Episode 2 - Oni - Part 7

 Don't forget to read the first or previous part if you haven't!

In the last part, we unveiled the dark secret hidden within the Saitou house, quite literally as well. A hidden room where no light can reach once locked. Its entrance is located in the living room, just behind a movable bookcase. We were able to get a confession from Yukari, she 'educated' Yuusuke by locking him in that room for days. Despite this clear show of child abuse, we still decided that she might not have staged the kidnapping. There was no evidence, after all. Now without a suspect, we take a look back at the oni's characteristics and use previously ignored aspects to search for another possibility. That possibility's name is Kyouko Yukimura, and now, we'll be going to her home to confirm our suspicions. Let's begin, shall we?

Yukimura's apartment was in a quiet residential area. I wonder if this is another way to avoid contact with people as much as possible...

"Sir... that apartment over there, with the pitch-black curtains..." Mr. Kogure says in a nervous whisper.

Certainly, the other apartments don't have their curtains closed during the day. However, the window we were looking at has them closed.

---Is no one there? ---Or, is someone sleeping inside?

We carefully, with stealthy steps, made our way to Kyoko Yukimura's apartment.

When we arrived at the front of the room, we waited and confirmed the inside. ---No sounds came from within. It was as still as death.

"What are we going to do, sir?" I hesitated. I had to make the best decision to rescue Yuusuke-kun.

After much hesitation---

                >I decided to ring the doorbell

                  >I decided to discuss with Doumyouji

   ⬢ >I decided to force our way in

   

Let's not break the law and announce our presence first.

                >I decided to ring the doorbell

I decided to ring the doorbell. If I could just get Yukimura to come out...

"..."

"......"

"......?"

But there was no answer at all. I put my ear to the door, but there was not a sound. Is no one there?

"Sir, she doesn't like to be in contact with people. I think she'll stay away even if you ring the doorbell." It's exactly as he says.

Thinking about it, it's hard to believe that Yukimura would show up just because the doorbell rang.

I was forced to change my strategy. I asked the landlord on the first floor to lend me a key to search the apartment.

Legally speaking, this isn't an acceptable act, but since a considerable amount of time has already passed, the safety of the hostage was my main concern.

I took a deep breath and inserted the borrowed key into the keyhole.

Bating my breath, I step foot into the pitch-black apartment.

There was no sound. No signs of people. But, I wasn't careless.

Mr. Kogure and I signaled each other with our eyes, took off our shoes, and walked carefully so as not to make any footsteps.

Yukimura's room seemed to be a one-room apartment, with only one frosted glass door visible in the back of the kitchen. The other doors were probably for the toilet and the bathroom.

We stopped in front of a door and nodded to each other, sticking to the walls on either side.

Is Yukimura in there? Is Yuusuke-kun in there? Questions and doubts dizzyingly spin round and round in my head.

Resolved, I opened the door lightly.

When I fearfully peeked inside, I saw a slight light shining through a gap in the curtains, illuminating the room.

I looked around the room cautiously, but no one is there. Neither Yukimura nor Yuusuke-kun seemed to be inside.

I groped for the switch in the room and turned on the lights.

"Ugh...!?" Mr. Kogure groaned. A groan accompanied by fear as if he had seen something terrible...

The room, reflected in the dazzling lighting, was filled with a strange atmosphere.

It looked like a little girl's room.

Floral wallpaper. Pink curtains.

A decorative lace cloth was hung to cover a computer monitor and television set in the corner of the room.

We entered picturing a room where the kidnapper holed herself up, but we didn't expect to find something like this.

It shouldn't be scary, but the gap between the two sent chills down my spine.

While I was looking for clues about Yuusuke-kun, I noticed something.

Something was missing from here that every woman's room should have.

That being---

    >A mirror

   >Makeup

   

Since using makeup also needs a mirror, I'll cut the middleman.

    >A mirror

"I see. There's no mirror in this room. Not a single one..."

"A mirror?" Mr. Kogure asked curiously in return to my monologue.

"Yeah. In a woman's room, there should be mirrors of various sizes. But in this room, there isn't a single mirror, not even a small hand mirror."

Mr. Kogure searches all over the room to make sure. "It's as you said, sir. Why, even the washbasin's mirror has been removed."

"Mr. Kogure, please look at that. A cloth is covering the computer monitor. Could it be that it's because she didn't want her image reflected in it?"

"Hmm. So she dislikes mirrors to the extent of being so thorough...?"

"I think so. And, that fits with the oni woman's trait of 'running away when she sees other people'."

"Sir, do you think that Yukimura is the oni?" Mr. Kogure's pale face looked around restlessly.

"We can't declare that yet. However, it's a safe bet to say she's a likely suspect."

I approached the computer, trying to get more information. "Do you want to see it, too?"

"Yeah. For Kyouko Yukimura, a computer would have been a necessity. She very likely purchased her daily necessities by mail over the Internet to live without leaving her home."

"Maybe we can find out a little bit about her life by examining this." I turned on the computer. The booting-up noises resounded in the quiet apartment, then the monitor screen lighted up.

I connected to the Internet and checked what kind of websites Kyouko Yukimura had visited in the past. As expected, most of them were mail-order sites.

This computer will be confiscated when the investigation team arrives. We must gather information while it's still in our grasp.

I selected the item "Recently Used Files" and checked the data recently used by Kyouko Yukimura.

(DIARY)

My heart reacted violently.

It's a diary. Kyouko Yukimura wrote a diary on her computer.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead and selected the oldest entry.

X Month 8th Day

My therapist told me to keep a journal.

So that I can look at myself objectively.

Will it make this unbearable feeling of wanting to die to go away?

Will it make me feel less like I don't want to see anyone?

I don't think it will.

I can't trust anyone.

I hate myself so much.

I'm sure that looking at it objectively will only make me feel that way again.

I feel nauseous.

X Month 9th Day

I have nothing to write. It's only the second day and I have nothing to write about.

No wonder, since I stay at home all day.

Just living life.

Actually, no.

Just not dying.

X Month 10th Day

The black curtains are hung so I can't see the outside world.

I used my voice.

A cry that no one heard.

A cry that no one hears is as if it never existed.

It's as if I never existed as well.

It had been a long time since I used my voice.

