"I'm home~!" Nozomi called out as she closed the front door.
"Onee-chan is hoooome~" two children appeared from the hallway and ran towards Nozomi. She held out her arms and the children happily embraced her.
"Have you two been good?" Nozomi asked while patting their heads. The two children nodded joyfully. Nozomi turned towards the older one of the two, "Takumi, you took good care of Ayano while I was out, right?"
The boy smiled big and nodded, "I sure did, Nozo-nee. We had lots of fun today!"
Nozomi smiled and held the children's hands, "Where's Papa?"
"He's upstairs sleeping," Ayano replied.
Nozomi checked her wristwatch, "He must be tired from work, its only 7 o'clock." She made her way into the living room and set down her purse.
"Have the two of you had dinner yet?" She asked as she headed for the kitchen. The two shook their heads in unison, "Is there anything you two want to eat?" She asked.
The two kids looked at each other and smiled brightly, "We want hamburger steak, Nozo-nee!" They answered gleefully.
Nozomi giggled and smiled back, "Okay then, hamburger steak it is!"
The two kids cheered and ran around the room while Nozomi prepared the food. It would take a while for her to finish so she turned on the TV to occupy her time. The news was on, "...recent kidnappings have been on the rise as another family was struck with traged-"
Nozomi quickly turned the channel away to something more kid friendly for the children. Luckily there was some anime airing and that got them to calm down until Nozomi finished their dinner.
"Dinners ready!" Nozomi called out.
The two kids raced each other to the dinner table as Nozomi set up the plates, "I'll be right back," she told them.
She grabbed a single plate and walked outside of the living room and up the stairs. She arrived at the door at the end of the hallway and knocked gently, "Dad? I have dinner here for you..."
There was no response. He must have been sound asleep since work has been rough on him lately. Nozomi returned downstairs and wrapped the plate with some plastic wrap and a note before placing it on the fridge for later.
"Nozo-nee! Come eat with us!" The kids beckoned.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," Nozomi responded. She took a seat next to the kids and the siblings enjoyed their dinner together.
Nozomi spent the rest of her time watching TV with the children until they fell asleep on the couch. She turned the TV off and picked up the both of them in her arms. They were sound asleep and showed no sign of waking up anytime soon. She couldn't help but smile when around Takumi and Ayano. Even though their family was going through a financial crisis and suffering from their mother's sudden abandonment, she was still able to smile because of them.
She reached their rooms and gently tucked them into bed, making sure to kiss their foreheads before leaving, "I love you guys," she whispered before turning off the light and shutting the door.
Nozomi herself went to bed after tucking the others to sleep. It was only 10 o'clock, but she needed to sleep early for her morning shift tomorrow.
Nozomi never really had a problem with sleeping early, the only thing she had trouble with was waking up in the middle of the night because of it. If she ever slept early, she would find herself awake around 2 or 3 in the morning. Tonight was another night like it, "Why does this happen to me...?" Nozomi got up out of bed and made her way downstairs. Her vision was blurry, but the worst part of waking up like this in the middle of the night was having an extremely dry throat.
She reached the bottom of the stairs and noticed a light coming from outside of the living room doorway, "...Dad?" She tiredly called out. Her voice was raspy and barely audible. She decided to keep going and take a look for herself.
Nozomi peeked into the living room to see the TV left on. It was on the news station again, "I thought I turned the TV off before going to bed." Nozomi rubbed her eyes and looked around, she spotted a man lying face down in his seat on the kitchen table.
"Dad must have fallen asleep here again..." she yawned and quietly made her way to the kitchen. Nozomi opened the dishwasher and pulled out a cup for a drink of water. The satisfaction of fulfilling her thirst lifted up her spirits and she wore a satisfied expression.
"I better wake up Dad before he catches a cold out here," she set the cup down on the counter and made her way over to her father, gently nudging against him.
"Hey Dad, wake up. You'll catch a cold if you sleep out here," her father didn't react. She noticed a circular black shadow around his head, "Was he eating dinner?"
Nozomi stepped in closer and nudged her father more aggressively, "Dad, wake u- Ahhh!" Her foot slipped and caused her to fall on her back. She felt something wet and got up immediately.
"Ugh, what is this? Juice?" It was too dark for Nozomi to see clearly. It must have fallen on the floor when her father knocked it over in his sleep.
"Geez Dad, wake up already!" Nozomi reached for the light switch and flipped it on. She firmly grasped her father and shook him roughly. She looked down and noticed a red liquid around her feet.
"Wine?" She reached down and collected some of the liquid on her finger. She gave it a whiff, "it reeks of iron..."
Nozomi started to feel her nerves acting up, "H-Hey Dad?" She pushed her father by the arm. The man slowly swayed to the right and slid off his chair, falling towards the ground. Nozomi reacted instinctively and grabbed a hold of him. Her grip slipped and left a streak of red across her father's arm. She let him land lightly and checked her hand. It was red, most likely from when she touched the liquid after falling down.
