Well hello! Here's a new chapter of an Azure Redi-fanfiction, for which I took some inspiration from the ERASED-manga. I do not own the rights to that manga. See you in the next chapter.
"Wow, what a beautiful view!" Ran said watching the sun set. She was wearing a red top. He was wearing white shorts, red socks, and blue and white shoes. He had a brown belt on his hip. "A while ago, I was worried about what would happen to us, but it looks like we got lucky!"
"Yes. Thank you Mōri-san for getting the wrong time for our return ship, and now we can return to Tokyo on this huge ship!" Shizuka said looking at Kogorō sleeping in a nearby chair.
Shizuka was wearing a white blouse with a blue jacket over it. He was wearing black sweatpants, blue socks, and white shoes.
Kogorō was sleeping in his chair. She was wearing a pink blouse. He was wearing white shorts, white socks, and black shoes.
"Seriously! This ship happened to be on that island, but we almost got trapped in that out-of-the-way place for 3 days!" Ran said.
"But I wonder what kind of people chartered such a large ship. Who are all these people?" Shizuka asked as she wandered the deck of the ship with Ran.
"I don't know, but I'm grateful to them for offering us a ride back to Tokyo", Ran said.
"She seems to have some worries", Shizuka said looking at the woman standing on the ship's deck who was crying a little.
"Is something wrong?" Ran asked the woman.
The woman was 22 years old. He was tall, and thin. He had fair skin, long black hair, and blue eyes. She was wearing a white and blue dress with a blue bow on the front of the collar of the woman's dress. She was wearing white high heels.
"No, it's just that I remembered my parents dying in the Fire(The fire mentioned here is something I made up myself, as Natsue never told exactly what happened to his parents) a year ago. I thought to myself that how much I wanted to show for them that special dress I wore today", The woman said, wiping away her tears.
"A special dress?" Ran asked.
"Is something wrong Natsue?" A man asked the woman when he arrived. The man was tall and athletic. He had short, brown hair. He was wearing a brown suit, a white shirt, and a blue tie around his neck. He was wearing brown pants and black shoes. He was 24 years old. A red flower in the buttonhole of his coat.
"Oh, Takeshi-san!" Natsue said patting the man's right arm. "Actually we got married today".
"M-married?" Ran asked.
"Do you know the island you just came aboard this ship from is Hatamoto Island?" Natsue asked. "We had a wedding ceremony there just this morning".
"We're sorry about your parents, and congratulations on your marriage", Shizuka, and Ran said.
"Thank you", Natsue said.
"But why did you hold the wedding ceremony on that particular island?" Ran asked.
"Most of that island belongs to our Hatamoto family, and our ancestors are also buried there. Hatamoto tradition is that all members of our family get married on that island", Natsue said.
"Is your family that influential?" Shizuka asked.
"Yes", Natsue said.
"You idiot!" Someone suddenly shouted from the right.
Shizuka, and Ran startled slightly, and looked to their right to see the old man yelling at the younger man.
"Why are there other people on our ship?!" The old man yelled at the younger man. The old man had gray hair, a mustache. His skin was pale. His eyes were black. He was wearing a green haori. He was wearing brown pants, white socks, and brown sandals. He looked 72 years old.
"Sorry, Dad. They seemed to be in trouble, so I just decided to help them out by offering them a ride back to Tokyo, since we're going back to Tokyo ourselves", The younger man said. He was a bit round. He had fair skin, black eyes, black hair. He had a mustache. He was wearing a brown jacket with a white shirt underneath. He had a black tie around his neck. He was wearing brown pants and black shoes. He looked 47 years old.
"You're doing things without my permission!" An older man would fuck teenagers frighteningly.
Shizuka, and cold shivers ran down Rani's spine because of the old man's scary gaze.
"You must have become a great man to be able to make these decisions without my approval!" The older man shouted.
"That was not my intention!" The younger man defended himself.
"Don't worry about him. My grandfather has been grumpy ever since the wedding ceremony today", Natsue told the teenagers.
"Right. Dad's been grumpy ever since he ate the food I cooked", A man said as he came over.
The man was tall and athletic. He had fair skin, black eyes, and black hair. He had a mustache. She was wearing a white jacket with a red blouse underneath. He had a black tie around his neck. He was wearing white pants and brown shoes. He looked 41 years old.
"Jouji-uncle!" Natsue said to the man.