For a while, the contents remained similarly depressive, but in the following month, a change was seen.

That entry began like so--- "I came across a boy."

I read through the diary as if I was drawn into it.

X Month 17th Day

I came across a boy.

How many years has it been since I've talked to a person face to face?

I've only spoken to my counselor on the phone.

It's been what, two years?

I talked to him for a while. It was fun.

I haven't had this much fun in a long time.

Oh, where do I start?

I'm extremely excited.

I'll write starting from the encounter. In order not to forget.

We met by the riverside.

I wanted to die, so I left home. I was going to kill myself by drowning.

I was once burned by a raging fire.

That's why I wanted to die enveloped in great amounts of water.

I'm not scared of dying.

It's nothing compared to the horror of the human ego.

It had been a long time since I was outside in the daytime.

I wandered to the river as if something was guiding me.

The river water was cold and pleasant. It felt like it washed everything away.

When I walked to the middle of the river, I suddenly felt a hand grab me.

'It's dangerous, what are you doing?', said the child who grabbed me.

I want to die. So I said.

But that boy pulled me toward the shore with great force. I tried to shake his hand off, saying it was none of his business.

However, he said it was.

He didn't want anyone to die in his favorite place.

I was dragged to shore by his unexpectedly strong force.

Truthfully, I should have been burned to death, so dying here would have been the same.

When I said this, the boy was a little startled and rolled up his shirt to show me his back.

There were burn marks on his back that made me want to turn away.

"It's the same for me." So he spoke.

Tears welled up.

I didn't know why. The boy was flustered, but he wiped my tears with a handkerchief.

My heart ached. It was as if my heart was being squeezed so tight that it hurt.

It was then that I finally realized that I wasn't afraid of the boy.

It seems that he came to the riverside whenever he has a hard time.

I asked him what had happened, but he didn't tell me.

Instead, he told me that this riverbank was the place of the memories of his father.

I was glad that I didn't die.

Today, I was about to defile his place of memories with my death.

When I had failed to kill myself in the past, I had always felt that I had failed to die, that I hadn't been allowed to die.

But today, I was truly glad that I didn't die.

I had never felt this way before.

The time I spent with him passed by in a flash.

As he was getting ready to go home, I called out to him fearfully, as if I were a girl who had fallen in love for the first time.

"Can I... see you again?"

My voice trembled. Afraid that he might have noticed that, I desperately tried to keep my calm.

I was scared of being rejected.

I was terrified that this miraculous encounter would end just today.

That's why I really didn't want to hear something like that.

If he said, "I'll never come back", I wouldn't be able to regain the will to live.

But...

"I'll come back tomorrow!"

My heart trembled.

As I stared at the shadow of that boy growing smaller and smaller, I prayed that tomorrow would come soon.

Perhaps, I thought, this is what it means to be "alive".

It's not the state of "not dead" that I have been in up until now.

It's the state of being alive.

The feeling of yearning for tomorrow---

"SIR!"

Mr. Kogure's voice snapped me out of my reverie. I turned around in a panic to see Mr. Kogure holding something up with his white-gloved hand.

"P-please look at this!"

"---Ah!" It was a textbook. And the name written on it was---

"Second year, class 2, Yuusuke Saitou"

"I found a school bag in the room over there, and in it, this! I'm sure of it! The culprit is Kyouko Yukimura!"

I called Doumyouji and arranged to have the apartment searched.

Soon the room will be packed with HQ and forensic investigators.

Conversely, as the room will be in the hands of the investigation team, we can no longer investigate it.

So, while knowing it was a crime, I decided to take out a copy of Kyouko Yukimura's diary.

"S-sir... that's..." The deeply sincere Mr. Kogure wavered for a moment about whether he should stop me or not.

"I'll take responsibility." After copying the diary data, we quickly left Kyouko Yukimura's house.

After leaving Yukimura's house, we decided to return to the Archival Office. The sun was beginning to set, but we couldn't let up on our investigation.

And I'm curious about Kyouko Yukimura's diary. I have to read the rest of it soon...

I immediately started up my computer and read the diary that I had copied.

I tried to report the investigation to the Inspector, but she was sleeping peacefully on the couch, so I left it at that.

"Mr. Kogure. By reading this diary, we'll learn more about Kyouko Yukimura's character and perhaps even find a clue to solving the case."

Mr. Kogure nodded his head with a meek expression. After taking a deep breath, I began to read the rest of the diary.

X Month 18th Day

The promised time was in the afternoon, but I couldn't wait. In the morning, as soon as I woke up, I went to the riverside.

What if he didn't show up?

He wouldn't break his promise. For some reason, I felt that way and kept waiting.

And then he came.

When he saw me, he smiled and waved his hand.

That alone brought tears to my eyes.

He asked me, "Where does it hurt again?", I couldn't stop crying more and more because of his kindness.

He laughed and said, "You're a crybaby, aren't you?".

Talking with him, time passed quickly.

I didn't have anything to talk about, so all I could do was listen to what he had to say.

He talked a lot about himself, his friends, the games he liked to play, and so on.

But I had nothing to speak about with him.

I hated myself.

He might have thought I was boring.

What should I do if that's the case?

I'm scared...

X Month 19th Day

I studied as hard as I could on the Internet about the things that boy liked. It had been a long time since I stayed up all night.

I crammed my head full of unknown things that I had never come into contact with before.

It was just like when I used to cram all night before a test when I was a student. When I went to the riverside at the appointed time, still sleep-deprived, he was already there and smiled at me, saying, "We meet again, haven't we?"

I tried to talk for dear life.

I talked about what he liked and his favorite things. He was very happy.

But my heart ached because I felt like I was cheating him.

Now, he's the only thing that makes my life worth living.

For him, I would do anything...

X Month 20th Day

Not only was it raining, but today was also a Saturday.

I was anxious and worried, wondering if he was at our usual spot at the riverside, so I was restless from the morning.

I couldn't stand it any longer and went to the riverside around noon, and there he was, standing alone with an umbrella.

I invited him to my house because I didn't want him to get wet and catch a cold.

His clothes were wet, so I tried to dry him off, but he vehemently refused.

I was confused and didn't know what to do. I apologized desperately. The boy forgave me, saying it was okay.

But then I saw them.