Her father didn't move, not even a sound came out of him. Now that she noticed, her father's arm was rather cold. All sense of reason immediately escaped her body and was flooded with fear. Her hand slowly approached her father's shoulder. She closed her eyes and pulled hard enough for him to lie on his back.
Nozomi slowly opened her eyes to a horrible sight and almost screamed immediately. She covered her eyes and stumbled back in disbelief, "T-Tell me this is a nightmare!" She yelled in her head. Nozomi got back up on her feet and slowly moved towards her father with her eyes focused on the wall instead of him.
"Please... just let it be my imagination..." she closed her eyes and turned her head slowly in the direction of her father. She opened them slowly and instantly started to gag. His eyes were wide open, and all you could see were the whites of his eyes. Moving lower upon inspection was a deep gash across his neck.
Nozomi ran for the kitchen sink and immediately started retching. Her mouth was filled with an acidic taste as all of her senses were overloaded. Before she knew it, she was looking at the remains of the dinner that she had cooked a few hours before. Her tastebuds were invaded with an acidic aftertaste and she fell to her knees.
"P-Ph-Phone... I have to call the Police..." Nozomi struggled to her feet and walked past her father. She turned her back and kept all of her focus on the wall in front of her. It took every ounce of her willpower to not turn around.
She made it through the living room door and into the hallway. She stumbled and held herself against the wall to keep from falling over. Just a few more steps until she can reach for the phone.
She grasped the phone and clumsily punched in the emergency number,
"Hello, this is the emergency hotline, what is your situation?"
"P-please help, my Dad, he's..."
"We're on our way ma'am," the call disconnected and Nozomi dropped the phone onto the ground. She sat with her knees against her chest until the authorities arrived.
By the time they had reached her home, the area around her eyes were painfully red. She opened the door and the house was quickly filled with policemen. They stormed the living room and were faced with the awful sight. Nozomi waited by the front door until a man appeared from the living room. He walked up to her and pulled her to the side, "What happened here?" He asked.
Nozomi avoided eye contact with the officer and stared at the ground, "I-I'm not sure... I just woke up to get a glass of water and," Nozomi began to choke on her tears again. She didn't want to think about what she saw. She didn't want to think about having to lose another parent.
The officer eased up on Nozomi after seeing her reaction and helped her outside, "Please, remain calm. We promise that we will find the monster who did this... Is there anyone else in the house?"
Nozomi wiped away her tears and shook her head, "Y-Yes, my younger brother Takumi and younger sister Ayano. They're asleep upstairs."
Another policeman poked his head outside of the door, "Captain, you're going to want to see this..."
"What is it? Can't you see I'm busy here?" The officer pointed out.
"But sir, there's more up-" the policeman immediately shut his mouth, but Nozomi had already picked up on what he said.
"More what?" Nozomi stood up. She didn't want to go straight for the worst case scenario, but her brain wouldn't let up. "What do you mean by more?!" Nozomi unconsciously started yelling. Her body moved on her own and she pushed the two officers away from her. She sprinted up the stairs to see a team of policemen surrounding her siblings' room.
"TAKUMI?! AYANO?!" Nozomi ran for the room but she was immediately stopped by the officers in the area.
"Miss! Please wait outside while we investigate!" An officer yelled.
"TAKUMI! AYANO! PLEASE TELL ME YOU'RE OKAY? PLEASE SAY SOMETHING!" Nozomi yelled at the tip of her lungs. She fought her hardest and broke away from the men that held her back. She stumbled into the room and was met with a gruesome sight. She covered her mouth as she stared in disbelief. Her legs gave out and she fell to her knees.
Everything had gone blank. Her mind had blocked out every single sense other than her vision. She didn't hear the officers yelling at her, nor did she feel herself getting yanked back them. All she could see was blood stained across each bed. Nozomi let out a cry of despair as she was pulled away by the remaining policemen, "NOOOO! TAKUMI! AYANO!" she thrashed and screamed with all of her might.
Nozomi was led out of the house and into a police car. She kicked and screamed until she had no strength left to do either. All she could do was stare into her lap and at the hand stained with her father's blood.
Umi awoke to a call in the middle of the night, it was a call from work. She rubbed her eyes and yawned before getting up and putting on some clothes. She was ready and prepared for work in no less than 10 minutes. She grabbed her keys and her leather jacket before leaving home.
Umi drove quickly and arrived in front of a home within 20 minutes. She parked her car across the street and stepped out. She made her way to the other side where officers saluted and greeted her.
"Detective Sonoda! We're glad that you could come on short notice," the captain said.
Umi nodded her head in response, "Glad I could be of assistance, so what's the situation?"
The captain scratched his head before responding, "It looks like we have another murder case on our hands."
Umi walked into the house and the captain followed closely behind, "There are three victims. Toujou Hamada, Male, Age 53. Toujou Ayano, Female, Age 9. And Toujou Takumi, Male, Age 11."
