Vol 3 Chapter 7 (1/2)

Part VII: The Second Homicide Inquiry

/ PROLOGUE • 127

Only our frozen sighs played between us

As atch our heartbeats fade slowly into stillness

Soon, all of the dear and treasured memories

Will becorets, weak and soon to fade

Even the memory of rain:

Of an endless gray veil seen after school

Even the memory of sunset:

Of a classrooht

Even the memory of snow:

Of the white night of first contact, and the black umbrella

Beside h

To bid h it was

Beside h

To bid the rift between us close, distant though it was

Once, a moment in time

We stopped for shade, warh leaves

And there, as you laughed, you said that one day we’d stand in the same place

They ords that I’ve yearned to hear for so long

But now it is but the fleeting remains of the day

/Empty Boundaries

128 • KINOKO NASU

Prologue

1999, February 1

It’s the beginning of the last year of a millennium, and the tip of a new

millennium’s inception And as with most arbitrary shi+fts and divisions of

te to the words of prophets

and doomsayers, whether out of personal profit or the osmotic and infectious

effect of a panic in slow-boil Wrapped as the city currently is in this

nearly tangible layer of artificial menace, as well as a more easily perceived

winter whose temperatures have reached levels atypical from the past few

years, I, Mikiya Kokutō, have decided to spend this night walking together

with shi+ki

Winter is at its height, and these days, the sun is already well set after

five in the afternoon, granting an early evening veil to the entire city My

breath is visible in white puffs before my mouth, and beside me shi+ki is in

the same state The both of us are, I suppose, ever reliable (some would

even say predictable) in hoe dress A dark-colored coat worn above a

black turtleneck sweater paired with black slacks for me While shi+ki wears

a blue kith leather jacket, all the while

having a pair of high co

her if she’s ever cold in that attire I’ve seen her in it ever since three

years ago The heat or the cold never seem to affect her as much as it does

anyone else

shi+ki offered towork, which

is not so she often does, and is an act I often associate with some

ulterior motive on her part

“Alright, out with it There’s so really important up if you can’t

h patience to wait forthe trouble

to meet up with me so near the office is a pretty rare event”

“It’s nothing, really It’s just been a little…dangerous lately, so I thought

I’d see you home” Her face is sullen as she casts her eyes about the surrounding

area, never really looking at me The wind blows a lonely breeze

our way, and shi+ki’s kihtly

shi+ki Ryōgi has always donned that style, ever since the day I first met

her in high school It always e, but I have to

adht (around 160cm) Her hair frames her

face, and always looks to be haphazardly cut to terht

Like her hair, her eyes are a threateningly deep black As if to contrast all of

this, though, she always speaks in a tone as rough as she likes, and almost

/ PROLOGUE • 129

without a thought for the next word It always throws people for a loop

the first tinified and noble

than beautiful, even as she walks and surveys the streets still partly awash

in quickly retreating sunlight, as if she were a carnivore on some kind of

hunt

I call her attention “shi+ki, you’ve been acting kind of funny lately”

“How funny can I be if you aren’t even laughing?”