I saw his legs under his pants.

From my small peek, I saw many blue bruises on his skin.

I asked him, "What's wrong?", but he only gave me a sad look and didn't answer me.

We played a video game.

He told me he usually couldn't play the game much, but he was a quick learner and soon became very good at it.

I was so bad at it that I was no match for him at all.

Sorry.

Playing games with me was no fun at all, wasn't it?

But he would laugh at me and tell me how bad I was at it, before earnestly teaching me how to play.

He always took care of me.

Even though he could have been more selfish.

Or maybe it's selfish of me to think so.

Tomorrow is Sunday. Apparently, he can't come. Just hearing that made me very depressed.

He said he would come back on Monday, but it'll be hard not to see him for a day. Very, very hard.

I can't imagine my life without him.

I don't know why I've become so dependent on him...

X Month 21st Day

Today is Sunday. He's not coming.

He always has some reason not to be able to go out on Sundays.

Why is that? Is it more important than me?

But I'm too scared to ask him that.

If I did, I would only become a nasty woman to him...

X Month 24th Day

The boy told me a little about his burns.

They were all over his back and were painful to look at.

But for some reason, he was proud.

When I asked him, "Isn't it painful?", he shook his head.

"This burn is a sign of love."

He smiled happily.

X Month 28th Day

Today is Sunday and that boy came to see me.

In the evening, when the sun was about to set, he came to my house to play.

Although he wasn't supposed to be able to come.

I was so happy that I cried again.

He stayed with me until late at night.

I cooked dinner for him and treated him.

It had been years since I had cooked for someone.

I was excited to cook because I wanted to see that boy's smiling face.

He was happy, but I put a little too much effort into it.

I think I made too much.

Not so long ago, every time the night came, I would feel so lonely that I would start to cry, and it would be so hard that I wanted to die.

But today, he was there. I wasn't lonely. I walked the streets at night with him. I was happy...

X Month 29th Day

He didn't come. Despite promising yesterday.

What's wrong? Did something happen?

I was so worried. I thought about going to the riverbank, but then I realized that if I left this house and didn't find him there...

I've been waiting in my room all day...

Oh, why won't you come...?

X Month 30th Day

He didn't come today too.

Anxiety and despair kept me up last night.

I want to hear his voice...

X Month 31st Day

Why? Have you become tired of me already?

In the end, was I just too dull?

Sixty-eight hours have passed since he stopped coming.

I haven't slept a wink in that time.

I can't imagine life without him.

To think that loneliness could be so painful.

I can't stand the thought of spending time alone anymore.

Why won't you come? Did something happen...?

Living has become painful yet again...

X Month 1st Day

That boy didn't come today as well.

Why...?

X Month 2nd Day

He came! He returned to my place again!

But he was so skinny.

He had lost a lot of weight in the last four days.

As soon as he saw me, he said, "Sorry".

I persistently tried to persuade him to tell me what had happened.

But he wouldn't say a word to me.

It must be his parent, surely.

His parent must be restraining him.

Poor kid's hands were covered in scratches. Bright red stuff stuck between his fingernails.

No amount of washing could remove it.

I can't believe she starved him so much...

I can't believe she treated him this badly...

Unforgivable...!

Something must be done about this...!

X Month 3rd Day

I took a walk with him. How many times have we done this?

Holding each other's hands, we walked into the city at night.

It felt like a miracle for someone like me, who normally can't even go outside, to have a walk like this. 

He said, "Let's go for a walk at noon, too." 

He was worried about my skin, saying, "What white skin." 

I was so happy to hear that, I cried.

X Month 4th Day

I hadn't seen the sun for a long time.

That boy came all the way here around noon and took a walk with me.

Holding hands with me, who was scared of strangers and trembling, he seemed unconcerned.

On the contrary, he seemed to enjoy talking with me as usual. I felt the grace of the sun on that riverbank and the cool breeze on my cheeks...

I had never felt so refreshed in my life.

That boy makes me human again.

I wasn't very talkative today, was I? Sorry.

I just wanted to cry as I walked through the sunlit streets. I've been trying to hold back the tears. I'll be called a crybaby again.

But I was so happy.

I would do anything for you. I would sacrifice everything for your happiness. You are everything to me...

X Month 5th Day

I can't believe it

His parents

Why didn't I hear of this before

That name

I'll never forget it

My

My

That woman...

I'm not alone anymore

That woman doesn't deserve him

That boy is mine

Wounded

Blood

He's mine

Forever together ForeverForeverForeverForeverForeverForeverForeverForeverForeverForeverForForForForForForForForForForFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

The diary ended there. I breathed heavily when I finished reading it.

"Sir, the boy mentioned in Yukimura's diary is probably Yuusuke-kun, right?"

"Yeah, from its contents... Probably."

Yukimura's emotions, revealed in the diary, are far removed from an oni's grudges. ---Rather, they give the impression of a young girl who has fallen in love for the first time.

Unless she planned a forced double suicide in her confusion, it's safe to say that Yuusuke-kun's safety is guaranteed. This gave me a little peace of mind.

Mr. Kogure continues. "And, the woman mentioned in the diary must be Yukari Saitou then, correct?"

"Probably..."

"That means... that Yukimura knows about Yukari Saitou... because of what she did."

That's right. So what about the other way around? Could Yukari Saitou also know about Yukimura?

Thinking that this was the key to the case, Mr. Kogure and I set out for the Saitous' house.

However, when we reached the fifth basement hallway, we were stopped by a familiar face.

"Whoa, sir, where are you going?"

"What are you doing here, Mr. Doumyouji? We're kind of in a hurry right now..."

"The Archival Office really is on the fifth basement floor, huh~? Then, I wonder if that rumor is also true." Doumyouji blurted out as if he didn't hear what I was saying.

"Mr. Doumyouji. I'm going to see Ms. Saitou and ask her if she knows anything about Kyouko Yukimura. I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait until later."

"That's pretty cold, isn't it? But, I don't think you should go there right now."

"Why!?" Mr. Kogure leaned forward, trying to be threatening.

Doumyouji, however, is grinning unabashedly. "At today's investigative meeting, they decided to send quite a few investigators to the Saitou household."

"Why now...?"