Umi turned to face the captain, "There were children involved?"
"I'm afraid so, Detective," the captain answered sadly.
"Are there any survivors?" Umi asked.
"There is one, Toujou Nozomi, Female, Age 23." He replied back.
"23? What is a young woman like her doing here?" She continued to question.
"We believe that Hamada and Nozomi were father and daughter, Detective." He answered back.
"That would make sense... Okay, dismissed." Umi waved her hand and the captain saluted before returning to his duties.
She took a step into the living room to inspect the crime scene. She watched as policemen cleared a path for her, their faces reacting negatively to the scene.
"Alright you guys, clear and secure the crime scene," Umi announced. The men saluted and did as they were told.
She knelt next to the man's corpse and inspected him. The slit across his neck marked the cause of death and the amount of blood on the ground suggested that the killer knew what they were doing.
"Judging by the crime scene... it seems that the victim was unaware of his attacker. No weapon was found, but the thickness of the cut would suggest that the weapon was either a box cutter, or a razor." Umi spoke to herself and stood up.
"The way that the blood is splattered would mean that the victim bled out quickly, a cut to the jugular vein perhaps?" She looked over at the pool of blood that surrounded the chair. There was also blood spattered across the dinner table which suggested that a major vein had been cut.
Umi stood up and ran the information through her head with a possible reconstruction of the crime scene.
The victim was alone in the living room having dinner while watching TV. He had most likely just woken up and wasn't fully aware of his surrounding. During this time, the killer snuck through the living room door and attacked the victim swiftly with a blade. There was no sign of struggle, nor was there any sign of forced entry.
Umi cleared her head and walked away from the crime scene. She headed upstairs to investigate the next tragedy.
Without having to be told, the officers in the room evacuated the scene and let Umi do her work. She walked over to the small beds and uncovered the bodies. Umi looked away for a second and closed her eyes. She had seen a lot of grisly crime scenes before, but nothing compared to the death of a child.
She braced herself and began her inspection, "Cause of death is identical to the victim downstairs..." Umi looked closely and made the same connections to the victim before.
"How can someone do this to children..." Umi looked around the room one last time. Again there was no sign of a struggle which meant that they were killed in their sleep. There was also no sign of a forced entry.
Umi sighed and made her way out of the home.
"Oh you're finished, Detective?" The captain asked.
Umi looked at him, "The way the victims were killed..."
He nodded in response, "Yeah... Exactly like Case A.M."
"Where is the survivor?" she asked.
The captain pointed to a police car across from Umi's. She nodded and thanked him before heading over. She approached the police car slowly and tapped on the window to get the girl's attention.
She looked up slowly with tears running down her cheeks.
Umi opened the door slowly and took a seat next to the girl.
"Hello , my name is Sonoda Umi and I am the detective that has been assigned to this case." She offered her hand to shake.
Nozomi hesitantly shook Umi's hand, "Hello Detective..."
"Do you mind if I ask you some questions?" Umi never liked having to question the victims, but she had to if she wanted to capture the culprit.
Nozomi nodded.
"Okay... What were you doing during the time of the crime?"
"I was asleep in my room." She replied
"Asleep?" Umi was thrown off by her answer. If Nozomi was asleep during the time of the crime, why wasn't she targeted like her siblings?
She cleared her throat before continuing, "How did you discover the crime scene?"
"I woke up to get myself a glass of water. I saw my father on the kitchen table and tried to wake him up. That's when I... saw it."
Umi noticed how hard Nozomi was trying to keep herself from crying again. She really didn't want to ask the next question,
"... Was it you?"
Nozomi gasped and stared in disbelief, "H-How could you even ask that?!"
"I'm sorry... I have to narrow down the suspects and..." Umi looked down.
"And what, Detective?" Nozomi became defensive.
"With the way things are looking, you're the only suspect we have," Umi looked up and stared straight into Nozomi's eyes.
She felt the piercing gaze of Umi's eyes and it ran a chill down her spine. They were cold, almost lifeless.
"I wouldn't do it, I swear... I loved them so much..." Nozomi clutched her chest as she answered.
Umi laid back, "I believe you... I just have a few more questions and I'll be on my way."
Nozomi nodded.
"Do you have any idea about who could have done this?"
Nozomi thought hard about the question, "No, none at all."
"Friends? Co-workers? Anything?" Umi pressed on.
"I can't really think of anyone, I'm sorry," Nozomi bowed as she apologized.
"No, no. That's okay, you don't have to apologize," Umi stopped Nozomi from bowing.
"Do you have anywhere to stay until things settle down?"
"Umm... I guess I can ask to stay at a friend's home for a while"
Umi nodded and opened the door.
"That's all for now, I'll stop pestering you," Umi stepped out of the car and looked back at Nozomi, "I promise that I will catch this monster and see to that they are punished for their crimes."
She closed the door and walked back to her own car, "Case A.M... Is there a connection here?"
