I was originally planning to just write a few short vignettes, but the muse has grabbed on to me and refuses to let go. So, as an explanation, this is the real 2nd chapter. The events of the 'Cursed Family' chapter take place a bit later. I might move things around to make them more clear later, or simply leave a note where where it goes. Apologies for that.
Behind Every Man
Shinichi shivered as the ferry made its way to Tsukikage Island. It would probably have been a pleasant trip in spring or summer, but the middle of winter was not an ideal time to take a ferry. Still, the mysterious man who'd phoned him and sent the letter had also wired him 500 000 yen to handle the case. While he wasn't a detective for the money, that sort of money meant there was almost certainly a complex case ahead of him. He'd hopped on the Friday ferry, ruling a day and a half of missed school was acceptable. He just wondered what Asou Keiji wanted him to investigate.
"I hope you don't mind me heading out from Tokyo for this long," Shinichi muttered as he leaned over the railings and stared at the ocean.
[We haven't had any leads for my mission since Geiga died,] Birdy chimed in in his head. It was going to take a bit to get used to having an alien woman in his head. [And I'm supposed to stay out of the way for you living your life, anyhow.]
Shinichi nodded. "Thanks… we've got a few hours until we get to Tsukikage Island. Maybe you can review your mission with me?"
He felt like Birdy did the mental equivalent of shrugging. [We don't have a huge amount to go on. There's a lot of guesswork involved, but we believe the terrorist Christella Revi has taken to hiding in this system. He didn't leave much of a trail behind him, but it's a known refuge for Altans, criminal or not. Since your species looks so much like ours.]
"An odd coincidence, that," Shinichi muttered.
[A bit, yes. Though Grovians and Milbari look similarly alike…either way, Geiga was known to have smuggled supplies for some of Chritella's allies. Geiga coming to this system was seen as enough evidence to send me in to try to start a preliminary investigation,] Birdy explained. [We were hoping I'd capture Geiga and get some information off of him.]
"Who is this Revi fellow?" Shinichi asked.
[An Altan separatist. He was the Federation's Minister of Science at one point. Then he turned against the Federation, and was the mastermind behind the destruction of Acrabal Station, an attempted bombing of the Federation's capital on Orioterra, along with other attacks. He's at the top of the Federation's 'most wanted' list.]
"Acrabal Station?" Shinichi asked.
[Oh, right… you wouldn't know about it. Sorry. Every Federation citizen knows about it. The worst act of terrorism in the Federation's history. Two million citizens of the Federation and the Alliance both, mostly civilians, died in the destruction of the Acrabal Space Station by overloading the main power stations. They were really only able to get children and a few government personnel off before he blew it up… it nearly sparked a war too.]
Shinichi's body convulsed, the thought of two million deaths being too much even for someone who'd seen as many murders as he had.
"And he's hiding in Japan?" Shinichi asked.
[Maybe. We're pretty sure he's on Earth. Since Geiga was in Tokyo, and your planet does have a rather basic transportation network, it seems likely he's somewhere nearby.]
Shinichi shivered. "Do you have any photos of him?"
[Unfortunately, no. Before going into hiding he unleashed a scrubbing virus that destroyed pretty well any mentions of him. Well, destroyed or corrupted. We figure there's a few accurate data points left, but they're left with so much noise we don't know what's true or not, beyond the memories of those who were alive at the time.]
"At the time? How old is he?" Shinichi asked.
[Again, we're not really sure. He was Science Minister about… well, a while ago. Before I was born by a fair bit. Most of the people who knew him weren't exactly fond of Altans, so couldn't really describe him very well. Probably not much better than you'd describe a seagull.]
"What a lovely starting point for an investigation," Shinichi muttered, before turning away from the sea.
Heading back into the ship he pulled out the letter he'd been sent. He could focus on a more terrestrial mystery for now. Hopefully he could solve that, at least.
Not that the message was much more to go one than what Birdy was working with.
'On the night of the next full moon, the shadows will begin to disappear once more on Tsukikage Island. Please investigate.
-Asou Keiji'
[Maybe there's some sort of bioluminescent microbial life form behind it?] Birdy offered.
Shinichi rubbed the bridge of his nose with his spare hand. "I believe it's metaphorical. Possibly secrets of some sort being revealed."
[Oohh.]
Shinichi strummed the counter as the city hall employee looked through the records. The island had a rather small population. He had to wonder how long it would take to find someone.
"Are you sure those are the correct kanji?" the man asked.
"It was how it was written in the letter. 'Hemp' and 'Living'," Shinichi replied.
"Mhm… I'm not seeing him on the list anywhere," the man said. "Boss, maybe you can help?"
An older employee walked over, placing a hand on the back of the attendant's chair. "What seems to be the issue?"
"This young man here is looking for someone, but he's not in the system," the attendant said.
"Ah. Who would it be?"
"A man named Asou Keiji," Shinichi replied.
"A-A—Asou Keiji!?" the man shouted, jumping backwards.
"Y-yes?" Shinichi replied, realising that everyone else in the city hall lobby was staring.
Several seemed to be whispering the name of 'Asou Keiji' to themselves.
"Asou… Asou Keiji is dead," the older employee said, staring at Shinichi. "D-don't joke like that."
"That was the name I was given for my employer?" Shinichi replied. "I was hired to do an investigation."
The older employee shook his head. "N-no. He's dead. Twelve years ago… he killed his wife and daughter, then burned his home to the ground, playing the piano as the fire engulfed him…"
Shinichi rubbed his eyes as he finished reading the microfiche newspaper article covering the events. The Internationally renowned pianist, Asou Keiji, being involved in such a grizzly affair, had warranted a first page mention, even if most of the article was on page 5 of the paper. The article had stated there were four witness to the murder, two of whom were named in the article, a Mr. Kameyama and Mr. Kuroiwa. He was sure that he could find the other two witnesses from talking to those two.
The article also stated that Asou Keiji had a son, though, as a minor, his name was omitted. Shinichi suspected that might be his current client.
Returning to the city hall lobby, he found the man who had helped him before.
"Thank you for the help, sir," Shinichi said. "I was wondering if I could ask for a little more assistance, though?"
"Of course," the man replied.
"The article mentioned a couple of witnesses. Could you point me to the residences of the Kameyama-san or Kuroiwa-san who were present?" Shinichi asked.
"Ah… well, unfortunately, Mayor Kameyama passed away two years ago… two years ago today, in fact. The memorial is being held this evening," the man replied. "Mayor Kuroiwa should already be at the community centre."
"Oh. Thank you," Shinichi said, giving a quick bow before heading out.
[Mayors? A government conspiracy?] Birdy asked.
"Possible," Shinichi replied as he pulled out the brochure map of the island he'd grabbed on the ferry. "Now then, if the docks are over there, then north would be…"
"Right that way," a cheerful voice said behind him.
Shinichi jumped as he spun about, spotting a friendly looking woman in her mid-twenties. She was wearing a labcoat over a purple dress, with a smile on her face.
"Visiting from the mainland, are you?" she asked.
