SailorStar9: This is Chapter 13. Read and review.
Bissek: There is another way to get to the other village without using the stairway. But the culprit won't need that to bring the tractor over. Why? Simple, the crime scene is in a rice field, so it's pretty understandable that a tractor would be there, somewhere… and since the morning is all fogged up, Ryu and Ami can't see very far and thus they won't be able to notice the tractor. Yeah, I noticed the plot hole too, and I was screaming at my computer screen at how the DSQ students didn't notice the very simple fact that was right in their faces. Then, I realized that Ryu and Megami (in the original anime) don't need a third wheel. (Probably where all those Ryu/Megami fics came about.) And no, there is no connection between the Sailor Moon Pluto and the DSQ Pluto. The Sailor Moon Pluto is a person; the DSQ Pluto is a crime organization. But, where reincarnations are concerned, Ryu is Sailor Pluto's younger brother. It's just that he hasn't remembered, yet. More Sailor Moon battle scenes after this case. Just because Sailor Venus kicked Sailor Mercury out doesn't mean the Mercury senshi would forgo her duty altogether.
Disclaimers: Nothing here is mine.
Chapter 13: Announcement of Death! You're Next!
As usual, Megami started off the introduction.
"DDS ordered the six of us from Class Q to discover the truth behind the weird disappearance case at Kamikakushi Village where in a village deep inside the mountains, seven such cases have occurred over the last ten years. We stayed at Ryousanpaku, a worn-out hotel along with a TV crew who came for the legend of the old Japanese army's treasure. The next day, like 'Kamikakushi', a reporter named Azegami Rio-san was missing and we later found her dead body. In order to solve the mystery of this 'Kamikakushi', Kyu, Kinta, Kazuma and I remained in Hyoutan Village. Ami-chan and Ryu-kun headed to Kamikakushi Village. However, in Kamikakushi Village, Director Anzai Kunihiko-san disappeared, leaving a video with mysterious images suggesting that he had been taken up into the air."
"See? There! The place where the small twigs are piled up. Director Anzai should be taken up into the air right around there." Ami exclaimed.
"This is the obstacle that he was talking about." Ryu noted, as the two walked forward to the twig pile.
"Probably." Ami replied.
"I see." Ryu suddenly voiced out.
"There are three keys to solving the mystery of the 'Kamikakushi. First, when Anzai-san was taken into the air in the video, a slight noise was heard." He added.
"Listen carefully." He advised, rewinding the tape.
"That's…" Ami gasped, her eyes widening.
"And the second key is, right before he was taken, the flashlight briefly illuminated a stake." Ryu continued.
"A stake that is used to pull up a rope in the field, yes?" Ami raised a brow.
"And the third key is this place, the very scene of the crime you've found." Ryu stated.
"This is no 'Kamikakushi', I'm taking it." Ami remarked.
"Yeah. It's a terrible trap, a 'Kamikakushi' trick, which killed Director Anzai by pulling him up when the treasure lured him here." Ryu nodded.
"Ryu, is that sound what I think I is?" Ami inquired.
"Just listen to the sound again." Ryu suggested, replaying the tape.
When the tape stopped, Ami nodded in realization, "Just as I thought, a tractor engine."
"That's right. The culprit used a tractor and lifted up Anzai-san." Ryu commented.
"So, there should be a trap in the path between the rice fields and when the culprit saw that Anzai stopped walking in order to avoid the pile of twigs, he or she must have pulled on the wire with the tractor." Ami reasoned.
"You really are clever." Ryu blinked.
The girl shrugged, "All that intelligence had to go somewhere."
"The pile of twigs in the video is the trap. It must be used to lightly fix the wire on the ground. The pile of twigs was the most likely part of the trap that the culprit set up." Ryu surmised.
"Well, it's true that this place doesn't have any tall buildings that could be used to pull a person up into the air. But when we look up there…" Ami remarked, looking up at the utility posts.
"I see you're thinking about the same thing I was." Ryu smiled, kneeling down.
"Let's just assume these two twigs are those two utility posts. And this five yen coin is the person." Ryu said, beginning his experiment.
