Vol 1 Chapter 5 (2/2)

“Hmph!” Sousei-san snorted in dissatisfaction

“–Co the center of the roo his hand up

At the sa him, and whispered, “Give me power, Amatsu Mikaboshi+” The words that left my mouth were firm, but the fact that ere about to “work to deterhed heavily on my mind

The marquee on TsukuyoThere was a huge nulances full of confidence

The reason there were many past conversations was because there were “two people’s worth of lines”

“B-brother, how’ve you been lately?”

“Huh?What do you mean?”

“Um, like ork?”

“Ah, it’s the same as alwaysI’m busyBut I’m satisfied, because I can protect the peace of this city through s?Do you respect me more now?”

“Are you stupid?You only ever think about workThat’s why you won’t ever get married”

“H-heyNo irls want towoirlfriend!”

“Was that all?No progress?You’re not going out with her?”

“Well, you know, adults have got a lot of co on”

“How suspiciousYou had a girlfriend five years ago, right?Are you actually still in love with her?”

“S-shut up!”

“Uwah, you’re serious!You really do still like her a lot!”

“No, uh, enough aboutyou wanted to talk about?”

“N-not reallyIt’s nothing”

“It’s not nothingIf there’s so you want to talk about, don’t hesitate to tell me, okay?”

“I wonderIsn’t it too hard for you to understand the worries of a irl?”

“No, if you put it that way, there’s not really anything I can say… well, just don’t hold back, okay?You’re the only sibling I’ve got”

“Ah, yeahIf there’s anything I want to talk about”

The speech style was that of a young womanThis could only be a past conversation of Kaoru Hioka, who had been confirmed deadThe speech style of the other person was that of a“ore” – and from the fact that Kaoru Hioka called the man “Brother”, it seemed there was no doubt he was Kyouhei Hioka

[“ore” is a rough way of referring to oneself, generally pretty rude, and used only by men]

“Be happy, NaotoBingoJust as you predicted, Kyouhei Hioka is already dead”

“I’oI aation forward”

The sooner we could resolve this sad case, the better

“So now the probleht?If we knohen, then a lot of the assue?”

“Yes” I nodded quietly “However, we’re still in the process of detecting past conversations, so we’ll think about that after we’ve exhausted the available information”

“H again

We detected countless of the Hioka siblings’ conversations in the living roo room, they were all everyday conversations with no connection to the case

“–At any rate, siood enough result”

That alone ing locations and continuing to use Sousei-san’s “Past Reading”, ould certainly be able to find the information we needed

Once we had left Kyouhei Hioka’s apartokoro police stationThat was to obtain information on Kyouhei Hioka’s favorite shops and places before he went into hiding

“–Sousei-sanWill you please keep this matter a secret between the two of us?”

I hway to the police station

“Huh?You mean that Kyouhei Hioka is really dead?”

I nodded when Sousei-san asked me in a suspicious voice “Yes”

“I get it if you’re talking about Ai and Grae, but… you want to keep it a secret from Touko too?”

I hesitated briefly before nodding a second tiht”

“Oi, Naoto, what’s that supposed to mean?”

Sousei-san’s voice momentarily sharpenedHe pulled the bike to a sudden stop in the roadside zone

“I won’t just go along with hiding so from Touko, you know?Tell me why”

I could see Sousei-san’s seriousness in the way his tone had changed suddenly and his voice had lowered from before

I had heard they were old acquaintancesBefore, I had thought from the way Sousei-san acted that Touko Aoi was a very special person to hi that she was ht

“It’s… Though he may be her ex-lover, I believe it will not be easy to tell Touko-san that Kyouhei Hioka has actually passed away…”

And so I lied to Sousei-san

“Ah, I see… No, but she’ll find out sooner or later, right?So instead of finding out from someone else, it’s better if she hears it froh, so she’ll feel hurt… Maybe I should be careful…”

Sousei-san was honestly worried, not suspectingonly of Touko-san’s feelings

“Da!You do it, Naoto!”