Shinichi nodded. "I am. On business."
"On business? You're so young," she said, brushing some of her shoulder length dark hair over one ear.
"Kudo Shinichi, detective," he said, producing a business card.
"Asai Narumi, doctor," the woman replied with a jovial tone, exchanging her card for his. "Where were you trying to go?"
"The community centre. It's over there, then, yes?" Shinichi asked, pointing to what he thought was the way.
"It is indeed. Are you heading to Kameyama's memorial service?" she replied.
Shinichi shrugged. "Well, not exactly. I'm headed to talk to the current mayor, though. I was told he'll be there."
"If you don't mind waiting a moment, I'd be happy to show you the way. I'm heading that way myself shortly," Doctor Asai replied.
Shinichi gave a second shrug. "Sure."
Doctor Asai led him into the small clinic, going upstairs. He realised, to his surprise, that she'd led him into her living area. It looked to be a simple 1R set up. Slightly flustered about following a woman to her apartment alone, he sat down on the couch and tried his best not to touch anything. She offered him canned iced coffee, which he happily accepted, though he became too nervous to drink any as he saw her picking through her closet.
"S-so, Asai-sensei, were you here when the previous mayor passed away?" Shinichi asked, his cheeks burning as he noticed Doctor Asai was debating changing bras.
"Please, call me Narumi. 'Asai-sensei' makes me feel so old… As for the mayor, he was actually the first post mortem I did on the island," the young doctor replied, apparently discarding the idea of changing undergarments. "It was a heart attack. Judging by his expression, it was probably painful."
Shinichi nodded, watching as she walked past, towards the bathroom. Sure, he was head over heels for Ran, but he was a man and he had a pulse. A beautiful woman getting changed so near him, when they were alone… even with the conversation topic at hand he was struggling to concentrate.
"Some of the locals have decided the piano he was sitting at is cursed," Narumi said, through the door of her bathroom. "That pianist from a while back played it just before dying. Both men apparently played the same song, too. I think it was actually the pianist's touring piano?"
"Ah, Asou Keiji. Yes. I think I was actually hired to investigate something to do with him," Shinichi replied.
"Really?" Narumi asked, the door still closed.
"Well, the letter claimed to be from him, but I don't believe in ghosts. Or curses," Shinichi replied. "I suspect it might have been his son, calling me here anonymously."
The door opened, revealing Narumi in the simple black dress she'd picked out before. "He has a son?"
"Presumably. The newspaper article did say he was recovering from an illness in hospital. It's possible he passed away," Shinichi replied, hand on his chin as he thought it over.
Well, until he noticed Narumi putting dark lipstick on and found that speculation rather less interesting.
"Where is this 'cursed' piano, anyhow?" Shinich asked, trying to keep focused.
Narumi gave a couple of pops to her lips to even out the lipstick before turning back to him. "It's in the community centre. I can show you when we get there."
"Thank you," Shinichi said, standing up as she stepped out of the bathroom.
Narumi grabbed a jacket, before heading downstairs. He followed, waiting as she locked up the front door. The air was crisp, though warmer than it was in Tokyo. Definitely warmer than the boat had been.
"It's so nice and quiet here, not like back in Tokyo," Narumi said as they walked. "That's why I always wanted to be an island doctor."
Shinichi opened his mouth, to say he didn't mind Tokyo's noise, when a van drove past blaring mayoral election slogans. Narumi let out a tired sigh.
"Well, usually quiet… the community centre is just up here," she said.
As they approached the centre, they saw a small group of protesters being shooed off by a man in a suit. They yelled at him a few times, but reluctantly accepted his request for peace for the memorial service. Shinichi and Narumi slipped past the crowd and into the community hall. She led him towards a door at one end, opening it to reveal a concert room with a loan piano in one corner.
"That's the 'cursed' piano?" he asked.
"Mhm. No one touches it, the townsfolk are all scared of it," Narumi replied.
Shinich walked over, giving it a quick once over.
[Does it look normal?] Birdy asked.
Shinichi felt his cheeks flush at the reminder she was in there.
"You've been quiet," he whispered.
[I decided to take a little nap. I've only got one brain for the two of us. It takes us both getting a lot of sleep to keep both of us running.]
"Fair," he replied, before stepping over and playing a few notes. He turned to Narumi. "It seemed to be perfectly tuned."
"Huh," she replied, as he started running a scale.
"What's going on in there!?" a man shouted, pushing past the young doctor. It was the same bespectacled man who'd dismissed the crowd outside. "D-don't touch that! It's cursed!"
"It seems fine?" Shinichi replied.
"What's all this noise?" a bald man asked, leaning in from the door frame.
"I'd Kudo Shinichi. A detective. I was looking for Mayor Kuroiwa, to ask him a few questions," Shinichi replied.
"Pheh. A detective? Listen kid, I've got more important things to do as mayor than talk to every high schooler wanting to work on his civics homework," the bald man, presumably Mayor Kuroiwa, replied.
"If you doubt my credentials you can phone up Inspector Megure of the Metropolitan Police's First Division. Really, most of the homicide division will know my name," Shinichi replied.
"W-wait, did you say Kudo Shinichi?" a woman with brown hair about Narumi's age asked, leaning in. "The 'saviour of the MPD' Kudo Shinichi?"
"That's me," Shinichi said, flashing a grin.
The grin felt a bit hollow these days, after almost dying and learning the world was so much bigger than he'd realised thanks to Birdy. He had to project strength, though. It helped cover for his youth.
"He's the real deal, dad," the girl said.
The mayor looked unimpressed, but gave a dismissive shrug. "Fine. After the ceremony."
"Understood," Shinichi replied with a bow.
Shinichi leaned against the pillar at the front step of the community centre, shivering a little in the cold. He should have worn a thicker jacket. Or asked to be allowed to stay in the hallway.
The piano was still bothering him. He didn't believe in the curse, but the idea that an untouched piano might be perfectly tuned struck him as odd. Perhaps some superstitious islander had decided it would appease Asou's spirit or similar nonsense.
Shinichi also had to wonder just what he was going to ask the mayor about. He could inquire about more to do with that night, and who the other two living witnesses were, but beyond that? He didn't have much to go on. He hated going in this blindly.
He was debating popping back in to warm up for a few minutes when he heard a piano playing. The Moonlight Sonata. The song Asou had played twelve years ago. As well as the late mayor two years earlier.
Shinichi hopped to his feet, running into the building, past various ceremony attendants wandering out of the main room of the centre. The crowd were murmuring about the music as he rushed past. Reaching the doors to the music room, he tossed them open to discover a body slumped against the piano as the music kept playing.
"No one touch the body!" he shouted, spinning around to the crowd. "Someone get the police, and, Narumi-sensei, can you check the body without disturbing it?"
The young doctor nodded. "I believe so."
"Th-the piano! It's playing itself!" someone shrieked. "The curse! The curse!"
Shinichi let out a tired sigh, and walked over to the piano. Leaning in, he pulled out a small tape player. "It's not a curse. It's just a recording on a tape."
"How do you explain the body?" someone else asked.