"It's very typical of Superintendent Innami, you know? But, given the matter of that hidden room, it involves the surveillance of Yukari Saitou, just in case."

"Besides, if they don't solve the case, they can use the large number of investigators as an excuse to say they did everything they could."

"Wh-what!?" Mr. Kogure flew into a rage, throwing spit everywhere.

"No way... I can't believe they're moving on now to making excuses for their failure..."

"That's how Superintendent Innami is. For him, his priority is to protect his position and save his own skin. Honestly, I can't stand him at all."

Doumyouji took the words from my mouth. For such a person to be in the police force, furthermore, in the upper echelons, is unforgivable.

"Sir. I understand how you feel, but please restrain yourself for now. I'll give you a chance to talk to Yukari Saitou. Until then, please---"

Surely, the fact we read Yukimura's diary should be top secret. We cannot afford to tell Superintendent Innami about that.

If we carelessly let them find out we've read the diary, we'll be punished. If that happens, we'll be completely cut off from the investigation.

That was the one thing I wanted to avoid.

After repeated persuasion by Doumyouji, we reluctantly decided to postpone our visit to the Saitou house.

[Phone rings]

The following day---

I was greeted in the morning by my cell phone's ringtone.

"Yes, hello?"

"Sir! It's Doumyouji! We've found something good in Yukimura's apartment!"

The call was from Doumyouji. He seemed excited about something.

"Something good? What did you find?"

"A talisman. Written on it was that same 'oni' character. With this, we've now established our culprit!" Doumyouji continued further.

"And also, on the back of the talisman is the place where it was issued. You might be interested in that, aren't you, sir?"

Naturally. This is the perfect information to track down Kyouko Yukimura, after all.

"Where is this place?"

I wrote down the address Doumyouji gave in my notebook and immediately set out to investigate.

After the call ended, I immediately contacted Mr. Kogure.

Afterward... Not knowing what to do... I also contacted Ms. Yuuka, just in case.

Ms. Yuuka's knowledge might be necessary, again, regarding onis.

I hurriedly finished my preparations and ran out of my house.

Let's stop here. That diary was a great peek at obsession, even if it ended with just another repeat of words, which I don't find particularly scary, but I guess we can chalk that up to cultural/personal differences. Next part, we'll ride to an actual shrine, learn the origins of that mysterious horn-less oni character, and finally piece this kidnapping together to solve it.

See you next time!

Episode 2 - Oni - Part 6

 Don't forget to read the first or previous part if you haven't!

In the previous part, we staked out our suspect, Anzai, but things did not go as planned because our imagined culprit was attacked. After this shocking development, we learned quite a bit about onis, including the fact that people can become one of them while alive. In fact, we basically met one when Superintendant Innami came screaming to our faces after finding out we were investigating the case behind his back. Now without our evidence, we can only question Anzai, at which point she reveals that Yukari, the kidnapped Yuusuke's mother, may not be as kind as she seems. Now, we'll decide what to do and who to pursue. Let's begin, shall we?

Ms. Yukari risked her life to rescue her son in a fire two years ago. For her to think so negatively about her son... Is that even possible?

I called Doumyouji on his cell phone, briefly explained the situation, and we decided to meet at a family restaurant near the police station.

I don't know what might happen as of yet, but I may have to ask Doumyouji to arrange for me to talk with Ms. Yukari.

"Sir!" Doumyouji, who had been waiting for us in the store earlier, walked up to me.

"Sir. Dear me, this has become quite the strange tale, hasn't it?"

We told him exactly what Satoko Anzai had said. If her words were true, the investigative headquarters' judgment might change.

I asked Doumyouji to pass on the same information to Superintendent Innami. Of course, this was in the form of the results of Doumyouji's investigation.

Our goal isn't glory. It's rescuing Yuusuke-kun. If we talk directly to Superintendent Innami, we'll only clash again. It's best to leave this to Doumyouji.

"...Understood. But, sir, are you sure about that? If it's true, then you should be the one to take credit for it..." I silently shook my head at Doumyouji's words.

"...You're very good-natured, aren't you, sir. Well, that's why I trust you."

He gave a carefree smile and left his seat, cell phone in hand, to call Superintendent Innami.

[Fade to black]

"...At any rate, it looks like we're going to have a meeting now. Superintendent Innami's a hard-headed man who likes to hold meetings. We're going to discuss the investigation plan for tomorrow and onward... That's pretty easygoing for a kidnapping case, isn't it?"

"...Could there have been a change of direction in the investigation?" I asked, leaning forward.

"Well, they'll take Satoko Anzai's testimony into consideration. If true, this case could have been a {staged kidnapping} by Yukari Saitou."

"Wh...! S-staged!?" Mr. Kogure stared in amazement and spoke up in a wild voice.

"Isn't that obvious, Mr. Kogure? Yukari Saitou held ill will toward her child, murdered him, and hid his body somewhere. And to cover up the fact, she came up with the idea of a staged kidnapping..."

Doumyouji's explanation stands to reason. If Anzai's words are true, that's the most plausible explanation.

"But, sir, could Ms. Saitou really do that to Yuusuke-kun...? I can't imagine that myself..." Mr. Kogure's question is natural. I don't want to imagine it either.

I know I can't blindly take Anzai's word for it, but there was no reason for her to tell such a lie on that occasion.

Is Ms. Yukari's seemingly-kind face nothing more than a mask? In the locked room called their household, where, no matter what occurs, no others will notice... Did such a thing happen?

I remembered when I first met Ms. Yukari. She was calmly taking in the incident. When the perpetrator called in, she used her good judgment and succeeded in recording it.

...That's right. Certainly, now that I think about it, something about that phone call stuck with me.

Even in the recorded conversation with the perpetrator, Ms. Yukari was calm. Way too calm...

<<Your child... has been taken.>>

"...Who are you?"

<<Pomegranate seeds... Come alone.>>

Ms. Yukari was so calm and collected that it was hard to believe that she was a mother whose child had been abducted.

This can be explained if we consider that Yuusuke-kun was an undesirable child to her...

Perhaps we can deduce how Ms. Yukari felt about Yuusuke-kun from the conversation she had with the culprit at that time...?

The Discomforting Feeling's Identity

Let's think again about the conversation between Ms. Yukari and the culprit.