“YesI will take responsibility for this matter”

“Okay!I’ll leave it to you!” With an encouraging yell to the surroundings, the bike starting running again

I was saved just now by the fact that I was riding atop the bikeI did not want to speak to Sousei-san face-to-face

I was sorry that I had to lie to Sousei-san,his faith in Touko-san, I did not believe he would be able to listen with an open mind to what I had to say

–I suspected Touko Aoi

If I said that, I wouldresistance from Sousei-sanThat resistance was not the problemThe problem was that I could not offer a rebuttal

Even if I said I doubted Touko-san, most of my reasons were insufficient to support my deduction

I did not have decisive evidence and I could not even i more than that Touko-san was the closest match of the conditions necessary to be Kyouhei Hioka’s accoather proof and I did not yet have the confidence to tell anyone

In this situation, I believed that it was too early to tell Sousei-san that I suspected Touko-sanI thought it would only lead to unnecessary strife

So I persuaded htened around my heart

–It was at that momentThe srabbed my phone and checked the displayIt was an e-mail from the station

“Sousei-san, ‘Sarutahiko’ is finally on the move!”

Sarutahiko, one of the two rees” and otherwise known as shi+rou Konno, had revealed himself in a public placeThe location was one fah School, where shi+rou Konno served as student council president

“Oh, isn’t this lucky?The bastard’s saving us the trouble of looking for him”

“No, he’s not that carelessThis is the worst possible situation”

shi+rou Konno had not si

“It’s uncertain where he obtained it, but shi+rou Konno is in possession of a ‘pistol’Moreover, it seee and has barricaded himself on the school roof…”

“daes’ is fucking insane!”

I too found shi+rou Konno’s actions to be incomprehensible

Just as Sousei-san said, it would be difficult to call shi+rou Konno a good personOn the surface, he wore the face of student council president, but he was also a es, and he could easily utilize both sides for his purposesHowever, I found it shocking that shi+rou Konno, who possessed the determination and caution to hide his other face fro a hostage

What had happened to change his mind?

“In any case, let’s hurry to the school”

The ht now, the current incident took top priority

“Okay!Let’s fly!Hold on tight!”

“Eh!What?W-wait–”

Without my consent, without any attention to the chorus of horns fro around us, Sousei-san drifted on the main street and did a U-turnIt felt as if I was about to be thrown off the bike by the strong force throughout rew coldI was furious, and I struck the body of the bike with th

“Huh?What?Naoto?What’s up?”

“N-no, it’s nothing”

Sousei-san was cal

April 11Yagokoro High SchoolRooftop

When we reached Yagokoro High School, the area was already in an uproarCurious onlookerswhat had happened, and I did not knohere they had heard the news, but people who seemed to be reporters were scattered here and there within the crowd

It was forbidden for those not connected to the police to enter the school grounds, and there were unifor bulletproof vests lined up neatly near the gateI could hear the policeation Team”

It was an iht that made me wonder if this was really the school I went to every day

“Excuse us” As Sousei-san and I pushed through the people and neared the gate, the students, who it seerounds, sireeted everyone quickly, but Sousei-san answered with an energetic cheer of his own “It’ll be fine now that we’re here!”

“Do your best!” There were faces I recognized fro the students, and I could hear the me

As we drew closer, my homeroom teacher emphasized with a worried expression, “I know this is your job, shi+rogane, but don’t push yourself too hard”

I nodded firmly “Yes” I was truly happy that everyone felt this way

We received perates like gatekeepers and set foot on the school groundsThe premises were quiet and calmI felt uneasy, as if I had become lost in an unknown place

When I directed aze to the roof, I could see what looked like the shadow of a personWe passed the shoe racks and cli for the roofAs we ascended, the voice of an elderly h adesperately to persuade the one who had barricaded himself on the roof

The entrance to the roof was croith police officers, both in and out of uniforht my breath to calm myself, and:

“Will you be quiet for a moment!?”

A shrill voice came from near the fence on the rooftop

“You know!I don’t believe a single word of those ive ive uarantee my safety!”

The source of the voice was a nervous-looking boy with black-riation filesHowever, perhaps because of his lifestyle when he had been– no, when he ran away – he looked like a completely different personThere were black circles under his eyes, his cheeks were hollow, and his hair was unkemptAll traces of the former shi+rou Konno, an intellectual so much an honor student that he had been chosen as student council president, had disappeared

“Don’t worry, KonnoWe, the police, will assu you”

“Huh?Are you serious?If you are, doesn’t that say a lot about your sense of justice?”

shi+rou Konno’s h school student

“You’ll assuh!Didn’t Omoikane die because you police were incompetent!?If you adults were a just little smarter, Tajikarao wouldn’t have died!”

shi+rou Konno’s expression was filled with madness

“You’re only good at bragging!Catch Kagu-tsuchi right now!I’ away!Why is the world full of idiots?Why does someone superior like me have to be yanked around like this by rabble?”