"A murder," Shinichi replied, walking back to the middle of the room. "A murder by someone at the memorial, in all likelihood."
"How did they kill him? He's not bleeding or anything?"
"I would say that he drowned," Narumi replied, standing up and wiping her hands. "I'm still determining a likely time of death, but the petechiae of his eyes strongly suggests suffocation, and, well, he's sopping wet without any clear strangulation marks."
"H-how did he drown sitting at a piano?"
"If you'll direct your eyes to the floor, you'll see a trail of water and sand from the door that leads outside to the beach," Shinichi replied, gesturing down.
Several people nodded at that, as Shinichi searched the crowd. They all seemed genuinely surprised. Had the murderer already snuck off?
As he examined the crowd, elements of the letter he'd been sent that Monday clicked in place. 'Shadows disappearing in light' and the playing of the Moonlight Sonata.
"Whoever sent the letter," he whispered to himself.
[They knew this was coming?] Birdy asked.
"They were announcing the murder," Shinichi whispered again, stepping over to open the back door.
It led straight to the beach. If you could even call it that. The stairs were practically underwater. Shinichi spotted a jacket floating in the water and hurried out. Thankfully the water was only shin deep where the jacket was bobbing, and he was able to pull it out without getting too wet. He was wearing thin gloves, due to the cold, so didn't have to worry about getting prints onto the jacket.
Stepping back in, he lay the jacket down in a corner.
"Based on the tide, I would say it's highly unlikely the murderer snuck in the back from outside. When did everyone last see the victim?" Shinichi asked, walking back towards the body.
Getting a better look at the man's face, he realised it was one of the three mayoral candidates in the current election.
"Kawashima-san stepped out to use the washroom a little while back," a woman said.
"A bit less than an hour ago, I think?" a young man with a darker complexion added.
"He died thirty minutes ago, judging by rigor mortis levels," Narumi said, stepping away from the body.
Shinichi nodded. "And did anyone else leave at around that time?"
There were uncertain murmurs from the assembled crowd.
"There was one other person who definitely left," Narumi replied.
"Oh?" Shinichi asked, turning to her.
He glanced at the two young men whose eyes seemed locked more on the piano than the body resting against it. Both looked roughly the right age to be Asou's surviving son, and it would make sense the son would worry about his father's piano.
"It was me," Narumi said. "I had to use the washroom too. He was in the men's room at the time, though, so I didn't see if anyone was with him."
"Oh…" Shinichi replied, turning back to the crowd. "Did anyone else leave?"
"Shimizu-san was sitting near the door! I bet he did it!" someone shouted.
"Why would I kill him?" another man, presumably Shimizu, shouted back.
"He was the frontrunner in the mayoral race!"
"Maybe it was Kuroiwa! He's in the race too!" someone else added.
The room descended into chaos as everyone but Shinichi and Narumi started shouting at each other.
Shinichi turned, to take another look at the body, when he noticed a piece of paper sticking out from behind the key lid. Leaning over, he pulled it out.
"This wasn't here earlier… huh, sheet music?"
"Sh-sheet… It's Asou! He's alive!" a middle aged man shrieked, before bolting out the front of the hall, screaming to himself as he ran.
"Well, that was interesting," Shinichi said. "Who was that?"
"Nishimoto-san," the man with glasses from before said. "He used to be rather well to do, but… ever since the late mayor's death he's been… high strung."
"He snapped," Kuroiwa replied.
"That's one word for it, yes, sir. I was merely trying to be diplomatic, as he is an old friend of yours," the younger man replied.
"Er… well, y-yes. But that was when we were kids. And it's a small island. There's only so many options for friends," Mayor Kuroiwa replied.
[This is a headache,] Birdy muttered in Shinichi's mind.
"You can say that again," he whispered, before turning back to the mayor. "Kuroiwa-san, would the victim tonight have happened to be a witness to the Asou deaths from twelve years ago?"
The mayor paled, before his face turned red with rage. "W-what could that have to do with anything!?"
"Well, it's Asou's piano, your friend Nishimoto-san seems to think it was perpetrated by Asou's ghost, the same song played, it was on the anniversary of the death of another witness," Shinichi said, counting out points on his fingers, "and I received a cryptic, but threatening, lettering claiming to be from Asou earlier this week, summoning me to this island. So, the events of twelve years ago seem potentially relevant."
"A—a letter?" the man with the glasses asked, pailing. "It is the curse."
"Oh, shut up, Hirata. You didn't even live on the island when the fire happened," Mayor Kuroiwa replied, before turning back to Shinichi. "Very well, yes. Kawashima was one of the witnesses on that terrible night. Along with Nishimoto and myself. And mayor Kameyama. We were all friends of Asou's. He'd been acting off for a bit before that night, so we went to go see him. By the time we got there the flames were already consuming half the house."
Shinichi nodded. Several people in the assembled crowd grew pale, whispering shocked phrases to themselves.
"What's the big fuss?" an elderly voice called out from the entrance.
Leaning over, Shinichi grimaced as he realised the man, practically hidden behind his white moustache and glasses, was the local police officer. Just what he needed, an old man who would be useless at apprehending any criminals.
"There's been a murder," Shinichi said.
"A murder!? I… have you caught the culprit?" the old police officer asked.
"No. There's no clear prime suspect," Shinichi replied.
"Oh my, oh my… I will have to radio this back to Tokyo, I think," the officer muttered.
While he wasn't the most useful, the old officer was able to help Shinichi get access to the list of ceremony attendees. Sometimes it took the actual authority of the police to get cooperation, and, unfortunately, Birdy's credentials didn't count for anything on Earth. With the list acquired, they let the guests head home, various people muttering about how they still thought it was the curse. A few even accused Shinichi of causing it by disturbing the piano earlier.
Shinichi ignored those accusations and focused on the names of the key suspects. Mayor Kuroiwa and Nishimoto were both suspicious, due to their ties to the events of twelve years earlier, shared with the victim, Kawashima. Shimizu, as the other mayoral candidate, did raise some suspicions. Shinichi supposed the connection to the events of twelve years ago could have been a red herring to throw people off his motives. Hirata and Murasawa, the two more talkative young men who'd been present, also made his short list. Both were potentially the right age to be Asou's son, and had only arrived at the island a few years prior.
Shinichi's mind was focused on working out how to determined who could have been behind the murder as he walked back to the hotel. There should have been at least one witness to the murderer leaving, no?
[Hey, Shinichi, I just want to check, because Japanese is weird about plurals, so I'm still figuring some things out, was it 'shadow' or 'shadows' begin to fade?] Birdy asked.
"Plural," Shinichi replied, as he walked along the empty town street.
[Does that mean there might be more murders?] Birdy asked.
Shinichi froze. "Y-yes. Yes it does. Good catch, Birdy."
[I am a Special Investigator,] she replied smugly, as he turned around, heading back to the community centre.
"Do you have any ideas about what I might have missed with this murder?" Shinichi asked as he walked.
[Uhh… well, I'm in the anti-terrorism department, not homicide, so…] Birdy replied meekly. [Why are we going back to the community centre, though?]