"You hang a wire across those two poles, like this." He added, threading the string across the two twigs.
"If you pull the end of the wire with a tractor, a human can be easily lifted up by the force of the strained wire." Ami breathed in understanding.
"Right, like this." Ryu concurred, pulling the string taunt.
"Most likely, the culprit must have pulled on a mask, pretended to be one of the villagers and lured Anzai-san here by giving him false information about the treasure. When Anzai-san unknowingly put his foot inside the wire loop to avoid the pile of twigs, then…" he added.
"The wire was cut and he fell to his death." Ami finished his explanation.
"Right. After being hung upside down, Anzai-san was probably dropped from a height of ten meters and instantly killed." Ryu nodded.
"In that case, the spot where he fell should be right between those two poles. Right about… here." Ami reasoned.
"There's a bloodstain all right. There's a trace that someone tried to hide it by pouring sand on it." She added.
"It looks like our deduction was correct." Ryu mused.
"What a terrible trick this is. Great-grandmother will be pretty angry. But what kind of person is this, who can repeatedly commit such awful murders?" Ami remarked.
"Let's go back to the hotel and ask for help from someone who's familiar with the village." Ryu suggested.
"What did you say?" Iwashimizu demanded.
"It can't be… Anzai-san too?" Kagami gasped when the two teens told them what they had deduced.
"Let's ask the villagers to help us find his body. His body should be hidden near…" Ryu proposed.
"There's no need for that." Oowada suddenly interjected.
"Oowada-san?" Ami blinked.
"I'm sorry but I overheard you when you guys were talking just a little while ago and I went to find it on my own. And then…" Oowada confessed.
"Is that true?" Kurozumi asked.
"It looks like our founder's prediction actually came to pass, didn't it?" Ryou asked.
" Kurozumi-san." Ami gasped.
"Oowada-san you were once a believer, so you should understand what happens to those who walk around this village without masks or those who intrude on the holy god's territory." Ryou added.
"Once a believer?" Ami echoed.
"Oowada, you…" Iwashimizu hissed.
"If you don't want to become a victim of 'Kamikakushi', you should return to the Eki Shin Kyou. If you receive training and ask for forgiveness, you might be saved." Ryou advised.
"That's ridiculous. Neither the reporter's murder nor this case are 'Kamikakushi'. They're crimes that were set up using a clever trick. Not only that, but if the Eki Shin Kyou is involved, the founder you worship might be the culprit." Ryu accused.
"What blasphemy! The founder always resides in the shrine surrounded by a wall, where no one can enter and he never leaves Kamikakushi Village. So he can't be the culprit of the incident that occurred in Hyoutan Village." Ryou reproached.
"He might have come out secretly." Ryu reasoned.
"There are guards at the tunnel's checkpoint twenty-four hours a day. And the founder never passed through the tunnel." Ryou pointed out.
"He might have disguised himself and passed through it. Anyway, have you seen his face behind the mask?" Ryu argued.
"No… But they record all of the information about who passed through the checkpoint. If I use what you've said, you'll easily find out whether or not he has an alibi and the founder would never disguise himself and pass through the checkpoint in the first place." Ryou reasoned.
"Ryu-kun that was a little too harsh." Ami rebuked.
Then, she saw his smirk.
"Oh boy, I know that look." She muttered, sighing.
"I was setting a trap. I'm interested in how they're coming in and out." He told her.
Back in Hyoutan Village, Kazuma was typing on his laptop, still working on the code.
"Ah…" he sighed.
"How's it going, Kazuma?" Megami asked, as the three DDS students entered the room.
"Are you going anywhere with cracking the code?" Kinta inquired.
"I'm sort of getting there." Kazuma replied.
"So you haven't been able to decipher it yet?" Kyu surmised.
"For the time being, according to my deduction, these numbers correspond to the fifty Japanese letters." Kazuma replied.
Turning back to his laptop, he added, "These are from 1 to 48, right? The English alphabet has 26 letters. Korean hangul has only 24 letters. Thai has 44 consonants and 32 vowels, plus 4 accent marks, so I'd need bigger numbers."