His sHis assertions were incoherentThese self-centeredness thoughts may have reflected his true nature, but it was quite reined

Hearing hiritted their teeth and tightly clenched their hands into fists to bear his jeeringIt was surely frustratingNonetheless, we could not moveCareless actions would coe

shi+rou Konno’s right hand gripped a revolver that glinted a dull blackThough he was far away, I kneas an auto Saeur P230Beside hih School student who had been taken hostageshi+rou Konno’s and the hostage’s waists were tied together by a yellow and black construction ropeIn a cunning e were standing on the edge of the roof

In other words, he was telling everyone that, if anything happened to hie doith hie would turound

“S… shi+rogane-ku… n… h-help…”

At that irl whispered in a hoarse voice like a htat me from behind the messy hair “Ta-Takizawa-san”

The fee was the one who sat in the seat next to mine in class and was deeply connected to Kaoru Hioka’s case, Takizawa-san

“I only have one deu-tsuchi!I don’t care if he’s dead or alive!Actually, the world would be better off if a murderous dee under any other conditions!”

Touko-san clicked her tongue quietly at shi+rou Konno’s shouts

“If Kagu-tsuchi is a deuised as humans…”

Touko-san appeared to be as beautiful and cool as usual, but I could clearly feel a strong anger from the words she murmured as if they were forced out of her

“All of you police guys!Don’t just stand around there forever!Hurry up and arrest Kagu-tsuchi! I’ you, I’m serious”

Saying that, shi+rou Konno ground the ainst Takizawa-san’s teive me…”

In the next instant, shi+rou Konno’s eyes filled with anger

“It’s not just a bluff… I really will shoot… Shooting one person’s not‘two’, is it?”

Everyone was taken by surprise at shi+rou Konno’s sudden confession, and the scene became an uproar

“K-Konno!W-Who are you saying you shot…?”

The veteran detective in charge of persuasion asked the question on everyone’s minds

“I don’t know!That person cae, so I just turned the tablesIt was legitiun froht’ve been with you police guysA police officer co to take the life of an innocent citizen liketo…”

“K-Konno, was this person a ive their name?And as this…?”

[Konno uses “aite” to refer to the person when he needs to, which is a gender-neutral “partner/opponent” type of word japanese doesn’t really use gendered pronouns, thus why the next paragraph asks I couldn’t really preserve the alish no matter how you look at it]

“Ahh, geez, if you want to know!Then bring Kagu-tsuchi to me already!I’ll add e!”

Standing aitation, and various other emotions, I was convinced

“–Hey, Naoto, the cop that bastard turned the tables on, it can’t be…”

Sousei-san whispered in s, and I nodded slightly in return “Yes, there’s no doubt”

It was valid to assume that shi+rou Konno had killed Kyouhei Hioka

Logically, wouldn’t it have occurred after Kyouhei Hioka murdered Miyuki Midorikawa?

Kyouhei Hioka, who had discovered the Five Togakushi+ Judges, beginning with Miyuki MidorikawaAnd shi+rou Konno, who had had a close relationshi+p with Miyuki MidorikawaI could easily iine that Miyuki Midorikawa had told shi+rou Konno to beware of Kyouhei HiokaIf he had lost co into account shi+rou Konno’s personality, it was inevitable that he would next take drasticaway could then be considered the first of shi+rou Konno’s countermeasures

“Ahh, why did this have to happen to ’s all messed up…”

shi+rou Konno gazed at the barrel of the gun and gruerous mental stateIf we did not deal with the situation proine the worst-case scenario, that he would reach his li with him

Be that as it may, there was no way the police would acquiesce to his demandsAt any rate, the police had not yet even found traces of Kyouhei Hioka, believed to be Kagu-tsuchiIn addition, shi+rou Konno’s unexpected, sudden confession that he “shot someone as a police officer” had thrown those around us into extreme turmoil

–Perhaps Kagu-tsuchi was already before usThat hat I thought as I sent a sidelong glance at the cool beauty as scowling silently at shi+rou Konno

But my current priority was Takizawa-sanI looked at her as she continued to trehtly; the mental rather than physical strain seemed to be the more extreme

After e of the confusion to jump out onto the roof

“shi+rou Konno!I have a proposal for you!”

The sun sinking behind the capsule-shaped water tank left a dark shadow on the concrete floorOf course, there was no one else around meI was aloneBefore me stood shi+rou KonnoThere was no place to take cover

“W-What?Naoto!What’re you doing!?”