"The deaths have all been linked to that piano, to keep up the 'curse' idea. Any further murders will probably try to use that same cover," Shinichi said, picking up his pace to a light jog.
Arriving back at the community hall, he discovered the police officer still there, chatting with the hall's custodian. Both old men expressed concern about Shinichi's plan to spend the night with a dead body present, especially 'alone' when there was a murderer on the loose, but they relented to his determination. The custodian went off to find them some bedding, while the police officer promised to return after phoning the headquarters in Tokyo. Shinichi used the phone in the community centre to let the hotel know he wasn't returning, before he headed back to the piano room.
"He moved the body," Shinich groaned, seeing the form of Kawashima's corpse in a corner, with a sheet draped over it.
[Country police. What can you expect?] Birdy replied. [I had to work with an officer on Kalloran IX one time, and let me tell you, that was a headache. Though, what could I have expected, with Kalloran IX?]
"I… I don't know?" Shinichi replied.
[Oh, right. You're just so smart, I forget how little you actually know about the galaxy,] she said.
"I don't know if that was a compliment or an insult," he muttered.
The custodian returned at that moment, taking Shinichi's mind off Birdy's comments. He'd finished setting up the bedding and space heater, not that he wanted to sleep, when the police officer returned. Shinichi and the old man both bundled themselves in blankets while Shinichi critiqued the old man's treatment of the crime scene.
"It just didn't seem right, leaving an upstanding man like that, just slumped against the piano," the old officer muttered.
"Where did you put the sheet music, by the way?" Shinichi asked.
"Oh, I have it right here," the old officer said, pulling it out of his pocket and unfolding it.
His eye twitching slightly at the unprofessional treatment of evidence, Shinichi took the sheet and headed to the piano. While he knew the violin better than the piano any day, he could at least slowly play the music. The music on the sheet was Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, flowing beautifully until he hit the fourth bar. Then the notes were all wrong.
"Huh, I guess that's why most people only know the opening bit," the old officer said, still huddled near the space heater, the chill of the night slipping into the uninsulated building.
"No, no. This isn't the original song. It might be a coded message from the victim? If he suspected what was happening before he was killed," Shinich said, scratching his chin. "If it is, the killer might come back to try to steal i—"
As Shinichi spoke, the door swung open, causing him to jump to his feet. He managed to get into something vaguely resembling a combat stance he'd seen Ran use by the time he realised the person at the door was Narumi-sensei, a large tray of food in her hands.
"I was worried about you, a young boy all on your own, so I wanted to make sure you'd eaten," the young doctor said. "The hotel told me you were here… I'm glad to see you're not totally alone, though."
"Ah, Narumi-chan!" the officer said, smiling up at her. "Always such a kind soul."
[Food,] Birdy said, with a tone that left Shinichi wondering if she was somehow drooling inside their shared brain.
"I appreciate your concern. And… well, I did forget to grab dinner, so I appreciate the food as well," Shinichi said, sitting down near the officer and the space heater.
Narumi sat down herself, placing the platter down in the middle of the three of them. "I think I might have overdone it a little with how much I cooked though…"
"Don't worry. I'm still growing. I'm sure I'll eat most of it," Shinichi said, his smile strained as he hoped that would cover for the extreme hunger Birdy's accelerated metabolism gave him.
The food itself was fairly basic, simple onigiri, omelette roll slices, and so on, but there was enough to be filling. The conversation was generally light as they ate, everyone wanting to ignore the dead body in the corner. It was, apart from said corpse, honestly quite nice, the old police officer dozing off after the food was finished.
Until Narumi screamed, pointing to the window, behind Shinichi. He raced over, and saw a male figure disappearing into the woods.
"The murderer, no doubt," Shinichi muttered, eyes narrow. "It's too dark to follow him right now, though."
"Oh my, though… after that fright… I'm not sure I'll get any sleep," Narumi said, pulling the blanket she had tighter around her.
"Well, it seems the officer here is sleeping enough for the three of us," Shinichi said, sitting back down, as the old man kept snoring. "Deep sleeper."
"Mhm," Narumi replied.
Shinichi and Narumi had managed to pass most of the night with a mix of small talk and silence. Narumi talked about some of the all nighters she'd pulled in university, Shinichi about the ones he pulled reading novels. The lack of coffee took its toll on Narumi eventually, however, and she passed out a little after 3:30. Shinichi, to his surprise, also began to struggle to keep his eyes awake as 4 am rolled around. He fought it for a bit, but eventually fell to exhaustion.
Birdy, however, had quietly woken up a little before he'd drifted off. Her being awake was, in fact, the reason he needed to sleep. Their brain couldn't handle both of them awake on so little actual sleep. While she'd prefer to return to her own form, she had no guarantee of when the others might awaken, so kept to Shinichi's looks.
Alone, Birdy got up and stretched, looking the 'piano' over. It reminded her a bit of some instruments in the Federation. Not that she had any idea how to play those, let alone a piano. Sitting back down, she pulled out their phone, originally Shinichi's, but augmented by the remains of her marker bot. After checking for any messages from her superiors, she dug down to the games section to pass the time.
She was also struggling against their body's need for full sleep when the doors to the community hall burst open. Birdy hopped to her feet, blinking in the gloom of dawn's first light. It took her a moment to realise the half dozen men filing into the building were police officers.
"Shinichi! Are you alright?" the lead officer called out, a tone of fatherly concern in his voice.
"I'm all good Inspector Megiu—Megure!" Birdy said with a salute, her sleepy brain mixing the man before her with the police officer who'd been her own substitute father figure.
"You look exhausted," Megure said, patting 'Shinichi' 's shoulder.
"It's been a long day," Birdy replied. "You brought quite a few officers, I see."
Megure nodded. "Well, with just you and that old man, and the threat of more murders, I didn't want to take any risks. Is that the body in the corner?"
"The local policeman moved the body when we weren't looking. Sorry," Birdy replied.
"Small town po—we?" Megure asked.
Birdy paled slightly. Right. Shinichi was supposed to be alone. What could she say now?
"Hrm… oh, is that the police?" a sleepy Doctor Narumi asked, sitting up and yawning.
Birdy smiled to herself. Saved by the doctor. "This is Doctor Asai Narumi. She provided the initial examination of the body."
"G'morning," Narumi replied, blinking a bit as she tried to fix her hair. "I think I'm going to go back to my bed now, if that's ok?"
"Sure. I'll walk you," Birdy replied, before turning to Megure. "I might need to grab a little sleep too. In a bed."
"Of course, of course," Megure said, still smiling his soft and jovial smile. "The fishermen are starting to head out, so you should both be safe on your way home. Do make sure to lock your doors. Asai-sensei, we will need to question you officially, but that can wait until this evening. We'll do you last."
Birdy gave a nod, making it about halfway to the front door with Narumi, before she froze and turned around.
"Right. Yes. We think Nishimoto and Kuroiwa are the most likely targets if there's any further killings… but they're also both suspects. I'd keep an eye on Murasawa and Hirata as suspects too," Birdy called out.