Nozomi watched as the detective walked away. Something about her seemed off. Her eyes were cold and almost lifeless. What exactly has she been through, what has she seen?
She couldn't stop her head from filling up with thoughts revolving around Umi. She turned back to face the house and noticed the captain walking towards the car. He made his way around and sat in the driver seat, "Do you have a place to stay?" He asked.
Nozomi nodded and started giving him directions. They arrived in front of a small home 10 minutes later and she got out. She waved back at the officer, "Make sure to stay safe, Miss Toujou."
The officer saluted and drove off. Nozomi kept waving until the car disappeared from her sight. She sighed as she walked through the small gate and knocked on the door. It opened quickly and she was hugged instantly, "Nozomi, I'm so glad you're safe."
Nozomi pet the girl's head, "I'm okay, Nico."
She shook her head, "Don't pretend like nothing is wrong... I'm sorry about what happened."
Nozomi weakly smiled before asking, "How do you know about it already?"
"I just saw it on the news," Nico explained.
"... Why are you up so late, Nicocchi?" Nozomi questioned.
Nico flinched.
"N-No reason, I was just up," Nico attempted to cover something up.
"You were up late playing video games again weren't you?" Nozomi sighed.
"Of course no- Okay you got me..." Nico hung her head, but quickly recovered, "But that doesn't matter, get in here already!"
Nico pulled on Nozomi's arm and it caused her to stumble past the front door.
"Everyone else is still asleep, so I'll just explain everything to Mommy when she wakes up," Nico let go of Nozomi's hand and shut the door. "I'll come up with an excuse for the little ones."
Nozomi nodded in response.
"You must be exhausted, do you want me to draw you a bath?" Nico insisted.
"No that's fine, I just want to sleep," she weakly chuckled.
"Oh, okay then. You can sleep in my room on the bed. I'll lay out a futon for myself," Nico started walking up the stairs.
"Hey, Nicocchi?" Nozomi called out.
"Hmm? What is it?" Nico turned her head to face Nozomi.
"Do you remember back when we were kids, and we used to sleep in the same bed?" she asked.
"I guess? Why?" Nico questioned back.
"Well... Can we do that tonight?" Nozomi asked shyly.
"W-what? Nozomi, we're both 23 year old women," Nico blushed at the thought of the idea.
"Please, Nico? I really need someone to hold, just for tonight..." Nozomi's eyes reflected her pain and Nico gave in.
"F-fine, only for tonight," she replied.
Nozomi smiled and the two continued up the stairs. Nico pushed the door to her room open and flipped on the lights, she noticed that her tv still had the news on and she quickly turned it off before Nozomi could see.
Nozomi took a seat on Nico's bed while she dug through her dresser, "Did you bring a change of clothes?"
Nozomi shook her head and Nico sighed, "I'm pretty sure I don't have anything that can fit you... Let me go check Mommy's clothes."
Nico left Nozomi alone in the room and returned after a few minutes with a change of clothes.
"Here, you should be able to fit this... hopefully," Nico stared at Nozomi's large chest.
Nozomi took the clothes and thanked Nico before she started changing. The clothes were a little tight, but they were much more wearable than Nico's. Nozomi thanked Nico's mother in her head.
Nico grabbed another pillow from her closet and set up the bed so that it could fit two people.
"Do you want the side touching the wall?" Nico asked.
Nozomi nodded and climbed onto the bed. Nico got up and walked over to the light switch, "Are you all comfortable? I'm turning off the light."
Nozomi put up her hand and gave Nico a thumbs up. She turned the lights off and carefully made her way onto the bed, "Okay... I'm coming in, Nozomi."
She carefully slid herself under the covers and rested her head on her pillow. She could hear Nozomi's breathing and felt her warmth radiating off of her. Nico felt a pair of arms wrap around her and she was pulled in closer to Nozomi. Her face grew red and was heating up, but she had to endure it for Nozomi's sake.
"I'm glad you're here for me, Nico..." Nozomi whispered.
"O-Of course, why would I leave you at a time like this?" Nico replied.
Nozomi remained silent, all she did was pull Nico in closer. She pressed up against Nico's small back and let herself drift off to sleep.
"Y-your boobs, Nozomi," Nico yelled in her head. It was much harder for her to fall asleep, but she eventually did.
Umi drove home shortly after the police car holding Nozomi had left. She sat at a long red light and analyzed what information she could gather from the crime scene. It had similarities with a case that she worked on in the past known as Case A.M.
"Is the killer still out there? Or is this a copycat?" Umi muttered to herself.
The light turned green and Umi stepped on the gas pedal lightly into a smooth drive. She arrived home and sat at the only table in the middle of the room. It was littered with paperwork, photographs and leftover dinner. On the ground were numerous empty bottles and cans. Umi's room was a mess, but she didn't really have time to clean it. She leaned over on the table and took a deep breath. She rubbed her temples and tried to ease her mind.