"Huh?" Kyu blinked.
"I've always thought this, but you're a really weird elementary school kid, aren't you?" Kinta mused.
"Besides, some numbers are surrounded by parentheses and circles, right? Those are probably for voiced words and lowercase letters" Kazuma pointed out.
"If you found out that much, isn't it like you already solved it?" Kyu asked.
"I thought so too, so I went ahead and replaced the numbers with 'a', 'I', 'u', 'e', 'o'. It isn't making any sense. While I was thinking of another way, it just got all messed up." Kazuma replied, the numbers were quickly replaced by the letters.
"Aren't you practicing your bad habit again? You always think too much. Hey, let me try." Kinta chided, tossing Kazuma aside.
Cracking his knuckles, he sat in front of the laptop, "Now, it's time for the guy who has the most flexible mind in DDS to solve this. Just leave it to me. Let's see, I can move this screen with this, right? And then…"
"Huh? What's this? Some words are in Japanese." Kinta suddenly spoke out.
"Hey, hold on" Kazuma cried out, waking up from his dazed state.
"What does it say? 'This is classified information. Treat it carefully.' Huh?" Kinta blinked.
"'Document' and 'treat' are written in old Japanese characters huh?" Kyu mused.
"I guess this was written during the war." Kinta reasoned.
"Old Japanese characters?" Kazuma echoed.
"I see! It must be 'I', 'ro', 'ha'!" he exclaimed.
"'I', 'ro', ha'?" Kyu echoed.
"Move over Kinta!" Kazuma ordered.
"Okay." Kinta replied, giving Kazuma his laptop back.
I really was thinking too much, just like Kinta said. 1 means 'I', 2 means 'ro', 3 means 'ha', 4 means 'ni'. Kazuma reasoned.
I solved it! He beamed.
"Just as I thought, it wasn't 'a', 'I', 'u', 'e', 'o', but 'I', 'ro', 'ha' that the encryption used to convert the words into these numbers." He declared.
"Huh? Are you kidding?" he frowned when he saw what the document wrote.
"What's going on?" Kyu asked.
"Look at this." Kazuma commented.
"What?" Kinta blinked.
"Oh, it's all hiragana! That's easy to read. I'm good with hiragana." He announced. (A/N: Hiragana: a Japanese alphabet of basic characters.)
"Whatever. Read it." Kazuma pressed.
"I know. I know." Kinta waved his demand aside.
"Let me see…" the oldest of the six pondered out loud.
"As our last recourse against the other worlds powers, we have started developing a biological weapon, housou's strong…" Kinta begun.
"Housou?" Kyu interjected.
"Housan? Hey, does that mean smallpox?" Kinta asked.
"That must be it." Kazuma agreed.
"The old Japanese army must have studied smallpox here." He added.
A study of smallpox. Kyu wondered, his mind going back to Ryu's lecture about smallpox.
"That means… The old Japanese army's treasure is…" he gasped.
Suddenly, the door slid open and Mio entered with the portable phone in hand.
"Umm… Ryu-san is on the phone from Kamikakushi Village." She told them.
"Thank you, Mio-san." Kyu replied.
"Did anything happen, Ryu?" Kyu asked, answering the phone call.
"Director Anzai met with 'Kamikakushi' and his body was found." Ryu replied.
"Huh?" Kyu breathed.
"The 'Kamikakushi' was a very clever trick. It looks like ordinary methods won't help us find the culprit." Ryu admitted.
"I see… we found something amazing too. The old Japanese army was developing a biological weapon both here in Hyoutan Village and there in Kamikakushi Village." Kyu reported.
"A biological weapon? You mean smallpox?" Ryu's eyes widened.
"What do you think, Ryu? These Eki Shin Kyou masks have smallpox designs. The biological weapon is also smallpox. Don't you think the Eki Shin Kyou is involved after all?" Kyu reasoned.
"It's natural to think so. Anyway, can you call the police now? I want them to come to Kamikakushi Village immediately." Ryu requested.