"I'll send some men out on patrols. Thank you again, Kudo-kun," Megure replied.
It felt so weird to Birdy, getting called the wrong name.
Birdy woke up again at 3:40pm, her stomach growling. Once more fighting the instinct to change to herself, she kept Shinichi's form as she headed down to find a restaurant. She was lucky Kudo was rich, so she could buy enough food at one of the local restaurants to actually fill her gut.
As she finished up, she found Kudo still asleep. It really wasn't easy on their shared body to pull an all nighter.
Walking for a bit, she slipped out of the town. Getting into the forested hills that covered most of the volcanic island, she gave a quick check around, before switching back to her regular form. She kept Shinichi's clothes, in case she ran into anyone. She then set off on a jog around the island.
Well, a jog to her. To any human she might encounter, they would assume they caught her at a burst of full sprint. After rounding a good chunk of the island, she turned onto a path up the mountain. Reaching the summit, she stopped for a breather. Even for her, jogging up a 500 or so metre mountain took a bit of effort.
She did have to wonder about how anyone could want to bring more death and murder to such an idyllic place. A small island like this seemed like a wonderful place to retire. Few enough neighbours that people could learn to see her for her, instead of fearing 'the Ixioran', like people always did when they first met her.
Well, people in the Federation. Earthlings, thankfully, had no idea what she was. It was nice.
[Hmm? Were are we?] a sleepy Shinichi asked in her head.
"Ah, you finally woke up. I just went for a jog," Birdy replied. "Need to get at least a bit of exercise in. I'll run back down and you can check on the interrogations. How does that sound?"
[Fair enough… it looks like afternoon, though?] Shinichi said as she started jogging back down the mountain.
"It is afternoon," Birdy replied. "I told you yesterday, it's taxing for one brain to try to run the two of us all the time. You're lucky I'm so good at napping."
[Ah. R-right. Makes sense.]
The run down the mountain was easier, as expected. The path was good enough there was no real slipping risk, so she could also keep up a decent pace.
As they approached the village again, she switched forms to Shinichi's and slowed their pace, though Shinichi had drifted back to sleep with the rhythm of her jogging.
She headed back to the town hall all the same, sure he'd wake up at some point. It turned out most of the crowd had been questioned by this point, the only remainder being a sleepy looking Narumi and the bulk of the primary persons of interest. Kuroiwa's daughter was also present, accompanying her father, while Shimizu, the less suspicious mayoral candidate, left as Birdy arrived.
Birdy sat down beside Narumi, offering some vague words of encouragement as she waited for Shinichi to wake up again. Waiting for the questioning to finish did get a little boring, though.
She raised an eyebrow at how Nishimoto hovered around when his questioning finished up. It was also odd how Kuroiwa slipped upstairs after his own questioning. Well, she supposed he was mayor. He might have work to do up there.
Birdy was thinking about that when Narumi returned from the washroom. She could smell a bit of blood on the other woman, and wondered if that meant she'd been off on her earlier scent based suspicion about the other woman. Perhaps it was a less severe hormone imbalance affecting the young doctor's scent.
Kuroiwa's daughter went into questioning a bit after that. Hirata headed around to the washroom while the woman's questioning continued. Murasawa followed him a bit later. Both men were still absent when Nishimoto headed over too.
Birdy started to wonder if the three men were having a conversation in there when a male voice shrieked from the direction of the stairs. Birdy leapt to her feet, stumbling a little as she felt Shinichi wake up in her head. The police followed, but Birdy was moving faster than any of them.
Reaching the top of the stairs, she found Nishimoto sprawled on his rear, scurrying back to the far wall, a bloodsoaked hand pointing into the audio control room while piano music began to play on the sound system.
[Moonlight Sonata's second movement,] Shinichi supplied as Birdy rushed into the room.
Kuroiwa was sprawled against the control panel, a knife in his back and blood everywhere. Birdy made a step forward, wanting to turn off the music, when Shinichi forced his way forward, throwing their body off balance. They fell, hands first, onto an image scrawled on the ground in blood. Shinichi let out a yelp, trying to scramble off of it without smudging it, and was glad to see there was little to no distortion from where he'd landed.
"There's a message here, be careful where you step… also, uh, puddles of blood on the floor, so be careful of those too," Shinichi said, trying to cover up for his tripping.
Megure nodded from the top of the stairs. "You okay, Kudo-kun?"
"Y-yeah. Fine. Only my pride," Shinichi said, brushing himself off as he stood up.
"Someone call forensics and the coroner!" Megure shouted over his shoulder.
"The coroner's gone back to the mainland to run an autopsy on the first body, sir."
"Darn it… we need someone to examine the body. We need to know when he died," Megure said.
"I—I can do it again?" Narumi replied.
"Ah, thank you, doctor. I'm sorry to make you do that again," Megure said.
Shinichi focused on sketching the note on the floor as Narumi gave her examination. It was musical notes. He was sure it was a message, but what did it… the piano. The simplest solution was to assign… hmm, either kana or letters to each note.
"I would say he's been dead for only a few minutes," Narumi said. "Five, maybe ten at the most."
"Mhm, that fits with the tape, if it has five minutes of silence on the start, like the previous murder," Megure said. "What about the message on the ground?"
"It's coded, so I'm not sure what it says yet," Shinichi replied.
"From the victim?" Megure asked.
"No. There's no way he could draw that neatly while bleeding to death. I think it's from the murderer… where did Nishimoto go?"
"He ran off screaming," Takagi called up from downstairs. "We tried to stop him, but he was rather out of his mind. I sent a couple of officers to chase after him."
"What about the rest of you? Who has alibis?" Megure asked.
"I was being questioned by you all when daddy was stabbed!" Kuroiwa's daughter shrieked.
"I-I was in the washroom," Hirata replied. "B-but, Murasawa was in there too."
"Hey, we were only both in there for a few minutes. You could have snuck out and killed him in the available window still," Murasawa countered.
"W-well, if you're not my alibi then I'm not yours either!" Hirata shouted, growing pale.
"Narumi and I were both downstairs from about 6pm," Shinichi replied, while glancing back at the body. Rage was bubbling in his gut as he marched downstairs.
"I hate this. The murderer coldly announcing he was going to kill… and we knew he'd strike again. But we couldn't do anything," he whispered as he went.
[It seems almost more like terrorism than murder,] Birdy said. [But there's been no demands.]
"Whatever it is, it's monstrous," Shinichi muttered, sitting down and closing his eyes.
Focusing, he tried to picture a piano. He sketched it out in his notebook, then tried assigning kana. That gave him gibberish. He gave the Latin Alphabet a try. That worked.
"Do you un…derstand… you're… next," he said to himself as he cross referenced the notes.
"What?" Kuroiwa's daughter asked, turning to Shinichi.
"T-that's what the message said," Shinichi replied.
"What about the message from the first murder?" Megure asked.
"Hellfi…re's grud…ge has be…en bani…shed here," Shinichi said.
"Hellfire's grudge? What does that mean?" Megure asked, turning to the remaining suspects.