"I knew that dad hated western food, but I didn't think he would get so angry. He yelled at me during the wedding ceremony meal like this:
"You call this food?!" Dad even threw the food I offered him off the table. Looks like I'm still an amateur", Jouji said.
"I do not believe!" Takeshi said.
"The food you prepared was very delicious!" Natsue said.
"Hey! What's that flower in the buttonhole of your jacket?" Jouji asked Takeshi.
"On the way back from the wedding ceremony, Natsue put it in the buttonhole of my jacket", Takeshi said.
"It's always been my dream since I was a little girl", Natsue said wrapping her arms around Takeshi's left arm. "I wanted to give someone very special to me a flower that only grows on that island".
"What am I going to do for you two?" Jouji asked. "Heh heh!"
One man was not very tall. He had long, black hair. He had freckles on his face and was wearing a blue suit. She was wearing a white blouse under her suit. He had a green tie around his neck. He was wearing blue pants and black shoes. He was 21 years old. The man sat on a chair, and drew a picture of Natsue with a charcoal pencil on the drawing pad on the easel in front of him.
"Fathers are fathers and sons are sons. How long are you going to continue wasting time drawing? As a father, you should be giving him some advice! Hurry up and tell him to give up his dreams that he has no chance of realizing!" The man who had shouted earlier shouted looking at the man sitting on the stool who was currently drawing.
"Y-Yes", The man in the brown suit said nervously, first looking at the artist.
"Hey, Takeshi-kun!" The shouting man said.
"Y-Yes!" Takeshi said nervously.
"I need to talk to you. Come to my room later", The gray haired man said, then started walking towards the corridor in the wall of the ship behind him.
"Y-Yes", Takeshi said.
An artistic man polished his charcoal work with a piece of bread.
"Excuse me, but who is he?" Shizuka asked looking at the artist.
"Hatamoto Ichiro. He's my nephew, and Natsue's cousin. He's an art student", Jouji said.
"Be patient for now my love", The woman in the purple kimono spoke to the man standing next to Ichiro. The woman had black hair that she had tied in a bun. He had light skin and black eyes. She had red lipstick on her lips. He was wearing white socks and brown sandals. He was 43 years old. "Father will be around just a little longer. He won't last that long. When that happens, and since the eldest son is gone, almost the entire Hatamoto clan's inheritance will go to you!"
"It doesn't look like that's going to happen, Mariko-aunt", Someone said behind Mariko, and Mariko nervously looked behind her.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Mariko asked. "Akie-san, you know something, don't you?"
Akie was a tall, thin woman. He had black eyes, fair skin and short, black hair. She was wearing a dark dress. She had a string of pearls around her neck, and earrings in her ears. She was wearing dark tights and dark high heels. He was 26 years old. She had red nail polish on her nails:
"Don't be shocked when I tell you".
Akie whispered something to Mariko, and Mariko looked nervous.
"It-that's absurd!" Mariko said. "Can it be true?!"
"When grandpa returns to Tokyo, it looks like he's going to make an announcement about it", Akie said.
"You're serious", Said the 26-year-old man. The man's skin was pale. He had messy brown hair and black eyes. He was tall, and athletic. He was wearing a brown jacket, a brown blouse. He had a blue tie around his neck. He was wearing brown pants and black shoes. "We are up to our necks in debt".
"It's 24 hours until this ship reaches Tokyo. We better do something before then!" Akie said.
Mariko looked angry.
"What is that even about?" Shizuka thought.
(Later in the evening)
Takeshi walked down the corridor of the ship until he stopped in front of one of the doors. He knocked on the door with his right hand:
"I here, Takeshi".
"Come in", Came from behind the room's door.
The walls of the corridor, the ceiling were grey. There were ceiling lamps on the ceiling, and the doors were brown. The floor was red, and there were a few lamps on the walls.
"Sorry", Takeshi opened, and closed the door to the room behind him.
A gray-haired man sat in an armchair:
"Your speech at the wedding reception earlier today was flawless. Natsue did a good job choosing a man".
"Heh! Thanks", Takeshi scratched his right cheek with his right hand, blushing slightly.
"Heh! Chasing your cheek in confusion is just like him", The gray haired man said.
Takeshi looked surprised.
"That reminds me of your father, Zaiki Isao!" The gray haired man said.
"Ah!" Takeshi looked startled.