When a child is abducted, the first thing most mothers do is---

        >Worry about their child

                         >Cry and beg for the return of their child

                   >Try to find out who the kidnapper is

   

The two top options are effectively the same, so I'll choose the more emotional choice.

                         >Cry and beg for the return of their child

That's right. Parents are supposed to try to protect their children's lives first. Here's how Yukari responded to the phone call---

           >"Who are you?"

           >"Give back my son!"

   

This is just a memory test, lol.

   >"Who are you?"

Ms. Yukari asked, "Who are you?" How could she ask such a question so calmly in such a situation...?

Does she not love Yuusuke-kun, as Anzai said?

      >She doesn't love him.

                                       >Surely, isn't that going too far? (Conclusion)

   

I do think it's a bit much, so let's try and see what that conclusion leads to.

           >Surely, isn't that going too far?

Am I really going too far? What in the world is that calmness in the face of her kidnapped child?

Ms. Yukari's family, which we thought was happy... might, however, have an 'oni' lurking within.

We decided to leave the family restaurant and head to the Saitous' house. Doumyouji pulled some strings to allow us to talk with Ms. Yukari.

According to Doumyouji, practically all of the important investigators are in the middle of a meeting and not in the Saitou household.

Doumyouji left us for the time being, saying that he would finish arranging for a warrant and other things.

Once we arrive at the appointed time, Doumyouji greets us. As usual, his appearance was precisely timed.

"I took over for the stakeout guys. So now you can talk to her without any sneaking around." Doumyouji assured us proudly.

"However, is it alright to talk with her out of the blue? Also, if Satoko Anzai's words were true, would she even answer honestly?"

Mr. Kogure's apprehensions were right on point.

"She won't be upfront about it... But there will be some sort of reaction."

"You're gonna find a way forward through her reactions? Quite bold, isn't it?"

"If we continue to waste time, Yuusuke-kun's situation will only become worse."

"...OK. I understand. I shall abide by your judgment." Saying this, Doumyouji posed reverently and led us inside the Saitous' house.

Yukari Saitou looked as kind and calm as when I first met her.

I cut straight to the point.

"Mr. Yukari. You think it would be good if Yuusuke-kun never came back, don't you?"

Yukari Saitou stiffened in response to my impudent comment.

"You don't love Yuusuke-kun... Am I wrong?" I continued speaking.

After a short pause, she came to her senses and stared at me, this time with her face tense.

The suddenness of the conversation left her with little time to prepare herself.

"W-what are you saying!? How can you be so rude!?" Her voice trembled and her complexion turned pale.

"I... c-certainly rigidly disciplined that boy, but... I have never acted in a way as to harm him. From where in the world did you get such unfounded claims!?"

"Please wait. I haven't brought up you harming Yuusuke-kun, haven't I?"

"Agh..." Ms. Yukari was at a loss for words.

"...T-that's, that's..." Already by now, her words ineffectively go nowhere.

Mr. Kogure looks down with a somber expression on his face, while Doumyouji watches the proceedings with a grin.

Sensing the atmosphere, Yukari Saitou resisted vehemently.

"Don't be ridiculous! If you're going to talk such nonsense, then please leave!"

"Madam, madam. That's not possible. I have a warrant right here." Doumyouji sarcastically flashed the warrant.

"Your job is to rescue Yuusuke, isn't it!? Try to save Yuusuke before you start spouting nonsensical lies!"

Ms. Yukari's tone becomes intense. The sight of this mother struggling desperately to somehow absolve herself of her guilt, the pain of having to watch this cannot be expressed in words.

"Your answers may have a great bearing on this kidnapping case." I said, my tone consciously becoming more forceful.

"B-bearing... What kind of bearing?" Yukari Saitou asked coweringly, perhaps suddenly gripped by anxiety.

"I can't tell you that. We're still in the investigation stage." It may seem cold, but I brush it off firmly.

Then, I asked one more time. "Do you... love Yuusuke-kun?"

She bit her lip in response to my question. She hesitated for a moment... and then...

"...It's obvious." This was no way to proceed. I didn't want to drive her into the corner too hard, but I had no choice.

I alerted Doumyouji with my eyes to prepare the IC recorder. This was what recorded the conversation between her and the perpetrator.

"Could you listen to this? I had a discomforting feeling when I first heard it, but I finally figured out what that discomfort was..."

She seemed unable to gauge what I was trying to say.

"...Mr. Doumyouji, please." Doumyouji nodded and pressed the playback switch on the recorder. The muffled voice we'd heard before began to play.

<<...child...taken.>>

"What?"

<<Your child... has been taken.>>

"...Who are you?"

<<Pomegranate seeds... Come alone.>>

I gave Doumyouji a look for him to turn off the IC recorder.

"W-what's so strange about this, you people!?" Her face remained tense. Her gaze darted restlessly from place to place.

"I felt discomfort at the "Who are you?" part."

"I-I mean, it's not that unusual..." She still didn't seem to understand the meaning of my words.

"No, it is unnatural. If you're a mother, the first thing you would do is to ask if your child is safe, to worry about your beloved child."

"When a mother learns that her child has been abducted, she would normally do everything in her power to make sure the child is safe. However, you weren't concerned about your son; you were concerned about who the kidnappers could be."

Yukari Saito shuddered with a jump. Her eyes were no longer looking at me.

"T-that's because... It was so sudden, that... that I lost my composure!" Doumyouji cut into her rebuttal.

"That's highly unlikely, isn't it, madam? You were calm and composed. Your voice didn't tremble one bit, and the fact that you recorded the conversation is too good to be true."

Furthermore, he followed up and delivered the coup de grace.

"Madam, how did you stay so calm...?"

"I-I don't know!" Doumyouji still smirks and teases her even as she denies it.

This was by no means pleasant to watch.

"Ma'am. We have a warrant, remember? If you don't confess, we're going to search your house."

"W-what!? Right now, you're treating me as though I were the criminal... Y-you! It couldn't be, you people think I did something to Yuusuke...! You're thinking something like that, aren't you!?"

Yukari Saito finally seemed to understand her situation.

"No, we don't want to think so either."

"Then, why...!?"

"The culprit hasn't made any demands yet... We need to know her goal. And to do that, we need to know as many facts as possible."