"Th-the curse of Asou Keiji!" Hirata replied. "His ghost wants vengeance for something!"
"Maybe we should burn his old piano, and exorcise him," Murasawa said, a sharp grin on his face.
"W-we can't do that!" Hirata shouted.
"I'd be happy to take it back to Tokyo then," Murasawa replied, unperturbed by Hirata's shouting.
"If—if it is a curse," Kuroiwa's daughter said, growing pale, "T-then… was there anything else left behind by Asou?"
The old policeman gave a nod as he slowly stood up. "Yes. Yes. There were his notes from his fireproof safe. I thought they were just sheet music, but… maybe they were more code?"
"Where are those sheets?" Shinichi asked.
"The community centre store room," the old policeman replied. "The key should be in the police station…"
"I'll go with you, then," Shinichi said. "I don't believe in curses, but those sheets could still contain information vital to the case."
The old man nodded, and led the way to the local police station. Shinichi walked along, questions about the two main suspects dancing in his mind.
"What can you tell me about Hirata-san and Murasawa-san?" Shinichi asked as they walked.
"Hmm… Hirata-kun has lived on the island for a while. Moved when he was fresh out of university, I think. He's always sneaking around. Seems like a coward, but he's definitely up to things," the old policeman replied. "I don't really trust him… Murasawa-kun seems a decent enough fellow, though. He moved to the island a few years ago, already sort of having a thing with Mayor Kuroiwa's daughter. I believe he's a musician? Neighbours complained about the noise a little when he first got here, but he managed to help them out when they needed it enough that they don't mind anymore."
Shinichi nodded, waiting as the officer opened the door to the police station. Though it was barely more than a police box. Shinichi sat down as the man dug through his desk. He started to get bored as the man began digging through a filing cabinet.
[Which one do you think did it?] Birdy asked.
"I'm leaning to Murasawa," Shinichi whispered. "I think Hirata might actually be too old to be Asou's son. But he's up to something too."
More time passed as the old officer kept digging for the keys, muttering about 'maybe they were here' every so often. Shinichi found his foot tapping with impatience.
[I could just break the door down,] Birdy offered.
"Normally I would tell you no, but I'm starting to feel tempted to let you," Shinichi whispered.
"Here they are!" the old man announced, holding up a jiggling set of keys.
"Thank goodness," Shinichi said, hopping to his feet. "Let's go back and—"
"Oh, you found them?" Takagi said, appearing at the door.
"Yes?" the old man replied.
"Inspector Megure sent everyone home for the night… they were making a fuss and we had to send more men out to try to find Nishimoto," Takagi said.
"Well, the three of us can still go check, I suppose," Shinichi said. "I want to get that information as soon as possible."
"Sound good. We're also still waiting on the photos from the forensics team to develop tonight," Takagi said as the other two walked past him.
The trio (or quartet, depending on how you counted Shinichi and Birdy) headed to the community centre, Shinichi's mind too abuzz with possibilities to be bothered by the cold at this point.
They arrived at the centre soon enough, the guard jiggling the keys as he tried to remember which was for the storage room. Shinichi was getting impatient when Birdy suddenly let out a mental gasp.
[There was a noise from the piano room,] she said.
Shinichi turned, rushing over and opening the door. He spotted a figure in the dark, crouched beside the piano. The figure turned to him, freezing for a split second, before turning and smashing a window to escape. Shinichi gave chase, only to trip. Takagi had followed him and flipped on the lights, revealing Murasawa splayed unconscious on the ground, some blood on his head.
"Officer Takagi! Go get Narumi-sensei!" Shinichi said.
Takagai nodded, running back out the front exit. Shinichi glanced over his shoulder, but realised the other figure was long gone, disappeared into the woods. Instead, he headed over to the piano, crouching to try to see what the figure had been after. He noticed some white powder on the floor, and ran his finger through it, picking it up. It was either sugar, or… licking a little, the tingle on his tongue told him it was narcotics of some so—
[WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT!] Birdy shrieked, before forcing her way forward.
"Do. Not. Lick. Random. Powder," she hissed as a whisper. "At least, not with MY body. Got it, Kudo?"
[S-sorry,] he muttered. [Can I take over again?]
"Nope. My body mimics human physiology most strongly when you're piloting. Considering we don't know what that was, I want my body as Ixioran as possible, to protect me."
[It was cocaine.]
"And was it cut with anything, Kudo?" she whispered sharply. "You don't know. Drug dealers love to stick cheap poisons in their product to get a better profit margin."
[…true.]
Birdy was ready to read him some more of the riot act when the sound of piano music reached them. The third movement of Moonlight Sonata.
Birdy, letting her body mimic Shinichi's on the outside (at least), hurried over just as the old police officer opened the door. The old man let out a gasp, dropping his keys. Birdy hurried past him, and found Nishimoto hanging from the ceiling with a rope.
Below him were a few sheets of music paper.
"There's no step," Birdy said, looking around.
Homicide's weren't her specialty, but even she could work out the general logistics of a hanging.
[What do the sheets say?] Shinichi asked.
Birdy, with some reluctance, let him take the driver's seat again, so he could read the notes. It claimed to be a suicide note, supposedly a confession of murdering the other two men, wracked by guilt over a history of drug smuggling as well as murdering the Asou family.
"Where's the victim?" Narumi's voice called out from the hallway.
"He's in the piano roo—" Takagi began, before he passed the door to the storage room. "Uh… apparently there's two victims."
"This one is well past any use for medical assistance, though," Shinichi said, looking up at Nishimoto's lifeless eyes. "Someone hung him and tried to pass it off as a suicide."
"S-someone hung him? How can you tell?" Narumi asked, fear in her eyes.
"Nothing from him to have climbed up with," Shinichi replied, gesturing about.
Narumi nodded. "R-right. I… it's been such a busy 24 hours. I didn't think of… what about the other victim?"
"Murasawa, he's unconscious in the piano room," Takagi replied, pointing the way before pulling out a radio. "Inspector Megure? We've, uhh… we've got another murder."
Shinichi handed the 'suicide note' to Takagi before storming off to city hall. He knew they'd gather the suspects up there, and he wanted to see the end of this. His blood was boiling. Three dead bodies, right under his nose. He needed to see this monster behind bars… he still didn't have proof of who it was, though.
Storming into the town hall, he found several police officers going over the forensic photos. He leaned over, hoping something would jump out at him. A clue of some sort. After a few minutes of looking, as most of the officers were sent off to gather the suspects, something did catch his eye.
"What's that," he said, pointing to a photo of Kuroiwa's body. "There's a light that isn't in the other photo, once the body's moved."
"Huh. Dunno," the nearest officer replied.
Shinichi hurried upstairs. The communications room had been cleaned, letting him read each button, and the one in question sat off to its own. 'Reverse'.
But why was that pushed? Who had touched it? Maybe when the body was being moved?
"Oh, there—there you are," the old police officer said, gasping for breath at the doorway. "You ran off before I could give you Asou's sheet music."
Shinichi pulled it out of the old man's hand, hungry for answers.