She says this lazily, lacking her usual spirit Norlance over

at me just to enjoy my usual frown after her wit, but she keeps her eyes

occupied elsewhere Well, if she’s not in the mood to talk, then so be it I

keep pace alongside her, and proceed without another word shi+ki leads

the both of us toward the direction of the train station near her house,

which at this hour must still be packed The way there, however, is as dead

asthe narrow back streets

Without the lights on in the shops, and the street lamps, you’d think there

was soh I would guess

it’s the same reason shi+ki thinks she needs to walk me back home

Lone people alk at night are being reportedup

dead Now, given the usually low crime rate in the area, this would have

been shelved as so of a statistical anomaly If it wasn’t so similar to

the winter three years ago

In h school, there was a serial killer that put the city

in a bit of a panic He’d only appear in the night, and conduct violent ritual

killings on people for no discernible reason All in all, he killed seven people

Despite the numerous inquiries and cooperation with the media, the

police’s desperate attempt to catch him failed, and a solid suspect never

the pattern, it was assumed the

serial killer had stopped, and the case was buried cold

The first o, and the killer

went to ground at around winter three years ago I re a

cold February, with me and shi+ki about to enter our second year It was

only afterwards that shi+ki got into a car accident, and lapsed into a coma

As for h school, and e,

but it only took a month for me to drop out, and soon after, I found

employment with Miss Tōko shi+ki herself recovered from her coma only

last year in summer For

of the past

I iine, however, that it isn’t the same for shi+ki To her, it would have

only sees fit the same

grueso it up

130 • KINOKO NASU

as a return of the old culprit, with all the graphics and reenactments that

coh profile story, almost as if the news networks

were just lying in wait to spring the story fresh on their viewers again Still,

I can’t help but notice shi+ki looking grimmer by the day the more she hears

of it I’ve only ever seen her like that once, three years ago, before the accident

When  Ryōgi, still containing her other, masculine, shi+ki personality,

told me that she was a murderer

The train station is a taste of noret there, as it is filled

with all the usual number of people Unlike the residential district we had

just passed through, the station is brightly lit and packed with people going

to and fro in a hurry, and the activity spills into the surrounding commercial

district Only one of few places in the neighborhood that you could count

on the serial killer notan appearance Yet even here, the influence

is felt The way people draw closer together, as if to close ranks, and the

touch, however slight, of fear on all their faces, guarded though they may

be The night’s just begun, and rush hour ensures a nearly endless stream

of people

Passing the busy station and h the commercial

district, we pass an appliance store, the television on display showing the

evening news At a glance I already see what I expect: another feature story

on the killer While I quickly pay it no heed, shi+ki is led to halt in front of

it, her eyes affixed on the screen, so I reluctantly stop alongside her

“Mikiya, take a look at this,” shi+ki says, with a chortle, “they’re calling

hie letters, bulleted by an

X mark in the bottoan

“I guess they thought just ‘killer’ wouldn’t h

A h at, I know, but don’t you

think they’re being a bit sensationalist, though?”

With an eyebrow raised, shi+ki finally looks at me “Well, yeah, that’s

obvious But I think they’re kind of right, though If anyone right now deserved

to be called a uy He wants the attention,

the spectacle He’s glad for it Monsters rarely need a reason The victims

certainly never got one before they died That’s why you can’t really call

this athe faint

ilass surface of the screen

“What do you mean?” I ask

“Massacre and otten,

Kokutō? That a lifetime only has room for one real murder” She looks into

e Normally, she looks quite

/ PROLOGUE • 131

detached, al far away But now

there is an intensity in her black eyes, a pleading to some ancient memory

“One real murder…” I allow my voice to trail away I definitely recall

hearing so like that from her before, but when? And where? It was

only long after this particular ret

Maybe if I remembered it, at that moment, all of what followed could have

been avoided

“Never mind,” shi+ki finally says after a few seconds “It’s not important

Anyway, let’s get ourselves ho

I’onna calm down”

“Wait, you just woke up? What happened to school? Did you forget that

it’s a Monday today, or did you just decide to sleep over?”

Her face breaks into a sly sly

“I was at school this , c’mon I meant my afternoon nap

Actually, I never told you, butbetter since

Noveenuinely

taken aback Her grades had been slipping as badly as her attendance rate,

and I orried she wouldn’t make it by year’s end When I nod, she

makes a self-satisfied sound, and puts her hands inside her coat pocket

“Right, then a reward’s in order, then!” declares shi+ki out of the blue

“Azaka kept bragging to me about this fancy joint you took her to down in

Akasaka And whaddya know? I’ve actually alanted to go and try it

out Oh, how I so wanted to kill her then”

