A/N: *heavy sigh* Have to wait an extra week for an anime episode I was really anticipating. :(
Chapter 8: Yukimura Kaito
"Wow. Is this seriously how he lives?" Inspector Etou exclaimed, looking from left to right. "What is this?!"
The inspector never thought a room could possibly be in a worse state than Kentaro's. Well, that was before he took his first step into Yukimura Kaito's sleeping quarters. The smell was just as bad. All the drapes were drawn closed, making the room as dark as a cave. Only patches of the furniture and floor could be seen, due to the piles of clothes thrown everywhere. And was that a half-eaten sandwich lying on the couch?! Trying to keep from hacking, Inspector Etou waded through the pigsty with Kanami close behind him.
'I hope Mai-chan and her parents haven't come in here...' the Minoseki Toji prayed while trying to keep her breakfast down.
"Where the hell is this guy?" Inspector Etou sighed, throwing open the drapes. He was seriously beginning to wonder if Kaito was possibly curled up sleeping underneath one of the clothes piles.
"Well, he's clearly not in here," Kanami said, her voice sounding almost as sarcastic as Hiyori's.
All too glad that they did not have to remain in Kaito's bedroom, the two investigators quickly left to search the rest of The Royal Diana. They soon found him on the upper deck, staring out towards the sea. Even though Kaito's back was turned towards them, he must've had sharp hearing because he instantly stiffened at the sounds of their footsteps, before tossing something overboard.
"What do you two want?" Kaito demanded, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Let me guess because I was Chisaki's fiancé, I'm now the main suspect?"
"Yukimura Kaito, I am Inspector Etou, Special Sword Private Investigator of Kamakura and—"
"No need for the introductions," Kaito interrupted. "I don't care who either of you are. Just make this quick. I am...distraught."
Kanami and her father exchanged a wordless glance. For a young adolescent, Kaito didn't look any different from the average teenager. He had a shock of grey hair with streaks of blue in it and was casually dressed in a plaid shirt with khaki pants.
"Um...right then. Kaito-sama, where were you between half past twelve and one o'clock?" Inspector Etou asked.
Popping a few mints into his mouth, the teenage boy replied, "I was with Mai the whole time sitting by the swimming pool. There—that's my alibi. Can I be left in peace now?"
His answer was a quick one—too quick for Kanami. Her eyes twinkled as they always would when she was sniffing something out.
"How did you feel towards Chisaki-sama?" the Minoseki Toji asked.
"What does that have to do with her murder?" Kaito shot back. "How I felt about her won't catch a murderer."
"Even so, I am inquisitive to know about your personal relationship with her—and I don't mean your arranged marriage. How did she strike you? What were your thoughts about her?" Kanami questioned. "Even if you didn't love each other, did you at least tolerate each other?"
At first, Kaito did not reply, as if trying to figure out whether Kanami was trying to lead him into a trap. He eventually decided that the questions were not threatening enough to be a real danger. After all, this cheeky girl in front of him looked airheaded enough. Was this seriously the great Toji detective everyone kept talking about? Kaito could understand Juujou Hiyori having a part in criminal investigation—she had the brains and mental strength for it. This Minoseki Toji, however...
"I never really cared for Chisaki quite frankly," Kaito said, with a frown. "It was just a marriage arranged by our parents, that's all."
"Did you both get along?" Kanami asked.
The addition of another question seemed to aggravate Kaito more. Clearly, he wanted their presence gone as soon as possible.
"We got on well from the start. I...thought she was pretty when we first met," the boy answered, with a faint blush on his cheeks. "I was friendly towards her, but once I realized her head was just full of fluff, I eventually became indifferent. It was when our parents started forcing us to hang out that being with Chisaki became unbearable."
"Care to explain more upon that?" Inspector Etou asked.
"Like she always wanted to go to a lot of expensive places, which wasn't a problem—we were both born to money. However, I'd always buy stuff for her whenever she asked, but she never gave me anything."
Kaito turned back towards the sea and leaned his arms on the deck railing. His lips were drawn back into a snarl. With a sound of repugnance, Kaito spat over the railing.
"Chisaki was just your average gold-digger," he said. "Splurged money like it grew on trees and was constantly trying to vie for more. Did whatever it took. Sweet honeyed words, bickering, and playing the victim."
"Is that why you told Mai-chan last night that someday 'Chisaki-sama would get it'?" Kanami asked.
Her words rang an alert bell in Kaito's mind and he turned to face them once again. "Yes, but I would never have killed Chisaki. I would have just arranged for a divorce as soon as possible, once our family businesses merged."
Flatly, Kanami pointed out, "You two got into an argument last night. Yanase Kentaro saw you two and then told you off for it, didn't he?"
With a shrug, Kaito snorted, "So what? Couples argue. It's normal."
"What were you arguing about?" Kanami asked.
Kaito did not bother to roll his eyes. "She wanted more money from me. Lying that she was in desperate need of it to pay off some random debt and would pay me back as soon as possible. But I saw through her trick—mainly because she used it on more than one occasion. She didn't fool me."
"And did you give her the money?"
His gaze falling to the ground, Kaito shifted his feet. "Eventually...yes."
"I would have thought that you'd held your ground," Kanami remarked.
"Chisaki was...persuasive," was the lame reply.
There was something about Kaito's behaviour and words that didn't seem right to both Kanami and Inspector Etou. He was way too...on edge.
'Like a cat on a hot tin roof,' Inspector Etou thought. 'Definitely will have to keep an eye on him later.'
"Well then, thank you for your time, Kaito-sama," the inspector said. "We will—um, talk with you at a later time, perhaps if necessary."
Once they left the top deck, Kanami jumped a little at how her father almost immediately let out a deep exhale. His cheeks were purple and his nose all flared up, as though he had been struggling to breathe.
"What's the matter? What's wrong?" Kanami exclaimed, her eyes widening with panic.
For a second, the Minoseki Toji was frightened her father was experiencing severe coronavirus symptoms. Even though a vaccine had been discovered and the COVID-19 pandemic nearly brought to an end, that didn't mean that there weren't a few people still diagnosed with the virus.
"It's nothing," Inspector Etou coughed out. "It's just that his cologne was so overpowering."
It was moments like these when Kanami wished that her father was blessed with a less sensitive nose. Really it was unfortunate most of the time. The Minoseki Toji cringed in remembrance of how it was Hiyori's lavender-mint perfume that helped Inspector Etou figure out they were in an intimate relationship...both emotionally and physically.
With warm cheeks, Kanami asked, "So, what did you think of him?"
Inspector Etou replied, "I am definitely not crossing him off the list. Of course, in a murder investigation like this, the husband—or in this case, the fiancé—is always the prime suspect. But I still cannot say for certain."
"Yes, he did not pretend to have any affection for Chisaki-sama. I would have been more suspicious if he did," Kanami admitted.
"About that argument though..." Inspector Etou began, "...I'm curious about that."
"So am I. I'm thinking that there was something else involved in that quarrel. Something Kaito-sama clearly did not want to admit to us," Kanami said. "If it was remarkably bad that he would get in trouble if anyone found out, then that would be something for serious consideration and thought, wouldn't it?"
Under his breath, Inspector Etou murmured, "So, a couple's argument that possibly turned nasty..."
A/N: As I'm sure you figured out in this chapter, this fanfic takes place near the very end of the COVID-19 pandemic—which hasn't happened yet but hopefully will end soon in the future. In the next chapter, Hiyori and Sergeant Tanaka will question Louis Moreau.