A 'clang' from the shrine staves alerted the blue-haired teens that they were not alone.
Ami turned her head sharply at the intruders, her Assassin instincts kicking in as she fell automatically into a defensive position.
"What's going on, Ryu?" Kyu immediately asked, sensing something was wrong on the other side of the line.
"Ryu!" he shouted down the line when he was met by silence.
"Ryu, Ami…" he muttered worriedly.
"Should've brought the bell." Ami muttered when the two were taken before the main temple.
"Don't worry. Their masks are scary, but they don't look like they're going to do us any harm." Ryu consoled her.
"Still, I should've brought that darn bell." Ami hissed.
"What the heck are you guys? Take off that spooky mask." Iwashimizu demanded.
"The TV crew. Why am I not surprised." Ami mumbled, shaking her head.
"Please calm down. If you stay quiet, they won't do anything to us." Oowada advised.
"Shut up! Aren't you one of them, Oowada?" Iwashimizu rebuked.
"Be quiet. This is a scared place, the founder's sanctuary." Ryou said, removing his mask.
"Kurozumi-san." Ami blinked.
"We'll inquire to the founder about your judgment." Ryou told her.
"Inquire?" Ami echoed.
"We were waiting for you, founder. We have a report that these people were walking around the village without wearing masks. Please give us your verdict." Ryou bowed when the founder exited from the temple.
Ryu frowned when the founder gestured his answer using sign language.
Sign language? He wondered.
"I understand." Ryou bowed, after the founder gave his answer.
"I will announce the founder's decision. All of you had best leave Kamikakushi Village immediately. That's the founder's judgment. If you don't leave, more dreadful things will happen to you." He declared.
"You got to be kidding! Two of our people were murdered. We can't go back without at least making our TV program. That treasure doesn't matter anymore. I'll fight for Anzai's and Azegami's burial rites. I, a TV show producer, will reveal your true identity and that of the Eki Shin Kyou." Iwashimizu announced.
"Damn this! I'm going back to Hyoutan Village to replan this." he hissed, throwing his mask on the ground and storming off.
"Iwashimizu-san." Oowada called out, going after the producer along with Kagami.
The group's attention was turned back to the founder when he signed another declaration.
"I see." Ryou muttered.
"Kurozumi-san what did the founder say?" Ami inquired.
"Unfortunately, he said that another 'Kamikakushi' will occur in Hyoutan Village." Ryou told her.
"Founder, why do you use sign language and wear a mask and gloves?" Ryu asked, just as the founder was prepared to reenter the shrine.
"How dare you say that to the founder?" Ryou demanded.
"I'll get to the point. I think you're the culprit behind those two murders." Ryu declared.
"How dare you!" Ryou hissed.
"Finally said it." Ami sighed, shaking her head.
"It's possible for you to have murdered not only Director Anzai, who was killed in Kamikakushi Village, but also Reporter Azegami, who was murdered in Hyoutan Village. Nobody knows your face or your voice so you can disguise yourself as a completely different person. For example, you can pretend to be a villager, pass through the tunnel, murder her in Hyoutan Village, and come back here. It's very possible." Ryu reasoned.
"Didn't I tell you? Everyone who passes through the tunnel is recorded at the checkpoint. After that incident happened, we checked the records, but we found nothing suspicious." Ryou reprimanded.
Just then, the founder turned his back to Ryou and signed another set of instructions.
"Yes. Yes. I understand." Ryou nodded.
Turning back to the two, he replied, "The founder says 'If you doubt me, you can stay at the lodge located at the entrance of the tunnel and check people entering and exiting the tunnel, for as long as you want. I will now go in and do karma, and I will not take one step out of the shrine. But someone will definitely be killed in the name of 'Kamikakushi'." (A/N: Karma: sanctified activity.)
"Again?" Ami frowned slightly.
Back in the Hyoutan Village, Kyu replaced the phone.
"They still aren't picking up the phone?" Megami inquired.
"Yeah. Even though we've been calling them a lot." Kyu replied.
"Damn it. What on earth is happening to Ryu and Ami?" Kinta cursed.