"No matter how hard you try to cover up your past, you can't betray me. To avenge your father's death, you came to my company, and married Natsue. I know everything! What are you trying to do after that? Are you after money? Or maybe you're after my life? What's wrong? Why are you silent? Answer me!" The gray haired man yelled.
Takeshi looked a little angry.
However, what Takeshi and the gray haired man didn't know was that someone was overhearing their conversation outside the room.
(In the dining hall)
"This is all in the main branch of the Hatamoto family", Natsue drew his family tree on a piece of paper.
"And all these people were at your wedding?" Ran asked.
"Yes, everyone except my parents, Shoichi and Kyuki, who died in the fire", Natsue said. He sat with the Mōri family and Shizuka on the chairs behind a table.
An old, thin butler laid the table. He was bald. He had light skin and black eyes. He had a gray moustache. She was wearing a black jacket with a white blouse underneath. He had a black bow around his neck. He was wearing black pants, white socks, and black shoes. The man was 64 years old.
"So your grandfather owns a company called the Hatamoto Group?" Shizuka asked.
"Yes. My grandfather's name is Hatamoto Gozou", Natsue said.
Kogorō was now wearing a blue jacket, a white blouse. He had a black tie around his neck. He was wearing blue pants, white socks, and black shoes.
"By the way, Takeshi-san must be late", Ran said.
"You're right. He hasn't been back since he went to see my grandfather", Natsue said.
"They've probably been talking about some shady incident", Akie said.
"B-big sister!" Natsue said to Akie.
Everyone sat at the tables.
"Ah, you're late", Akie said to the man with messy hair.
"Hmph! I didn't notice the passage of time", The man said.
"Dad still hasn't come here?" Jouji asked after noticing the matter in question.
"Yes. But I think he'll be here any minute", Said the butler.
"You're late, Ichiro-san", Mariko said as Ichiaro sat down at the table. "Are you sure you washed your hands?"
"Yes", Ichiro said.
"Say, do you have a boyfriend yet, Ran-san?" Natsue asked.
"Ran is still a little girl. She's not interested in boys! Unless you count Araide-sensei, who Ran looks at with that eye whenever she gets the chance. But Araide-sensei seems to think of Ran as just a child", Kogorō said.
"Sorry! I just happen to like Araide-sensei", Ran said. "Isn't that right, Irene-chan?"
"You've mentioned something like that a couple of times", Shizuka said.
"What kind of person is Araide-sensei?" Natsue asked.
"Araide-sensei is positive, and he sometimes teases our basketball coach at my school. He's smart, and handsome. He's polite, and humble", Ran said.
"What about you, Irene-san? Do you already have a boyfriend?" Natsue asked.
"No. Well, I failed at having a crush once, so that's why I put the crush on hold for a while", Shizuka said.
"Really? What kind of boy were you interested in?" Natsue asked.
"Well, when he was transferred to my class during my last year of middle school, I thought he was handsome at first. But as soon as he was transferred to my class, he started treating everyone rudely, saying whatever he wanted. That's why my interest in him quickly turned into disgust for him. Because of his behavior, I decided to stay away from him . That's why I was looking forward to graduating from middle school, and I really hoped that I would never see him again. Fortunately, he didn't talk to me rudely because I decided to stay away from him. He only talked rudely to those who tried to befriend him. Besides, he was interested about my best friend. Because of that experience, I immediately realized that I need to try to learn to interpret people's character based on their behavior in order to be able to infer what they are like", Shizuka said. "Fortunately, I decided to stay away from him. Because of his rude behavior, he was transferred from my class to another school very quickly. Fortunately, I haven't seen him since".
"Or something like that?" Natsue asked. "By the way Ran-san, what does your father do for work?"
"My father is a detective", Ran said.
Everyone looked at Kogorō nervously.
"I-Is something wrong?" Kogorō asked as he noticed the others looking at Kogorō nervously.
"Don't say that in front of my grandfather. He hates detectives. He thinks that those who sneak around looking for people's weak points are not good people! That's why he has forbidden the entire Hatamoto family from watching crime dramas and reading detective stories. It's better that you don't talk about detectives in his upon arriving", Natsue said.
"Alright", Shizuka said.
"Sir, it's time to enter the dining room", The butler said, knocking on the door of Kozou's room. Then he saw the door ahead of a fallen, red flower. "Flower".
Takeshi entered the dining room quietly.
"Takeshi-san, you're so late!" Natsue stood up walking in front of Takeshi.
