that be?"
"The warrant that the detective was carrying..."
"It was dated four days ago."
Four days ago was the day Kaori Itou's body was found. So that detective must have anticipated that we would be stuck in our investigation four days earlier and thoughtfully obtained a warrant for us.
I mean, what the hell? This feels just like being bewitched by a fox.
"{Precognition}, huh..." My brother mumbled in a tone that made it hard to tell whether he was serious or joking. Hitomi sighed in resignation beside him.
We were left with a big question, but we couldn't stand still. With the principal present, we set out to investigate the school.
Now, where should we start?
>The library where Kaori Itou committed suicide
>The Fox Mound where Misa Sakita's spirit rests
We're on the realist route, and no matter what any suspicious organization says, we'll continue being rational.
>The library where Kaori Itou committed suicide
First of all, I decided to investigate the library where Kaori Itou had committed suicide.
"Junya. Why don't we split up? It would be inefficient for all of us to move around together. I'm going to check another place." [Literally a Scooby Doo episode] "A different place...?" "Don't worry, I can handle it. I'll show you my research skills as a folklorist. Kogure-kun, come with me as my assistant."After saying this, Brother started to walk away. Unable to leave a civilian alone, Mr. Kogure reluctantly followed him.
The principal looked at my brother's back and me for a while, but eventually chose him. In other words, I was to examine the library only with Ms. Hitomi.
"Junya-kun. Hasn't this place already been thoroughly investigated by both the Inui and the Metropolitan Police Department?"
"Yes, but they might have missed something."
"You're very passionate, or is it that you don't trust others?"
"I-it's nothing like that. I just wanted to make sure..."
Ms. Hitomi looked at me with amusement as I made excuses. I realized that I had been teased, and my face flushed red.
When I think about it, this situation is virtually the first time I've ever been alone with Ms. Hitomi. It's somewhat uncomfortable to become aware of it.
In no way is it because I don't like her. Although this isn't a 'passionate' place to be, I am alone with a beautiful woman. A normal man couldn't possibly resist being nervous.
"Junya-kun."
"Y-yes!?"
"Could you get on your hands and knees for a second?" [What]
What did you just say, Ms. Hitomi?
Nervously, I---
>Obey her order, "Certainly, my Queen!" [WHAT]
⬢ >Firmly oppose her, "No!"
After everything that has happened, I will not let Junya be pathetic any longer!
⬢ >Firmly oppose her, "No!"
"No!" I protested, although flustered.
I am indebted to Ms. Hitomi, but I have no reason to kneel to her out of the blue.
"...Junya-kun. Are you sure you aren't mistaken?" When the beautiful woman brought her face close to mine, I felt pressured.
"M-mistaken...?" That was all I could say.
"That's enough. Stay still."
When I thought Ms. Hitomi's face had disappeared from my vision, my sight went white.
It was a momentary leap. The graceful way she moved her body resembled that of a ballet dancer.
The scenery went blank, not because I fainted, but because Ms. Hitomi's clothes covered my vision.
"I wanted to take this," Hitomi said, holding a book in her hand.
"......What's that?"
"It's the school roster."
Ms. Hitomi just wanted to get a roster from a high place on the bookshelf. She wanted to use me as a platform for that purpose.
If she had explained it to me, I would have been happy to help, but I'll apologize for what I said anyway.
...Wait. I guess she was able to get the roster without me needing to get on my knees to make a platform, just by jumping.
I couldn't gauge Ms. Hitomi's true intentions, but I didn't have the courage to ask her under the current circumstances.
"Junya-kun. If we check this roster, we might find some new facts, don't you think?"
She's right. Let's just focus on the investigation here.
I turned the pages to look for clues in the book handed to me by Ms. Hitomi.
[Sounds of flipping pages]
When I stopped my hand, realizing the folly of turning pages in the dark without a purpose, I was struck by words I couldn't ignore.
"Misa Sakita", her name was in the first year class two years ago.
Misa Sakita, who died in a car accident two years ago, played Mr. Kokkuri on campus. She cannot be ignored.
If a causal link to this incident can be found, the next victim may be prevented.
"Oh my. Is Kaori Itou that Ms. Itou?"
Ms. Hitomi pointed to a place where she saw Kaori Itou's name. That's not all. There were also the names of Narumi Hasebe and Yuka Kamiyama.
"My goodness... They were all classmates..."
Dum, dum, DUM! We've found the connection between everything, but we gotta stop here. Next part, we'll reunite to talk about the clues both groups found, and then formulate our next step. Also, before I leave, I'll just say that shorter posts like these may become more common in the future, however, that doesn't mean longer posts won't happen at all, just that there'll be a bigger gap between them.
Anyway, see you next time!
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