"Everything is just too similar..." Umi's eyes caught a glimpse of a shattered portrait that laid on the ground next to her foot. She reached down to pick it up and set it up on the table. It was a picture of her with another girl, they were both smiling.
Umi couldn't remember the last time she had been happy.
"First thing to do..." Umi stopped herself from thinking too much. "I have to set up some interviews with the neighbors. Maybe they saw something that we missed."
Umi looked over at the digital clock that was sitting on her nightstand. The time was 4:28am. She got up and stretched, "I might as well stay up."
She navigated through her messy room to get a fresh change of clothes before walking into her bathroom.
It was 10am now and Umi was already out on the job. She patrolled the area surrounding the Toujou household and stopped to question any of the pedestrians that may have frequented the area.
"Thank you for your time," Umi bid farewell to a younger woman that she was questioning.
Her efforts would prove to be fruitless. All of the neighbors reported no suspicious activity and were asleep in their homes during the time of the crime. No leads, no new suspects.
"Hey there, Detective~!" A light voice called out.
Umi's thought process broke when she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She turned around to face an ashen haired girl who was smiling at her, "Kotori?"
"Reporting for duty, ma'am," she playfully saluted and winked.
Umi shrugged it off, "What are you doing here?"
"I was on my to work and I saw you, so why not say hello?" She replied.
"I see... How are things?" Umi engaged in conversation.
Kotori brought her hand up to brush away a few strands of hair hanging in front of her, "Things have been good! I actually just got promoted recently."
Umi noticed the ring around Kotori's finger, "That's good."
"What about you?" She asked.
"I'm working on another case," Umi replied.
Kotori puffed her cheeks and looked displeased, "Always working on a case, huh? You know, if you weren't so hung up on your job so much, maybe we would have worked out."
"There's no need to rub salt on the wound, Kotori," Umi began to feel displeased with Kotori's presence.
"I'm just saying that you need to loosen up a little, Umi. A girl needs some attention from time to time," Kotori took on a sympathetic tone.
Umi remained silent and turned around, "Is she treating you well?"
"Who? Honoka?"
"So that's her name..." Umi began walking off and Kotori followed.
"She's been really great. Always making time in her schedule to spend time with me," she continued happily.
"It's good that you're happy," Umi responded automatically.
"Why do you ask?" Kotori felt a shiver run down her spine, "You're not going to background check her or anything, are you?!" she started pushing against Umi.
"No, it's because I saw that," Umi pointed down to Kotori's finger.
Kotori held out her hand and presented the ring, "Oh... This. Umm, yeah she proposed to me last weekend at our anniversary."
Umi pulled out her phone to check the time, "Shouldn't you be getting to work now?"
"What time is it?" Kotori checked her own wristwatch and yelped, "Oh no! I'm going to be late, I'll talk to you again sometime!"
Kotori ran off and Umi returned to her investigation. It didn't bother Umi much that Kotori had moved on. But then again, that would be a lie. No matter how many times she forced that thought into her head, she still couldn't let go of Kotori.
Perhaps if she wasn't a detective, everything may have worked out for the two of them.
She shook her head to get rid of the thoughts, all she could do was keep her mind focused on the case. If she didn't, she wouldn't be able to stop herself from thinking too much. With no leads or suspects, Umi made her way to the police station. Maybe she could find some information there, if not, at least the training facility will keep her occupied for some time.
Nozomi woke up around 10am. She was alone in the bed and there was no sign of Nico around. She sat up and rubbed her eyes before yawning. She stretched and crawled out of bed, maybe Nico was downstairs.
She carefully made her way down the stairs, using the handrail to keep herself balanced. She could hear the noise of children clamouring from the living room. She walked towards the doorway and took a peek inside. She almost expected Takumi and Ayano to be inside, however, it was Nico's younger siblings.
"Ahh, it's Nozo-nee," Kotarou called out.
Nozomi's chest tightened after she heard "Nozo-nee." She became short of breath and she felt her tears welling up.
"Kotarou, I told you to stop calling Nozomi that," a voice called out.
Nozomi looked up to see Nico holding a ladel and wearing an apron. Their eyes met and Nico called out to her, "Good morning, Nozomi. I'm sorry about the noise."
Nozomi turned her head away from sight and quickly wiped away her imminent tears. She turned back and shook her head, "Don't worry about it, I'm used to noisy mornings."
Nico's face grew worrisome, "Well, I have breakfast here for you." She motioned her hand to present a simple egg and toast breakfast.
"I know it's not much, but we haven't stocked up on groceries lately," Nico rubbed the back of her neck.
Nozomi shook her head, "No, no. It's fine. I'm not that hungry anyways." She took a step into the living room and took a seat at the table. Nico grabbed her own plate and sat next to her.
"I told Mommy that you'll be staying with us for a while and she said that it'd be fine as long as you help out around the house." Nico began eating her food.