"Shit, don't think that it's going to end like this." Iwashimizu swore, storming into the hotel.
"Please calm down Producer Iwashimizu." Oowada pleaded.
"Iwashimizu-san!" Kagami called out to the fuming producer.
"Kagami-san, what happened in Kamikakushi Village?" Kyu inquired.
"We were kicked out by the founder of the Eki Shin Kyou, so he got really mad. Once he gets mad, we can't do anything to stop him." Kagami sighed.
"You were kicked out? Then what about Ryu and Ami? Didn't they get kicked out with you guys?" Kyu rose a brow.
"Your two friends remained in Kamikakushi Village." Ryou supplied.
"How come?" Kyu asked.
"Amakusa-sama called the founder a murderer, so the founder said 'If you doubt me, you can keep watch on the tunnel for as long as you want.' It is a stupid thing." Ryou added.
Mio came out of the counter and bowed to Ryou, "Welcome back."
"Mio-san please go to Kamikakushi Village later, on my behalf. The founder told met to stay here and witness the 'Kamikakushi' that will occur." Ryou told the girl.
"Yes sir." Mio mumbled.
"Hey what do you mean by staying here to witness the 'Kamikakushi'?" Kinta asked.
"The founder said that another 'Kamikakushi' will happen in this village." Ryou replied.
"Huh?" Kinta frowned.
When Ryou was out of earshot, Kinta asked the three with him, "Hey wasn't it a murder?"
"He made it sound like 'Kamikakushi' was a natural occurrence." Megami remarked.
"Excuse me…" Mio spoke out.
"Can I help you in any way? I'm worried about Ryu-san and Ami-san too. When I go to Kamikakushi Village, I can let you know how they're doing." she offered once the four DDS students' attention was turned to her.
"Really? Thank you Mio-san!" Kyu beamed.
"After Kurozumi-san left for Hyoutan Village, nobody went in or out of there." Ami noted from her place in the lodge.
"Yeah." Ryu nodded.
"But he did say that we can stay here and keep watch on the tunnel for as long as we want." Ami reminded him.
"I wonder what his intentions are." She wondered.
"If the founder is the culprit like you said, as long as he doesn't go through the tunnel, he can't kill anyone in Hyoutan Village right?" she voiced out.
"That's his intention." Ryu remarked.
Turning to her, he added, "Even if a third murder occurs, as long as we're watching the tunnel, the founder's alibi will be verified."
"Essentially we're the tools for the founder to create his alibi then." Ami remarked.
"Probably." Ryu replied.
"But how does he murder someone in Hyoutan Village without passing through here?" he asked, turning his head to the tunnel.
"Maybe there is another way across other than the tunnel?" Ami pointed out.
Ryu turned his head sharply at her.
"What makes you say that?" he asked.
"Someone's coming." Ami told him, avoiding his question totally.
"It's Mio-san from the hotel." Ryu noted when Mio came into view.
"That's right. I couldn't recognize her because she's out of her working uniform." Ami nodded.
"Hello." Mio smiled at the two blue-haired teens when Ryu slid the window open.
"Hi. What brings you here, Mio-san?" Ryu asked.
"Kyu-san and your friends asked me to see how you and Ami-san are doing." Mio replied.
"Kyu and the others?" Ryu echoed.
"Everyone's very worried about you two." Mio said.
"Ah, this one is for you two." She added, handing Ryu a wrapped package.
"Thank you." Ryu replied, receiving the package.
"With those clothes, you look like a normal high school student, Mio-san." He commented.
"Really?" Mio blushed slightly.
"Excuse me, I have to be going." She apologized and walked off.
Ami hid a grin, "Mio-san blushed again huh?"
"Ami…" Ryu muttered a protest.
"Hey Kyu, let's go back to our room. If the phone rings, we'll hear it from our rooms." Kazuma whined.
"It's okay, Kazuma. You go back to the room first." Kyu waved his concern aside.
"It's getting late but Mio-san said she'd call us. It's almost 11 p.m." Kinta mumbled.