The disturbing thing about shi+ki saying that is knowing full well that she

has a knife and has used it before Before I can have a say in the matter,

she grabs me by the arm and leads me away I’m not entirely sure where

she’s leading me just yet, but if her previous remark is any indication, it’s to

Akazaka, where half of my paycheck will be no more than shattered hopes

and dreaht’s meal, and it doesn’t look like there’s

any stopping her Silently, I curse Azaka for telling shi+ki about where I took

her on New Year’s

Oh well, ht as well enjoy this After all, it feels like it’s been such a

long time since we had a real date In fact, the last time may well have been

four years ago, back in high school, when she still had the boy shi+ki inside

her She reht actually, and I don’t think to question

where this could have come from Beyond the aloofness that she had earlier

this afternoon, I didn’t see anything out of place

So we started February with an expensive dinner, and a night walking

around town, just being together and enjoying ourselves like it was the last

night ere allowed to do so

132 • KINOKO NASU

The Second Homicide Inquiry - I

- April 1995 I met her -

It has been a week since the night that me and shi+ki chanced upon that

news report on TV The label the news gave to the killer, a “murderous

, and lately, everybody’s been using it, even

Daisuke Aki, now sits in my modest

apart himself to a slice of French toast that I made for him as

he ski paper The date on the broadsheet reads February 8

Unfortunately, in the six intervening days since he’s received the moniker,

the ‘murderous monster’ has claimed six more victims, one for each day

“God, they’re really sticking with this name, aren’t they?” remarks

Daisuke “I thought the departet the names of

the vics out so quick too Makes the job harder, you know?” To hear him

talk wouldsome other person’s case,

which is far from the truth In fact, he has a relationshi+p with it as close

as kin He was the prio, and the

brass have seen fit to saddle it with hi the most informed

officer they have It only makes sense

“Are you sure it’s alright for you to be lazing about here, Daisuke? I

e of that paper, and it’s the story of the

last night’s fatality right there” I say as I eat my breakfast at the table,

facing Daisuke His face is hidden behind the newspaper, but I know that

he heard me

“I’ve been running around checking leads for a week now, and every day

there’s a fresh murder Let the SDF handle it, why don’t they? I need a little

break ‘round this tiain for the breakfast,

little buddy” I watch as he takes his coffeefrom the table, and see it

/ THE SECOND HOMICIDE INQUIRY - I • 133

disappear behind the newspaper before he gulps and places it back All of

this is pretty much standard procedure any time he comes here He takes

a break for thirty minutes for breakfast, he reads the paper, he chats, and

he goes out He used to do this at h

school too, and he saw fit to bring the tradition here, not that I mind

“I’m sure the SDF would just completely botch it all up anyway You’re

the best detective the Metro Police has”

“Eh, I’m not so sure about that But whatever the case, a man has limits,

and I’raveyard to

haunt thethe line”

He quickly closes the newspaper and folds it as he continues “God, I just

need to talk about this to someone that ain’t police Listen, Mikiya, what

I’m about to tell you is really classified stuff, but I trust you Don’t even

think about telling it to your friends or faot it?”

I nod Though I wouldn’t think of letting anything of what he’s about to

say leak out, he’s obviously never heard of the story about King Midas and

his donkey ears

He begins “Right, so like last time, this one’s a complete stone whodunit

No suspects, which means no motive No connections Only one weakass

witness, even in the killing spree in the past seven days Last time, the

only leads we got were your school emblem and the perp’s skin, which

didn’t bingo a match in the offender database But…well, I’m not sure just

yet, but he ame”

“Why do you say that?”

“Well, you kno he’s been nabbing citizens since last fall, right? We

weren’t sure yet that it was him back then, so the media didn’t latch on to

the story until the killings started this year, when he started getting sloppy

Especially in the past week”

“Leaving evidence, you est

“Which is weird, right? We can’t put a face to the fucker for four years

going now, but now he decides to change his pattern? Doesn’t sound right

It ht just be a copycat”

“But that can’t be right,” Iback on how Daisuke described

it to o “The exact manner of how the victims died hasn’t

been leaked to the public I only know because you told uy was

a copycat, he couldn’t have known exactly how to conduct the murders”

“Yeah, I know, I know,” Daisuke says with a resigned sigh “I wonder,

though The o struck me as less ritualistic and more…

like so used to what he could do, and he decided

to play around, you know? He was at least leaving a body to be found

134 • KINOKO NASU

back then Now…” he clears his throat, and shakes his head, as if to rid his

e, before he continues “…now he’s just leaving

severed ar to clean up his act, then why take all that

time to hide a body but leave the limbs intentionally?”

“Calling card, nature for the police to know him by? He’s

gloating,” I think out loud

“Yeah, that’s where oes, too But it didn’t look

like the limbs were cut, that’s for sure There’s no clean cut, or even the

signs of multiple attempts to hack them off They look like they were…

torn off, or twisted right out” Daisuke smiles then, and makes a chuckle,

the heaviness in his features leaving him for a moment “Heh, heard any

escaped alligator urban legends out there lately, Mikiya?”