After thinking about what I said for a while, Yukari Saitou opened her distant eyes.

"...I understand. You can search anything you want inside this house."

Her answer was surprising, as I had assumed she would refuse.

"After all, you won't find anything. Do as you wish, then please leave quickly."

Mr. Kogure and I, having obtained the homeowner's permission, even though it wasn't our original intention, were examining the child's room on the second floor. It was the room used by the kidnapped Yuusuke-kun.

Doumyouji is accompanying Yukari Saitou in the living room. This is because there's a possibility that she may try to destroy evidence.

"All things considered, for that mother to kidnap her own son... It's still unbelievable to me."

In Mr. Kogure's mind, the fact that Yukari Saitou rescued Yuusuke-kun from the fire two years ago seems to have become a beautiful memory that has stuck with him.

But that will soon become clear.

Evidence showing the relationship between Yuusuke-kun and his mother--- The first thing that comes to mind would be Yuusuke-kun's diary.

Also, a photo of him might be a clue.

Additionally, we must go one step further and carefully search for evidence that suggests that Ms. Yukari either staged his kidnapping or murdered him.

Yuusuke-kun's room was tidy and orderly. There wasn't a single eraser speck on his desk. His textbooks were neatly lined up on the shelves.

I even went through the drawers, which were tidier than they needed to be, and didn't feel lived-in at all.

Is this really a child's room? I take a quick look around the bookshelves.

Surprisingly, there are no comic books. There are only reference books, illustrated books, or literary collections such as Kenji Miyazawa's.

Clothes are folded neatly in the closet.

If this was done by Yuusuke-kun himself, it would be abnormal, to say the least.

Each and every object in the room told of the strictness of Yukari Saitou's "discipline".

An elementary schooler should have at least one toy. A cartoon robot, a miniature car, a video game. I don't see anything like that either.

What did he usually do and enjoy in this room?

In Yuusuke-kun's room, we didn't find any diaries, photos, or any other evidence of any kind.

I checked the other rooms, but they were all tidy and didn't have the air of being inhabited by people.

They looked like showrooms made in the image of an ideal house.

A false ideal home. Suddenly, those words came to my mind.

Back in the living room, Yukari Saitou, who had already regained her composure, stared at me with cold eyes.

"Detective. Have you found any evidence?"

"No...not yet." I answered in a hushed voice.

"Si~r. Please do your best. It's too late to say it was a mistake now~." Doumyouji's voice was artificially miserable.

I looked at a shelf in the living room. In the back of one of its drawers was an album. The dates were all from five years ago.

Yukari Saitou is on the left. The one on the right is probably her ex-husband. And a young Yuusuke-kun is in the center of the picture. All three are smiling.

"Do you not have any recent photos?" I asked her directly.

"I'm too busy with work to take pictures."

"So you don't go out to have fun with Yuusuke-kun?"

"I do not. Yuusuke isn't a selfish child, so he never asked me to take him anywhere." The mother answered curtly.

"This is pointless, why don't you just give it up? From the beginning, there has never been any proof that I don't love Yuusuke..."

As I remained silent, Mr. Kogure, who was looking at a wall curiously, opened his mouth.

"Sir... Isn't this wall odd?"

"Odd...?" I came closer to the wall Mr. Kogure pointed out.

There was a bookcase on wheels, about my height, that was placed there.

A thin white cloth was inconspicuously stretched over the wall behind the bookcase.

"Next to this living room, there's a guest room, isn't there, sir...?"

"There is."

"But don't you think there's some distance between the guest room and the living room?"

When you look at it, there's indeed a gap between the living room and the guest room, which could easily accommodate one more room.

...Easily accommodate another room...? No way, could it be...?

However, there was a distinct change in Yukari Saitou's expression. Her eyes were wide open and her face was pale.

I had a bad premonition. Behind this bookshelf... I have a feeling that a very frightening fact is hidden on the other side of the wall.

I signaled to Mr. Kogure with my eyes and started to move the bookshelf in front of the wall. It has casters, so moving it was no big deal.

"S-stop!" The house owner yanked Mr. Kogure's arm with a terrible look on her face. I pressed into her reaction.

"What's on the other side of this wall?"

"Nothing...!"

"In that case, why not let me check it out?"

"Because, there's nothing! Nothing at all!"

"Ms. Saitou! What are you hiding?"

"Nothing! I swear I'm not hiding anything!"

While I was holding Yukari Saitou's attention, Mr. Kogure was quickly moving the bookshelf.

The unnatural cloth on the wall was uncovered. When I touched the cloth from the top, it rattled, albeit slightly.

...A sliding door was concealed by the cloth.

"Ms. Yukari Saitou, may I look back here?" Ms. Yukari was trembling. She wouldn't make eye contact with us.

I checked one more time. "You don't mind, right?"

She doesn't respond to anything. Maybe she isn't hearing anything anymore.

"Mr. Kogure, please open the door."

"Yessir!"

Mr. Kogure peels off the cloth with great strength. As the pure white cloth is gradually peeled off, what appears from under it is---

Just as I thought, a sliding door.

"Woah!? This is the breakthrough of the century!" Doumyouji says with a purposeful air of mischievousness.

"Could this hidden room be... part of your hobby, madam? How intricate~" It was a very unfunny joke.

I stood in front of the door and gulped. What's behind this door? I couldn't help but imagine the worst-case scenario.

Yukari Saitou's complexion went from pale to white as something she thought would never be exposed was unveiled. Her lips were trembling, and she seemed unable to speak properly.

Mr. Kogure, still standing in front of the door, looked at me as if seeking help. He probably didn't want to open the door with his own hands.

I stood in front of the door in place of Mr. Kogure. The answer lies within.

"I'll open it...!" I declared with determination.

I opened the door and stepped into the stale air.

The inside of the room is pitch black.

"Sir, here." Doumyouji held out a flashlight. He was so well prepared. It was as if he had seen this coming.

I took the flashlight and turned it on. "T-this is...!!?"

"Those words" were written in poor handwriting all over the wall.

They feel ghastly, like they were written in blood.

I stepped into the room and traced the words with my finger.

It wasn't blood.

"...It looks like crayon." Doumyouji, who was behind me before I knew it, said in a bored tone.