Sousei-san’s yell ca on me siht past h myself

I confiristered

“I ah School as a third-yearPlease take irl”

A co the police as they heard my words

“You look familiar… Oh yeah, you’re the rumored Detective Prince?”

shi+rou Konno narrowed his eyes in an open display of wariness

I ell aware that I was grandstandingHowever, I had not thought I would receive periven per I would have had to wait, with the situation in its current state of confusion

“LookShe is already at her limitPlease release her”

At lanceTakizawa-san’s face was pale and she would not stop tre

“I am accustomed to these situationsAs a detective, I am well-known to the police, and I believe I can be of help in the negotiations later on”

There was no more time to waste for Takizawa-sanAny further pressure on her would likely cause irreparable dae to her spirit

I took off le shi+rtNext I turned out my pockets and showed them to shi+rou Konno “As you can see, I am unarmed”

“A-a woman?” shi+rou Konno looked closely at aze was focused on the curves of my chest

“Yes, I’m a woman,” I immediately responded

I was being sarcasticI didn’t want to be looked down upon by the adults around one out ofthat I was a wo said, it was possible that he would let down his guard if he were aware that I was female, and so I actively asserted that fact

shi+rou Konno was silently studying aze, full of suspicion, crawled slowly over , and I felt as if I would let out a shriek of disgust

“That’s fineCome here”

Somehow it seemed that I had pleased him

“But if you act even a little bit weird – I’ll shoot without mercy”

I nodded sharply and moved slowly toward shi+rou KonnoMy feet were leaden as I stepped forward

If I made any imprudent erI could not assu of shi+rou Konno just because his self-assurance was turning into desperationThe slightest incentive could cause him to blow his top

I carefully walked forward until I was beside Takizawa-san

“It’s all right now,” I whispered, and perhaps Takizawa-san calave out under her and she sank to the concrete floorFlustered, I propped up the dazed girl as she kneeled on the pavement

“Untie the rope around that girl’s waist and tie it around yourself”

shi+rou Konno looked down at un’s barrel was pointed at the back of un and did as shi+rou Konno ordered, untying the yellow and black rope from around Takizawa-san’s waist

To be honest, I had no plan for ould coeIn any case, I believed that rescuing Takizawa-san took precedence

However, now that I was near shi+rou Konno, I thought that perhaps the opportunity to persuade him would ariseIn addition, I had Sousei-sanThere was still much friction between us, but I had full faith in Touko-san’s ability to handle incidents at the scene

It happened just as I finished untying the rope – a single gunshot echoed across the roof and into the reddish sky above

Suddenly, a war” touched my cheekWhen I reached up and touchedtothat I had been shot, my entire body stiffenedHowever, I did not hurt anywhereI promptly lifted my head

Before me, shi+rou Konno’s eyes ith shock and he was standing stock-stillIn the next un tumbled from his hand and made a dry noise as it fell on the concrete

–Then, with his eyes still wide open, shi+rou Konno slumped over slowly and fell face-first on the floorThe dull crack of a hu concrete echoed across the roof

When I looked, there were purplish-red traces of a bullet’s scorch marks on shi+rou Konno’s temple, and a fan-shaped stain the color of a ripened toray floor

I realized that there was deep shadow as long as a cypress at unpowder assaulted ray s there was a wo a revolverThere was only that one person, her face expressionless

At once, I felt anger well up from the depths of my heart, and I opened sHowever, faster than I could give it voice,police, though whether they were screaer, I could not tell

At last, she quietly lowered the gun she held and turned on her heel, facing the police gathered at the entrance to the rooftop

“–As the one in charge here, I am proud to have chosen the best course of actionIf you insist on saying n yourself and accept your punishment”

Everyone wore coazed at Touko-sanHowever, no one was able to say a wordMost likely, no one could fathom what had just happened

Were her actions excessive or justified?

It was not a simple questionWe would not have an answer until the ti those lines, all I could do was lare at her

April 11Yagokoro High SchoolIn front of the ate

Several hours had passed since the “hostage barricade incident”The sunlight had waned and the caht

Most of the police had disappeared, save for a feho reationThere was to be a press conference tonight on the incident at the Yagokoro police office, and so the reporters had already departedThe bystanders had left before the sun setSi traffic

I was the only one still standing in front of the now-deserted school gates

“How long are yo