"Thank you so much, Nico." Nozomi smiled and began eating her breakfast. She didn't really eat as much as she normally did, in fact, she barely made a dent on her plate.
Nico noticed that Nozomi only took one bite out of the toast and ate maybe a third of the eggs. She wasn't surprised, the sudden loss of her family would cause her eating habits to change drastically.
"Done already?" Nico asked hesitantly.
"Mhmm..." Nozomi nodded and pushed the plate over to Nico.
She took the plate away and looked at her siblings, "Kokoro, Kokoa, do either of you want more food?" The two girls nodded and split Nozomi's plate between one another.
Nico turned her attention back to Nozomi, "So, what do you want to do together?"
"What?" Nozomi broke out of her silent trance.
"It's my day off today, want to do something together like old times?" Nico offered.
"I-I'm not sure," Nozomi couldn't come up with anything.
"How about we go do some shopping? Or take a walk to that old park we went to when we were kids," Nico started listing some options.
Nozomi simply nodded. Nico got up, "I drew a bath, you should go get ready while I clean up around here."
Nozomi got up and went to the bathroom as Nico suggested. She watched as Nozomi shuffled her feet towards the bathroom and waited until she could hear the water running. Nico cleaned up the table and placed the used dishes into the sink.
"Oh right, she needs clothes," Nico rushed upstairs and into her mother's room to grab a spare outfit. She returned downstairs and entered the bathroom, "Hey Nozomi?!" She called out.
"What is it?" Nozomi responded.
"I'm leaving some clothes here for you when you finish," she yelled back as she left the clothing on the basket.
Nico left and returned to the sink. She started washing the dishes and thought to herself. When they were younger, Nozomi was always the one to take care of Nico. But now, it seemed that Nico was the caretaker. She remembered those days in the park where Nozomi would carry her piggyback style when she scraped her knee. Compared to the pain Nozomi was feeling now, that was nothing. There was no easy way to make Nozomi feel better, this wasn't something that you could stick a band-aid on and call it a day. The pain carved deep into Nozomi's heart is something that could take years to mend.
"I don't know if I can do it... But I will do the best I can for you, Nozomi..." she muttered to herself.
Nico focused on washing the dishes until Nozomi returned from the bathroom. She walked in with a towel wrapped around her hair, "Nicocchi, where's your hair dryer?"
"It's upstairs in my room on the dresser," Nico responded while wiping a plate dry. She watched Nozomi leave the living room and return with the hair dryer.
"Why did you bring it down here?" Nico asked.
"No reason..." Nozomi plugged the hair dryer into an outlet by the couch and casually started drying her hair. Nico shrugged it off and finished drying off the rest of the plates. She rolled down her sleeves and took a seat next to Nozomi.
"So do you want to go visit the shopping district first? Or go to the park?" Nico asked.
"Let's go shopping, I need some of my own clothing for now. At least until I can get my clothes back at home…" Nozomi's voice trailed off.
Nico noticed Nozomi's deteriorating voice and quickly stood up, "Well what are we waiting for then, let's go!" Nico pulled on Nozomi's hand which caused her to drop the hair dryer.
"But Nico, I'm not finished drying my hair yet!" Nozomi protested.
"It looks good enough and it'll dry on the walk there, don't worry about it!" Nico kept at Nozomi until she finally gave up.
Nico dragged Nozomi by the hand until they reached the shopping district in their town. It wasn't very large compared to some in Tokyo, but it was a very popular place for people of all ages to come to. Aside from the markets, there are other small designer shops that sell clothing or other goods. There is also a playground in the middle for any of the kids as well as a street performer every now and then. Today there was a red haired girl with short hair playing on a keyboard.
"Wow, she's really good," Nico whispered to Nozomi. She left a couple hundred yen in the girl's keyboard case and continued on. The two arrived at a small clothing shop that the two of them often frequented.
"Lets go pick out some cute clothes for you!" Nico cheered. The two girls walked around the shop and picked out which clothes they wanted to try on before buying. Nozomi tried on a variety of dresses ranging from red to blue to purple. Nico was much more into the tomboyish look, wearing shorts and t-shirts. The two would also try on joke clothing to make each other laugh and they would eventually spend an hour and a half in that store.
The two walked out of the shop with a few bags in their hands, giggling about the clothes they tried on.
"At least she's laughing again…" Nico thought to herself. She checked her wristwatch and saw that it was noon.
"Hey Nicocchi, I'm hungry," Nozomi brought up.
Nico nodded, "Yeah, I was about to say we should go get some lunch," she looked up and down the shopping district, "Is there anything you have in mind?"
"Grilled Meat." Nozomi replied quickly.
Nico flinched at Nozomi's quick response but calmed down shortly after, "Your favorite?"
Nozomi nodded, "Mhmm!"
They laughed and started walking down the street. The restaurant was at the end so it was going to take at least a couple of minutes to reach it.
"Oh that's right, we have to visit the market before we leave," Nico added.