Come to think of it, in the olden days... Around the time of my grandfather, children who'd misbehave would be often put in storehouses so they could reflect on themselves... This seems to be that kind of education.

But... This is the 21st century now. And yet, something like this...

"Sir, Ms. Yukari, Yuusuke-kun... Uh..." Mr. Kogure was at a loss for words at this sight.

"...She seems to have gone quite {too far in educating} him, doesn't she?"

I shone my flashlight all over the room, but Yuusuke-kun was nowhere to be found.

However, crayons had fallen right in the middle of the room.

A 12 crayon set box. Only the red crayon in it was abnormally short.

With this, we now know how she treated her child. Perhaps, knowing that the police would come after the kidnapping... She chose to hide this room.

What remains is how this is connected to Yuusuke-kun's kidnapping.

After leaving the concealed room, we questioned Yukari Saitou.

"Ms. Saitou, you used that room to... educate Yuusuke-kun, didn't you!?"

"You've gone too far! Have you even read the words on that wall?" I interrogated her indignantly.

However, Yukari Saitou snickered vexingly.

"I can educate the child I gave birth to however I want, can't I?"

"W-what the...! That's not education anymore!" Mr. Kogure is no longer willing to defend her.

Yukari Saitou has completely turned around. She's shown her other side, the face she hides---

"It's so frustrating, he doesn't listen to me! Every day I wish I'd never had kids."

"Even though I tentatively notified the police about the kidnapping, it doesn't matter to me if he doesn't come back." She spoke as if spitting out her insides.

All mothers love their children. Was that always just a fantasy...? My mind has become filled with unbearable thoughts.

"Are you satisfied now? Please leave." Yukari Saitou bothersomely waved her hand.

Although her excessive education was proven, there's no evidence to conclude that she staged the kidnapping.

What should we do...? Is Yukari Saitou the culprit in this kidnapping?

Is the Mother the Culprit?

Yukari Saitou thought negatively about Yuusuke-kun. That is to say, it wouldn't be weird if she planned a fake kidnapping, right...?

       >It's not weird

   >I think that wouldn't happen, no matter the circumstances

   

I think that if she did kill, or just locked him up, it would be in that room. The police were unable to find it for days until we searched for it, so it'd be perfect. I'll choose the denying option.

   >I think that wouldn't happen, no matter the circumstances

Can such a terrible thing happen between a parent and a child? I'll try to recall the circumstances of the kidnapping one more time.

Supposing the mother is the criminal... Is there anything about the kidnapping's conditions that bothers me?

                          >The phone call from the culprit

   >The fax that was sent

 

The fax is really weird, so I'll go for it.  

   >The fax that was sent

As for that fax, I still don't know what to make of it. There are too many mysteries...

Furthermore, there's the mystery of the "curse you" and "kill" letters. Yukari Saitou has never met Ms. Sagami or Mrs. Kounoike, and there's no reason for her to send such letters or steal that dog and that flowerbed.

We can only clarify this in a future investigation. Then, what about the phone call...?

I'm curious about the audio recording of the conversation with the killer. First---

   >Let's consider again the killer's demands.

                  >Let's consider Yukari Saitou's condition again.

   

We already did one, so let's do the other.

   >Let's consider again the killer's demands.

The culprit said--- "Pomegranate seeds, come alone."

If this was part of Yukari Saitou's charade... It's a bit of an odd demand, isn't it?

If it's for a simple reason, like money, that's fine. But why the need to make such a nonsensical demand?

There's something else that concerns me. That being the emotional state of Yukari Saitou during the conversation.

She handled the situation very calmly. That made us doubt her love for Yusuke.

So, what do I think about this charade?

   >I doubt it was a performance

    >As a performance, it's strange

If it was an act, she didn't try at all.    

   >I doubt it was a performance

Is it really just as it seems? If she wanted the police to believe her, she would rather play the role of a mother desperately worried about her son.

With a calm response like that, it doesn't really seem like she's acting, does it?

Given all these facts, the possibility of Yukari Saitou having staged this kidnapping is---

                        >Possible (Conclusion)

                      >Not possible (Conclusion)

   

I doubt it.

   >Not possible

Okay... Let's proceed with the investigation on that course.

I followed Yukari Saito's words and decided to leave.

"What's the matter, sir!? Are you sure you want to leave things be like this!?"

"He's right. Why not bring her in for questioning?"

[Woah, seriously? Do your job, Junya, that's still child abuse.]

Mr. Kogure and Doumyouji are outspoken in their criticism. Now that we are approaching the heart of the case, it would certainly be strange to leave so easily.

"...Why was Yukari Saitou doing that to Yuusuke-kun?" I asked the question that had been bothering me.

"She was frustrated... Isn't that what she said?" Mr. Kogure looks at me curiously.

"No way, sir! You think she's not the culprit!?" Doumyouji shook his head with an expression of impossibility.

"Well, er... It's just that... I feel that her motive's too vague. She's probably still hiding something, isn't she?"

"That's because you're thinking too hard, si~r." Doumyouji looked up at the sky, exasperated. I myself certainly think that I'm overthinking.

"But even if we find a causal link between this kidnapping and Yukari Saito's actions..."

"Even if she was the real culprit... I don't think it's a waste of time to investigate the true reason why she did what she did, because that'll lead us to the impetus for this case."

Doumyouji laughed when he heard my thoughts. "You're very dedicated to your job, aren't you, sir?"

"Well, I think the first thing we need to do now is to find evidence that she's the real culprit. Besides, for my part, the existence of 'oni' is still bothering me."

"Ah. Then, how about thinking of it this way? Right now, rumors are spreading around Machida City about the oni woman said to have kidnapped Yuusuke-kun."

"According to the rumors, the oni has three characteristics: She 'runs away when she sees other people', 'has short hair', and is 'afraid of cigarette smoke'."

"Then, one of my collaborators noted the 'fear of cigarette smoke' and speculated that she might have a trauma related to either cigarettes, smoke, or flames."

Doumyouji is listening to my explanation with an ever-present interest.

"According to our research, Yukari Saitou lost her parents in a fire two years ago."

"She risked her life to rescue her son, Yuusuke-kun, from the fire."

"I see. So you found common ground between the fire Yukari Saitou experienced and the oni's weakness, hm?" I nodded to Doumyouji's comment.