“Nah,” I say, chuckling now too “If I do, though, you can get lost I’m

keeping it as a pet just to spite you” I drink from my coffee now too, the

tereeable I use the moment to hide my

expression when o…and shi+ki

It was four years ago when shi+ki told me she was a murderer But that

couldn’t have been true I can’t believe she would kill anyone Not truly

She was never ready to swing that knife down on anybody I’ve always put

my faith in her But, if that’s true, then why does o back to

thoughts of her?

“Your witness,” I say quickly, as if doing so would banish the thought

from my mind “You said you had a weak one What’s that about?”

“Yeah, from last week’s incident don over at commercial Place

is packed full of people at most hours so it must have been pretty hard for

the killer to hide what he was doing Sure enough, even though the crime

scene was an alley, soed to see the perp

booking it after the murder took place, said he wore a kimono Actually

though, the witness can’t say for certain whether the suspect was actually

a guy or a girl Like I said, no legs on that info just yet” Daisuke shrugs as

he says this, and rests his head on a hand propped up on the table “It’d

be nice if we can at least bring in so The

brass is pretty hung up on getting the ‘ this up quick Far

as I know, the pressure’s co all the way from city hall”

“A red ball Media coverage is getting kinda crazy hysterical too”

“Best road to stress, I tell ya Gotta thank you for this, Mikiya”

“It’s why I’m here” Yet even as Daisuke shares the new information

about what the witness saw, he returns it unknowingly to shi+ki Who else

do I know that walks around at night in a ki

the coffee cup seee to retain my

/ THE SECOND HOMICIDE INQUIRY - I • 135

composure

“Onea more hushed

tone now “Now Mikiya, I know you know your fair share about the drug

trade here in Tokyo Whoever’s slinging the best shi+t, who the players are,

that sort of thing”

“I guess so,” I venture hesitantly “I e person,

sure But I’uys over at your narcotics bureau

better acquainted with that than me”

He waves a hand in the air dismissively “A bunch of conservative old

hacks playing at understanding what ga

themselves that buy-busts are the ultimate answer That includes me”

He gives a raph from

his coat pocket, setting it down on the table for me to see

In the photograph are two evidence bags, one containing so

that looks like a bunch of starass

inside The labels on the bags have the words “mescaline” and “THC” written

prorams of it is stored, and

below that is the chain of custody for the evidence I recognize them easily

enough

“The staht? The other is weed I’m pretty sure”

“Well, kinda like weed The forensics guys told me that the THC and CHC

content in the hemp are very low”

“So it’s not marijuana” It can’t have been You would have to have

enough THC, the psychoactive substance found in weed, for it to qualify

“It’s probably soishi+ro”

“Which is what?”

“A specially bred strain of hemp developed here in japan Because hemp

growing is regulated heavily by the prefectural governot a

pretty strict ceiling on how much THC should be in usable hemp, which is

at 1 The herown natively here in japan usually sat

at around 12 to 18 So, to comply with the new prefectural policies, they

developed a low-THC strain in Hiroshi+ishi+ro Obviously it

didn’t stop illegal plantations or s of marijuana inside the country”

Daisuke nods, his eyes showing their characteristic concentration He’s

following along with a genuine curiosity now “So what does the picture

have to do with anything?” I ask

“Most of the murder victims this past week had some in their possession

on time of death,” Daisuke explains “But hey, what do I know? They’re

kids fooling around at night so maybe it’s no surprise, eh?”

“Unfair generalizations aren’t going to get you anywhere, Daisuke”

136 • KINOKO NASU

“Which is why I’ to you for opinions You know these street

hoppers better than I do”

“To be honest, I don’t really know about that I haven’t been in contact

with any of the street level dealer guys for at least half a year They ht

have changed up their boys, especially the guys who sell acid They do rotations

so they don’t get caught so easily The cocktail slingers too”

“cocktails are two drugs ht?”