"Mm" Nozomi nodded her head.
The two girls continued on their way to the restaurant, there was an incoming group of people walking in the opposite direction. Looks like the lunch hour had just hit for the people that went to work. Nozomi and Nico carefully moved their way past the group, making sure not to bump into anybody.
Nico made it out of the herd first and was waving her hand for Nozomi to see. She barely caught sight of Nico's hand and picked up her pace. During her rush, Nozomi accidentally bumped shoulder to shoulder with another person, causing her to drop her bags.
"I'm sorry," the voice said.
"No it's okay, I wasn't looking," Nozomi closed her eyes and shook her head in apology.
"Here, let me help," the voice said.
Nozomi opened her eyes and caught a glimpse of ocean blue hair. The person stood up and handed Nozomi her bags.
"Detective?"
Umi took a hold of Nozomi's hand and quickly led the two of them out of the crowd of people. She handed Nozomi her bags and began walking away.
"Wait, Detective!" Nozomi yelled after her.
Umi turned her head towards Nozomi.
"W-Would you like to join us for lunch?" She asked. Nozomi had to thank Umi for her help, even if it didn't seem like much.
Umi shook her head, "I'm sorry, I can't. I'm on duty."
"Oh... Maybe next time then," Nozomi smiled and waved her goodbye. Umi nodded and did a small little salute with her fingers before walking off.
Umi walked away from the girl and made her way to the police station to further her investigation. There might not be much since she had gathered most of the information on her own earlier this morning but it was still worth a shot in her eyes.
Umi arrived at the police station and walked past the sliding doors. The officer at the front desk saluted her and so did the other officers that she passed. She would nod back in response to these salutes like she normally did.
She came to a stop in front of a door with a label saying, "Intel Department." and knocked on the door. She waited for a voice to allow her to enter.
"Come in!" A voice said.
"Pardon the intrusion," Umi slid past the door and bowed to the figure in the room, "Officer Koizumi."
"I told you not to use my real name," Hanayo spun around in her chair to face Umi.
"What was it again?" Umi scratched her head.
"R.I.C.!" Hanayo repeated it again for Umi, "Sheesh, you've been so forgetful ever since Koto-" she quickly cleared her throat before continuing.
"Anyways, refer to me as The R.I.C. you never know who's listening," Hanayo finished.
"Like who?" Umi asked.
"In my line of work... I have a lot of enemies, Umi." Hanayo said coldly. "So what can I do for you today, Detective?"
Umi reached into her coat and pulled out a manilla envelope. Hanayo reached her hand out and grabbed it, "What is this?"
"It's all the info I have on the current case I'm working on," Umi answered.
"The Toujou Case?" Hanayo asked again.
Umi nodded, "Yeah, I was hoping you would be able to dig up something on that computer of yours that might relate to the case."
Hanayo sighed and tossed the manilla envelope onto her desk. She took her glasses off and massaged her eyes.
"How's the new arm doing?" Umi asked abruptly.
Hanayo put her glasses back on and presented her right hand, "It's coming along slowly..." she moved her fingers around to show its effectiveness. It looks normal at first glance, but if you were to pull up her sleeve you would see how unnaturally shaped it was.
"Still getting used to it?" Umi continued.
"I'm developing it myself so... yeah, I guess so," Hanayo inspected her arm.
"It's such a shame..." Umi looked down.
"What was that?"
"I could use a partner like you again," Umi looked up and smiled.
Hanayo laughed awkwardly, "I'm sorry, Detective. But the higher ups won't approve my papers, not with this at least," Hanayo held up her arm again. "I can barely write with this."
Hanayo cleared her throat again, "Anyways, I'll get to work on this and see if I can dig anything up," Hanayo spun around in her chair to face the computer screen.
"Thanks, Hanayo" Umi bowed and turned to leave.
"That's R.I.C. to you. Make sure to visit Rin, she's been lonely without you lately," Hanayo waved without looking back.
"I will when I see her, thanks again," Umi shut the door gently and started making her way to the locker rooms. She didn't have time to complete her morning workout because of what happened, so the training facility here should do the trick for her.
Umi stepped into the women's locker room and started undressing. She placed her clothes in her locker and pulled out a training uniform which consisted of a short sports top and short running tights to help her move and breathe easily.
She felt a slap against her butt and turned around quickly, "Hey Detective! The Nyamazing Rin has arrived!"
Umi karate chopped Rin on the head immediately, "Stop goofing around... and don't slap my butt like that."
"Aww... you're no fun, Umi. This is how you treat your partner after not seeing her for a week?" Rin tried to inject guilt into Umi, but it wasn't going to be as easy as she planned.
"How is the paperwork I assigned to you coming along?" Umi asked while tying her shoes.
Rin flinched and swallowed, "F-Fine, it's all done and ready to go!" She began to feel her forehead sweating.
"Did you really?" Umi zoomed in closer to Rin until she had her up against the lockers, "Because if I find a pile of paperwork on your desk after I'm done..." she was giving off a very menacing aura.