"However, sir, that's impossible." Doumyouji readily denied it.

"Impossible? Why's that?"

"I was smoking a cigarette in front of Yukari Saitou while my colleagues were searching the house. She gave me an ashtray without a single look of disapproval."

[Fade to black]

"In the end, our guess was off the mark, wasn't it?" Mr. Kogure muttered to himself as he gulped down a bowl of kitsune udon noodles at an udon shop we had entered to fill our stomachs.

Doumyouji's testimony revealed that Yukari Saitou didn't show any change in her attitude in response to cigarettes.

This didn't signify she was 'afraid of cigarette smoke', one of the oni woman's characteristics.

"Yeah... We were too fixated on 'afraid of cigarette smoke' as the defining characteristic of the oni..."

There are a total of three characteristics of the rumored oni woman that Ms. Yuuka told us about.

First, she runs away once she sees other people. Second, her hair is short. Third, she is afraid of cigarette smoke.

Ms. Yuuka didn't discuss the first and second points in particular, but there may actually be some hints hidden in them.

" 'Runs away when she sees other people' and 'has short hair'...huh? Those are pretty abstract traits, aren't they?"

Mr. Kogure is right, it's difficult to narrow down the culprit's characteristics just by 'has short hair'.

It seems normal for a person with a guilty conscience to 'run away when they see other people'.

"But, sir, the rumor of the oni woman must be spreading among children, right? When they say 'runs away when she sees other people', does that mean she also runs away when she sees children?"

I nodded as I added green onions to the broth.

"That's a good thought. It makes some sense when it comes to adults, but seems odd for children."

"I agree, sir. Could it be that the culprit is extremely averse to human contact?" Mr. Kogure said while dexterously slurping his noodles.

"Then, we can rule out the people we have met so far. So, shall we try to come up with a completely new image of the culprit?" Mr. Kogure nodded in agreement with my suggestion.

"A cowardly criminal who runs away at the sight of a child... But isn't it strange, sir? She kidnapped Yuusuke-kun, didn't she? Isn't that a contradiction?"

"That's right. This inconsistency is a characteristic of the kidnapper and may be the motive for the kidnapping. First of all, let's infer the culprit's criminal profile by the fact that she runs away when she sees someone."

The fact that they avoid people to the extent that they run away even when dealing with children suggests that they must lead a life with as little contact with humans as possible.

It's possible that they aren't only averse to human contact, but even fearful of it.

Come to think of it, I think Ms. Yuuka once told us that oni was originally written with the "concealed" Kanji and referred to as a hidden entity that couldn't be seen.

"Is this a criminal who usually has no contact with people? If so, won't it be extremely difficult to identify her through interviews?"

Mr. Kogure frowned.

"Sadly, most of us don't even know our neighbors' faces these days." Mr. Kogure lamented with a look of nostalgia for the good old days.

"No, Mr. Kogure, in order to live, it's impossible to completely cut off all social contact. You have to eat, you have to use electricity and water, and so on."

"You have to take your garbage to the collection point, and you need money. Unless you're living like a hermit deep in the mountains, there'll always be a trail."

I wasn't sure, but I can't give up at this point, so I was a bit aggressive in my wishful thinking.

"Mr. Kogure. If the killer is avoiding human contact, what do you think is their biggest problem?"

"That's obvious!" Mr. Kogure slurped down the remaining udon in his bowl in one gulp.

"How do they eat!"

For Mr. Kogure, for whom eating is like a way of life, this must be true. Even so, his words aren't necessarily mistaken.

Not only humans, but all living things need nutrition to survive.

"Well then, shall we focus on the stores that deal in delivery and mail-order sales?"

"Sir, we should also check out shops that do take-out."

We nodded to each other, and then we took our bowls and drank up the rest of the broth.

[Cut to black]

We quickly began our investigation.

We picked out all the stores distributing mail-order and delivery flyers, booklets, and the like in the vicinity of the kidnapping site, and we went through them one by one.

It was a daunting task, but detective work is an accumulation of such things.

---The requirements we interviewed for were as follows.

1 - Female customer.

2 - They order seemingly every day.

3 - During delivery, they don't show their face or figure.

In conclusion, we obtained 18 candidates.

However, the third condition is a bit tricky, for example, the person who orders is a woman, but the one who takes it is a man, maybe because they're a married couple, among many other situations.

But, there is one woman. One woman who does not accept deliveries in person and instead gives instructions to leave them at her doorstep.

---That woman's name is {Kyouko Yukimura}.

She apparently leaves the payment hanging from her doorknob in a bag and there is never a time when she doesn't speak through the intercom.

When I got her address and checked it on a map, I found that the apartment where she lived was not far from the park where Yuusuke-kun had been kidnapped.

Moreover, no orders have been placed at any of the restaurants since the day of Yuusuke-kun's abduction.

Furthermore---

Mr. Kogure, who had been making the rounds over home express delivery companies, burst into the Archival Office and excitedly spoke.

"On the day of the kidnapping, a delivery boy made a delivery to Kyouko Yukimura's house! When he pressed the doorbell, he heard a boy's voice coming from inside!"

"A boy's voice!?"

"Yes, according to the testimony, it went something like this..."

"Hey, someone came, right?"

"Ah, it's no good, Yuu-chan. I can't go out."

"Why?"

"That's because, well---"

"---After that, both of them went silent, so he couldn't hear anything. And no matter how many times he pressed the doorbell, no one answered."

"The delivery driver heard 'Yuu-chan'? Are you sure?"

"I'm 100% sure, but... He testified it was a name like that."

"I see." My investigation revealed that everything Kyouko Yukimura ordered was for one person.

In other words, she lives completely alone, and there's no indication that she usually has someone over. Naturally, she has no children.

This may just be... a hit.

"Let's go, Mr. Kogure!"

"Yessir!"

Mr. Kogure and I left the Archival Office and headed for her apartment.

Let's stop here. This post was pretty wordy, but the revelations are equally massive. We discovered the hidden side of what we previously thought was a normal household, but I doubt the abusive mother actually killed her son, there's no real evidence tying her to anything, but it's not like we have anything really. Will this Yukimura be a dead end, or will we finally 'rescue' Yuusuke?

We'll only find that out next time, see you then!