"Let's see… 'To my de…ar son… Seiji" he started, biting his tongue in frustration.
If it had said Shuuichi, for Murasawa, or Kazuaki for Hirata… though he supposed it was no surprise the son would have used a fake name.
[Hey, one advantage to it being written in the Latin Alphabet is you can know how to pronounce everything, at least,] Birdy offered, apparently trying to comfort him. He supposed she could feel his stress, even if she couldn't read his mind. [I'll never understand why your normal kanji system can be pronounced so many different ways.]
"Wait a minute… Birdy, you're right… there is someone who could be Seiji… if it's written 'become truth' then… then… she could have pushed the button. If there was a blank side, it could have run for thirty minutes, before the auto-reverse flipped the sides… and she could have lied about the time of death," Shinichi said, the bottom dropping out of his stomach.
It couldn't be, though. She'd been so kind. So caring.
He flipped through the note left behind. Asou Keiji's letter to his son explained what happened. The four dead men, using his piano to smuggle narcotics as he toured. That he'd eventually had enough. He'd begged them to stop and they'd attacked him. Murdering Seiji's mother and younger sister and stabbing Keiji. Shinichi realised there was blood on the paper, the writing messier. The final sheet was singed, Asou Keiji apparently writing to the last minute, a messy note of 'I love you' at the end in plain Japanese.
Shinichi placed the papers down on a nearby table, sitting down as he realised how a gentle soul had been led to murder.
[Oh gods…] Birdy muttered, her own voice heavy with emotions. [I… I should have realised Narumi was…]
"How could we have?" Shinichi muttered, running his hand through his hair. "We were looking for Asou's son."
[Well, I thought she smelled more like a man than a woman, but wasn't certain… and then I thought the blood I smelled on her had meant she was menst—oh gods. That was Kuroiwa's blood.] Birdy said.
Shinichi turned to the control panel, flipping on the microphone. "Is everyone present?"
"Everyone is accounted for! Narumi-sensei just got here!" Megure's voice called up through the staircase.
"There's at least two arrests to be made tonight. There was a secret compartment in Asou's piano. It had been used to smuggle drugs, and has been used recently," Shinichi explained. "Either Murasawa or Hirata were responsible. As Murasawa was a musician, and had a tuning hammer, I believe he was a fan of Asou's, explaining his interest in the piano. Making Hirata the prime suspect for the drug smuggling. I'm sure a DNA test of the blood on the smashed window pane could give you a match, and plenty of grounds for a search warrant of his home."
There was yelling downstairs. Shinichi picked up Hirata's voice screeching 'I didn't kill anyone'.
"You could have, though. If you'd hit Murasawa a little differently," Shinichi continued. "But, no. You're not the serial killer. That would be Asou Keiji's son. The only one who could have killed Kuroiwa and falsified the time of death estimate. Letting him cover up the use of the tape player's auto-reverse function to hide behind 30 minutes of silence on the B-side. Though you couldn't hide that Kuroiwa's blood had begun to dry, something that shouldn't have happened in a mere 5 minutes. Someone who would have known drowning Kawashima would remove the coroner from the picture, giving him the freedom to act as the sole medical authority. Asou Seiji… or, perhaps I should say, Asai Seiji, due to your adoptive family, no, sensei?"
Sounds of shock could be heard from below.
"The late Major Kageyama, he confessed what he and the others had done before his death, didn't he? That they'd forced your father to smuggle drugs, turning around and killing your family when your father refused? You were the one to play Moonlight Sonata beside him, as he died?"
"They were all murderers?" Takagi's voice called out.
"Mhm," Shinichi replied. "They got rich off drug smuggling, and—"
"He made a break for it!" an officer shouted,
Shinichi blinked, where could Asai-sensei be running to? It was an island, hours from the nearest land by boat? A helicopter? No, Asai didn't have that kind of money. Could the doctor be planning to hide in forgotten military tunnels from back during the war? That surely wouldn't buy enough time for the police to give up, no matter how much food one hid away. Asai had been one step ahead of them the whole time this far, though, he had to have something planned and ready for his escape. Surely?
Unless…
Unless he didn't care about escaping. Shinichi felt his stomach do a backflip and he grabbed the papers Keiji had left behind.
Shinichi ran, taking the stairs two at a time. He shoved his way past the police. The community centre. He ran, but there was already smoke rising as the centre came into view. Asai-sensei must have known a short cut. And… had prepared the place beforehand. Shinichi could smell gasoline on the flames.
Shinichi ran up all the same, as the flames spread along the walls. He heard a soft tink-tink of piano keys and pushed at the doors. They were locked.
[I can fix that,] Birdy said, pushing ahead a moment to tear them open.
"Thank you," Shinichi said as she handed control back to him.
Running in, he found Asai sat in a seiza beside the piano, muttering prayers of some sort to himself. Shinichi didn't recognise the dialect. All around them, the flames were spreading.
"Asai-sensei! It doesn't have to end like this!" Shinichi shouted.
Asai opened his eyes, looking at Shinichi softly. They were still the soft and caring eyes that had initially greeted Shinichi. "It does, though. I have too much blood on my hands… let me be purified by the flames, so that I might see my family again."
"Your father wouldn't have wanted this end for you!" Shinichi said, waving the letter Asou had left as the flames grew around them. "He wanted you to live a peaceful life! To escape what he'd pulled the rest of your family into!"
Asai replied with a sad smile as tears began to run down his face. "If only I'd seen that letter before…"
A section of the ceiling collapsed, falling between them. Shinichi also realised that the smoke was getting low, and that he was struggling to breath.
"Get out, young detective. Live a better life than me," Asai called out, before he began to mutter more prayers, coughing as he did with the smoke.
[We tried your way,] Birdy said, before shoving her way forward.
[Good luck,] Shinichi replied as Birdy's combat uniform sparkled into place.
She jumped through the flames, landing in front of Asai. The doctor looked at her with confusion.
"Who—?"
"The name's Birdy, and I'm here to save your life," she said, scooping the doctor up in her arm.
"N-no! I'm not worth saving!" Asai wrapsed, ignored as Birdy kicked a hole through the wall and jumped out.
The doctor coughed as Birdy lay him down.
"Who are you? Where's Kudo?" Megure called out, he and Takagi having just arrived.
Birdy gave a strained smile. "I'm just a good citizen. I already got Kudo to safety. I'll go get him."
She ran before the two police officers could say anything, slipping behind a corner. There, she transformed back to Shinichi, who emerged to spot the two men looking confused. He feigned ignorance as to who Birdy might be, directing them to a rather dejected Asai-sensei who needed handcuffing. The doctor provided no resistance, silently following the police back into town.
"Why does it feel like I did the wrong thing?" Shinichi said, as he watched them lead Asai off, sitting off to one side as the townsfolk rushed in, trying to extinguish the burning building.
[You did the right thing. With my strength, I was taught constantly how important it is to capture the criminal alive,] Birdy replied. [Maybe Narumi regrets it now, but she'll have time to understand it was the right thing this way.]