"Y-Yes, ma'am..." Rin sunk to her knees.
Umi turned around to leave the locker room, "You better work fast, Nyamazing Rin."
Rin waited until Umi disappeared from her sight before she let out a deep breath in relief, "Umi is so scary when she's serious..." Rin got up quickly and changed back into her uniform, "I better finish that paperwork quickly."
Rin quickly made her way back to her desk and started working hastily on the paperwork.
Umi walked into the training facility and stretched, the room was divided into two different sections. One half for weightlifting, and the other half for cardiovascular improvement. Umi always started her workouts with a one mile run, so she made her way to an open treadmill.
Umi's stamina was phenomenal and she could easily run a mile in less than 10 minutes without feeling any fatigue. After she got her mile run in, she would then head over to the weightlifting half of the facility. She didn't really like bulking herself up, so she mostly focused on lifting that would help her tone out her body.
Umi was a bit of a celebrity in the facility. She would capture the eyes of other male and female officers there. Some guys would even try to outlift each other to show off their strength to her while some of the girls would have Umi "help" them with lifting techniques.
At the end of her workout, Umi focused on her core before doing one final run. Umi's core workouts were the ladies' favorite part. Her body was fairly toned and defined, her arms, legs and abs were fan favorites among the women.
Umi's core workout was interrupted when Rin came running in, "Hey Umi, let me help you finish up."
She felt a pair of hands holding her feet down. Umi reacted naturally and began doing sit-ups, "So how many this time?" Rin asked.
"100 should be enough," Umi replied back in between sit-ups.
"Ehh? 100? You can do more than that," Rin protested.
"Yeah, I know. I just don't want to," She continued.
Rin pouted, "Why?"
"... Everyone's staring at me," Umi answered back.
Rin raised her head and looked around to see numerous people watching the duo work together. Or more like just watching Umi. Before Rin realized, Umi was already done and calling out her name, "Rin? Rin! You can let go now."
"Oh! I'm sorry," Rin let go of Umi's feet and helped her up.
"Thanks for the help," Umi patted Rin's shoulder as she walked by. Rin followed after Umi into the locker room. She picked up an extra towel and tossed it to her, "Here Umi, catch!"
Umi caught it and started wiping down her body to rid the sweat. She let out a deep breath before heading towards the showers. She showered quickly and returned to change back into her clothes from before.
She pulled out her phone and checked the time. Umi spent two hours on her workout, "I should check up on Hanayo to see if anything has come up." She turned off the display on her phone and made her way to the intel department once more.
Umi knocked on the door and waited for Hanayo's voice before entering. She barely picked up her voice and opened the door, "So do you have anything yet?"
Hanayo was typing swiftly with her left hand while the prosthetic one lagged behind, "Yeah, I've drawn some connections, but nothing has been set in stone other than a few suspects."
"Tell me what you have," Umi took a seat next to Hanayo. She typed in a command and a series of windows opened up.
"Do you remember Case A.M.?" Hanayo asked.
"Yeah, I do. It was left unsolved," Umi replied disappointingly.
"Well... like in your notes that you left in the manilla envelope, there is a clear connection between Case A.M. and the current one you're working with," Hanayo explained.
"The causes of death are the same, as well as the targets. A slit to the throat, and one survivor of the family." She continued.
"During Case A.M., two families were involved. I'm sure you're familiar with both?" Hanayo suggested.
"The Ayase's and the Minami's," Umi answered.
"Yes, that is why the case is labeled A.M. aside from the crimes happening during the late hours," Hanayo pulled up a few pictures of two girls.
"Here we have Minami Kotori, she was the survivor of the first family that was attacked. She lost her mother, father, and younger brother," Hanayo pointed to the next girl.
"The next survivor was Ayase Eli. Her family was attacked a few weeks after the Minami's. She lost her mother, grandmother and younger sister," she summed up.
"What do they have to do with the case now?" Umi brought up a question.
"It isn't exactly clear yet, but talking to them would be a good start. If the killer is still out there, they may be able to help... If there's a copycat... It could be one of them," her voice became grim.
"That's a stretched out assumption, Hanayo."
"I know, but we cannot eliminate the possibility of the trauma causing one of them extreme psychological damage."
Umi sighed and got up slowly, "I guess I'll go talk with Kotori then, where's Ayase's address?"
Hanayo frowned, "There's a problem with that... Our records show that Eli moved out of the country to Russia."
"So in other words, there's no way of contacting her," Umi finished Hanayo's sentence.
Hanayo nodded and Umi turned to leave. She was stopped by Hanayo after a few steps, "What is it?"
Hanayo's face grew worrisome, "Look, I know that you still have feelings for Kotori... but don't let them get in the way, she could be a suspect."
Umi pulled her arm out of Hanayo's grasp, "I know..." she reached for handle to leave.
"Stay safe out there, Umi."