"Could Mio-san have been murdered by the Eki Shin Kyou people?" Kazuma remarked.
"Kazuma! Don't say that! It'll bring bad luck." Megami chided.
"What's wrong?" Kyu asked when he noticed Kinta's deep frown.
"Oh, I felt someone was out there just now." Kinta replied.
"This late?" Kazuma asked.
"I'll go check." Kinta remarked and ran out.
Turning around the corner, he demanded, "Who is it? Stop right there! I know you're hiding. Come on out!"
"Good evening." Kirihara greeted the oldest of the DDS students.
Kinta let out a silent 'eep' at the sight of her scythe.
"What? It's only the hotel's hostess." He sighed in relief.
"But what are you doing holding such a dangerous thing?" he asked.
"Oh, I was going to make preparations for tomorrow's breakfast." Kirihara replied.
"Huh?" Kinta blinked.
"I'm sorry to call you this late. I'm in the lobby of the annex right now." Mio apologized through the phone.
"How were Ryu and Ami?" Kyu asked.
"A watch-house? Kurozumi-san was saying…" he frowned after a while.
"Yes, they said they were bored because nobody had passed through the tunnel for hours." Mio replied.
"I see. Then they're fine then? That's good news." Kyu beamed.
"Yeah. Then the 'Kamikakushi' was done using a wire?" he asked.
"Wow, what a horrible trick that is." He nodded.
"And how did they find Anzai-san's body?" Kyu inquired.
"Oowada-san, the cameraman, looked for the body in the place where he thought it was most likely to be." Mio replied.
"Oowada-san? He doesn't even live in the village. Ho could he have known where it might have been?" Kyu echoed.
"He used to be a believer of the Eki Shin Kyou. He looks different now, so I didn't recognize him until now, but he lived in the neighboring village until three years ago." Mio replied.
"Really?" Kyu mumbled, not really believing.
"Then did you know his assistant, Kagami-san, from a while ago?" he asked.
"Yes, they were doing a preliminary survey of the place before coming to film. They came to the village several times before." Mio answered.
"Really?" Kyu pondered.
The sound of window breaking interrupted the conversation.
"What was that?" Kazuma exclaimed.
"Didn't that come from the far end on the second floor?" Kinta inquired.
"Let's go." He declared, taking off with Kazuma.
"Did something happen, Kyu-san?" Mio asked over the phone.
"Sorry Mio-san. I'll call you back later." Kyu replied and replaced the receiver.
"The noise just now…" Oowada remarked from his open door.
"It came from Iwashimizu-san's room." Kagami noted and the two TV crew members went to find the producer.
"Iwashimizu-san! Did something happen?" Kinta cried out, pounding on the door.
"Producer Iwashimizu?" Kyu called out.
Receiving no answer, Kinta opened the unlocked door.
Stepping into the dark room, Kinta called out, "Iwashimizu-san?"
Switching on the light, Kagami screamed at the scene before her.
"No way!" Kyu gasped.
"Producer Kurozumi…" Oowada mumbled in horror.
"One stab with a knife…" Kazuma noted.
"I really did happen." Ryou's voice was heard.
"This must be the 'Kamikakushi' that the founder foretold. This time, Iwashimizu-san met with 'Kamikakushi'." He declared, entering the room.
"Don't mess with me. When you see a person stabbed with a knife right in front of you, you call that 'Kamikakushi'? What kind of religion is this?" Kinta hissed, grabbing Ryou by the front of his yukata.
"Stop it Kinta." Kyu reasoned.
"Even if you take it out on him, we won't be able to find out the truth. We have to focus our anger at the culprit." He added, clutching his hands into angry fists.
"Kyu…" Kinta breathed.
"Damn it! I'm so angry! We came here to find out the truth so that murders like this won't happen again but such terrible murders have repeatedly occurred right before our eyes. Yet we don't have a slightest idea of who's behind it! But, I'm not going to give up. I'll definitely catch the culprit so there won't be any more victims. If the detective gives up, the caser will remain unsolved." Kyu swore.
SailorStar9: Phew another chapter down. Read and review.