“Yeah I hear the popular thing right now is speedballs: when they mix

cocaine with heroine or morphine in one needle Powerful stuff Very

dangerous too, if you aren’t careful”

Daisuke narrows his eyes “You’re suspiciously knowledgeable about all

this You aren’t taking any, are you?” he asks Though I’m pretty sure he

isn’t serious, I decide to answer him truthfully anyway

“Do I look like I do? If I was a dope fiend, you’d knoith one look at

uy to read, or so people tell me I’m not one to try

drugs I’ve just got a…well, an old high school friend who knows a lot about

it”

“Fine, fine, I believe you,” he says dish

it doesn’t escapeGakuto’s

naht my ass up Last

question, though Is weed an upper or a downer?”

I sigh, thinking regretfully on how little this supposed detective uncle

ofon the job for years

now “That’s a question I’m sure even your narcotics people can answer,

but whatever It actually isn’t clear eed is Different people have

different reactions For some it’s a stimulant, and to others it’s a downer,

and also a hallucinogen For a few people, it doesn’t even leave any strong

effect Other drugs have been extensively studied and their effects documented,

but the THC in weed is the only thing that remains a mystery”

“Heh, thanks for that I’uy, not in narcotics, so I don’t

know everything about it,” he says as he grabs and puts on his coat “I’ll be

sure to bone up on it, though Looks like I’h if

the stuff keeps getting found on victile

on the case” He gives me a short wave as he walks toward the entrance

of the house, and I wave hi the noise

of raindrops assaulting the rooftops of the buildings outside “God, fucking

rain again?” Daisuke complains as he heads out and closes the door behind

him

“Just has to spill the beans to me, doesn’t he?” I whisper to myself The

conversation with hih, and

/ THE SECOND HOMICIDE INQUIRY - I • 137

as the dreary dawn light peeks in through the , I finish my breakfast

and get a sudden urge to take the day off I quickly call Miss Tōko up and

inform her Her reply is curt

“Whatever you plan on doing, take it easy” She says it like an order, not

a et a chance to assure her, there is a click on

the line; she’s put the phone down She knohat I’m up to for sure

She’s always had strangely accurate intuition

There’s only one good reason I need the day off today

I haven’t seen any sign of shi+ki for a week now

The past week had seen a new murder turn up every day, and since it all

started, she hasn’t coi family estate

I can’t get in touch with her, and nobody I know seems to have seen her It

doesn’t take a genius to see what reason she could have for doing it

If the murderous monster really is the same serial killer from four years

ago, then shi+ki is out there, searching for answers But I don’t even know

who thisthe streets is And I know that the memories

related to her old shi+ki personality have all vanished along with him, which

means we’ll never be able to prove if she was related to those crimes or

not

Maybe I’m not the one that can break this case wide open But there

are far too er shi+ki’s

disappearance heralds so far worse I can feel it And before that

happens, I need to find the truth Me Because this isn’t someone else’s

probleo until today, this has always been mine and

shi+ki’s proble it, afraid to face it So to understand

it, I need to start investigating, not for someone else, but for my own

sake

I step outside the house, seeing the rain cover everything in an unceasing

grey veil I pop open my black umbrella and travel to the crime scenes

of the past week I reach last night’s spot, an alley in one of the busier

portions of don People are walking the sidewalk as if nothing had

happened last night, trying not to notice the alley which still has policemen

standing guard and yellow police lines stretched over the mouth of

the entrance, and a si the top of the entire

alleyway Preserving the crime scene for at least a day, they can do no more

than that I leave, and head to the other cri to find them

less guarded Luckily, the police have abandoned them, and I’m able to pry

through them without notice

By the time I reach my third crime scene, I barely notice that much of

the day has passed, and it is already early afternoon If I wanted to pay all

138 • KINOKO NASU

the places a visit and give theh search, it’d probably take me

until late tonight This is all useless The crime scenes are open and they’re

h daily traffic, then surely

through the continuous day of rain But without a single clue, what can I

really do? This investigation is kid’s stuff for now, but before I take it up a

notch, I have to make sure not to leave a stone unturned And so with just

my umbrella for company, I wander alleyways tainted by murder

The late winter rain is icy cold, and hasn’t let up the entire day The rain

in this month has always had a special melancholy attached to it for me

It’s had that for me for three years After all, it was this month, three years

ago, when I lost her

“I…I want to kill you”

It was a very gentle smile

The girl in the red ki above my

neck In one terrifyingly brief

on the ground while she straddledbut to look into

the eyes of uillotine, the knife blade shone in the