"Thank you," Shinichi said, leaning against the tree he'd sat under. "I just wish I'd gone immediately, when I'd gotten Seiji's letter. If I'd realised how pressing it was… I could have stopped him."
[You didn't, though. You can't blame yourself for missing the cryptic clues of a mind filled with a hunger for vengeance,] Birdy replied.
"Still… still…" Shinichi began, as tears began to roll down his cheeks. "I could have stopped him… he wanted me to stop him…"
[We're not gods. We're only mortals. We can make mistakes,] Birdy replied. [And we're not responsible for the actions of others.]
Shinichi gave a weak nod, but didn't move otherwise. Seven lives ended and an eighth ruined due to ruthless greed. It made him sick.
Seven months had passed. Asai Seiji had been found guilty of arson, falsifying evidence, negligence causing death, and three first degree murders. The various sexual harassment charges that had cropped up due to his outing as a man had been dismissed, at least, but Asai's lawyer still knew, in his heart, that his client was lined up for the death penalty. In no small part because Asai refused to show lasting remorse. Asai wanted the death penalty. He clearly thought he was irredeemable, no matter how much the lawyer told him otherwise.
The lawyer was on the verge of giving up, of just letting his young client throw his life away completely, when he got a phone call. A call from the one person who might be able to convince Asai he had a future. The leader of the 'new religious group' that Asai's adoptive family had been a part of. While the lawyer saw them as a bit of a cult, he'd rather see his client a living member of a cult than a corpse, and so arranged for Hinomiya Suisha to have a visit with Asai.
The elegant woman stood across from a pair of tired prison guards who looked her booking information over. She wore a purple and black dress that the guards could guess probably cost more than their annual salaries, with long black gloves stretching past her elbows. Black lipstick and deep purple eyeliner rounded out the look.
"You're sure he's worth your time? I mean, the man is both a deviant and a serial killer," the one guard said, though he was picking up his keys as he asked. "Can't be good press for your group."
"The Society of the Purifying Flame does not abandon its members," Hinomiya replied, a graceful, if vampiric, smile on her lips.
The guard shrugged. "I suppose it's nice for members to know you have their back, no matter what… alright."
He grabbed his radio, asking another guard to bring Asai to the visitation room. The walk down the soulless concrete hallway was short. Hinomiya remained silently aloof during the trip and the brief wait for Asai to arrive. When the disgraced doctor did arrive, his eyes went wide.
"H-Holy Mother," Seiji gasped, dropping to a prostrating bow. "I am unworthy of your time."
"Please, child, do sit in your chair," Hinomiya replied, gesturing across the table from her.
Seiji scrambled to his feet, though his eyes remained low. Taking him in, his delicate features, tired eyes, and long dark hair framing his face, Hinomiya felt reminded of another young man who'd once been in her life.
"I am sorry for abandoning the society, Holy Mother," Asai all but whispered. "I had… I had hoped to return, I had hoped my gut had been wrong."
"We had wondered about a promising young medical researcher running off to be an island doctor," Hinomiya replied. "The Founder had worried you had only wanted to abandon us."
"You had only ever shown me kindness, Holy Mother. I would never have run away for the sake of it," Asai replied.
Hinomiya stood up, walking around the table to Asai's side. The guards shifted into a ready position, but stayed where they were.
"Of course, the end effect was that you abandoned us, Asai Seiji-kun," she said, standing beside him. "You could have asked us for help, and we would have provided it. But instead you didn't trust us."
"I-I… I said I was unworthy of your time," Asai replied, tears running down his face, though he continued to stare at the table.
Hinomiya leaned in, placing her gloved left hand on the back of Asai's neck before whispering into his ear. "Asai Seiji must die after all that has happened. The police would demand it, if nothing else… but maybe Narumi can still be of use."
"P-pardon?" Asai asked, eyes wide with fear and confusion.
She stood up, walking away. "Do not worry, child. The flame is forgiving."
The guard showed her out. She filled out a bit of paperwork before being led down to the parking garage. Her chauffeur opened the door and let her in. She sat down and carefully removed her left glove, turning it inside out and placing it into a small biohazard container.
"Did everything go well, Revi-sama?" the chauffeur asked.
"They did indeed. The young doctor will be back to us soon enough," Hinomiya replied.
The prison doctor stared at the corpse of Asai Seiji. The young prisoner had been fine until that evening, when he'd complained about a stiff neck. Only to collapse dead less than an hour later, with no obvious signs of a cause of death.
"I was going to do an autopsy, to determine a cause of death," the doctor said, looking up at lady Hinomiya.
"Our order believes in dignity in death," the elegant woman replied.
The doctor glanced behind her, to Superintendent General Hakuba. The man nodded.
"What matters is that the man is quite certainly dead. You can write the cause as an aneurysm or something," the Superintendent said. "There was no sign of foul play, afterall."
"V-very well, sir," the doctor replied, passing a clipboard to Hinomiya. "I will need you to sign for custody of the body."
"Of course," she said, smiling sharply.
With a few quick flicks on the pen, the body of Asai Seiji was now her problem.
Seiji blinked, his whole body in a strange numb sort of pain. The ceiling above him looked like that of a hospital. Where was he?
"Ah, good, you're awake, Narumi-chan," a voice said to his left.
Turning, he was shocked to see the Holy Mother sitting in a large chair beside his bed.
"W-where am I?" he asked.
"A private clinic. We did have to do a little work on you, Narumi-chan. To make sure no one mistakes you for poor Asai Seiji," the Holy Mother explained.
Seiji stared in confusion. He realised his numbness showed his body was filled with pain killers, but he was sure that even with all his wits about him he'd be confused.
"Holy Mother? What do you mean? 'Poor Seiji'? And you're calling me Narumi?"
"Well, poor Asai-kun died in prison, you see. Just a couple of days ago. Though he had had no hope of getting out of police custody as anything other than a corpse," the Holy mother replied. "As for calling you 'Narumi', what else should I call my dear niece, Hinomiya Narumi?"
Seiji was about to ask for further details, when a through struck him. Turning back to look at his body, he moved stiff and pained arms to lift the blankets, and noticed the work done to his body.
Well, Seiji supposed anyone else who saw would say 'her body', looking at that form.
"Oh my…" Seiji—no, Narumi said.
She supposed most men would be horrified by one of the changes, but she'd never felt any great attachment to manhood.
"It might take a little to get used to, child, but I suspect you will have an easier time of it than I did when something similar first happened to me," the Holy Mother replied.
"Something similar happened to Hinomiya-sama?" Narumi asked, feeling a new wave of confusion.
"It did indeed. Also, in private, you may call me my real name: Christella Revi," the Holy Mother replied. "There are several secrets you need to learn if you'll be helping to replace Hikawa, now that Seichiro has run off with his own ideas of how to use the Soul Grass."
"Y-you still want me, after what I did?" Narumi asked.
"You were forced to avenge a great evil. And I have done for worse in trying to undo a far deeper and older evil," the Holy Mother replied. "I will give you the full story when you've recovered more, Narumi-chan."