"Sorry. I had some things to think about in our room", Takeshi said.
"Are you okay? You look pale", Natsue said after noticing the matter. "Huh? Where's the flower I gave you earlier?"
"That's strange. Where could I have lost it?" Takeshi asked after noticing the matter in question.
The butler inserted the key into the lock of Kozou's room, and opened the door of the room:
"Pardon my behavior sir. Everyone is waiting...Aaaaah!" The butler's scream was because he saw something shocking after opening the door and going inside.
Everyone got nervous when they heard the butler's shout.
"What was that scream?" The man accompanying Akie asked after hearing the butler's shout.
"It was the butler, Suzuki", Akie said after recognizing the butler's voice.
"It came from father's room!" Jouji yelled.
Everyone ran forward to see the butler backing out of Kozou's room, pressed against the wall behind him in fear.
"What's wrong Suzuki-san?" Jouji asked.
When everyone looked into the room, they saw Kozou lying on the floor with blood all around him and a deep gash in his stomach.
Kogorō went into the room, and tried the man's neck:
"It's not worth it. He's dead".
"It can't be true! Grandpa!" Natsue yelled. He was about to rush into the room, but Shizuka grabbed Natsue's right hand, pulling Natsue out of the room.
"I'm sorry Natsue-san, but you can't go into the room now. We'll let Mōri-san handle the investigations", Shizuka said.
"Right. No one comes into this room!" Kogorō shouted. "No one comes into this room until I say it's okay!"
Natsue rushed into Takeshi's arms, crying.
"Is this a case of murder in a locked room?" Shizuka asked.
"I can't say that yet. But I can tell you that it looks like it's been about 40-50 minutes since Gozou-shi died", Kogorō covered the body with his cloak. Then he took a handkerchief from his pocket and used it to wipe both his hands. "Suzuki-san, the butler, you were the one who found him right?"
"Y-Yes", Butler said.
"Where were you 40-50 minutes ago, around eight o'clock?" Kogorō asked.
"Around 8:00 I was in the dining room preparing dinner", The butler said.
"He's right. Suzuki-san was standing right in front of us, and was quite busy", Ran said.
"So the butler has an alibi. When you found the body, the door to the room was locked, right?" Kogorō asked.
"Yes", Butler said.
"How does the lock on the door to this room work?" Kogorō asked.
"Lock the door in question from the inside, but the only way to do it from outside the room is to lock the door with this key", Butler dug the key out of his coat pocket.
"Then that means no one came in because the windows in this room don't open either. In other words, Gozou-shi died in a locked room like Irene suggested earlier", Kogorō said.
"In a locked room?" The man standing next to Akie asked.
"Grandpa...committed suicide?" Akie asked.
"But that's strange. If there was a suicide, something that should be near the body is missing. That thing is a gun! He died from blood loss caused by a wound in his stomach. But there's no blade here that could have done it. So there's no murder still to rule out the options, that's why we don't see the murder weapon here. Based on that, it seems like the murderer took the murder weapon with him when he fled this crime scene", Kogorō said.
"Maybe that weapon was a spike made of ice", The man standing next to Akie said. "There are mystery novels where a murder weapon made of ice is destroyed, and disappears".
"It is clear that if a person committing suicide did something like that, there would be water on the floor when the murder weapon made of ice melts. And there is no water visible on the floor of this room, which would normally appear when the murder weapon made of ice melts, so that alternative condition can be excluded from the calculations", Kogorō said.
"Pretty good reasoning skills for a detective", Akie said.
"My father used to work in the police homicide squad", Ran said.
"It was probably grandpa's way of getting rid of us. I bet he wanted to cast all suspicion on the Hatamoto family. Grandpa hated all of us. It's true. He hated all of us, except Natsue", Akie said and everyone looked at Natsue.
"B-Big sis!" Natsue yelled.
"I wouldn't say it's impossible", Jouji said.
"It's suicide! It has to be suicide!" The man standing next to Akie shouted.
There is blood on the doorstep of Gozou-shi's room, but not on this side of the doorstep, Shizuka thought after noticing the matter.
"I agree with Mōri-san about not jumping to conclusions and leaving murder out of the bills. I noticed something", Shizuka said.
"What?!" The man who had just spoken asked.
"Yeah. What did you notice?" Kogorō asked.
"It's quite a simple thing. There's a ve on the doorstep blood", Shizuka said:
"If this door was closed when Gozou-shi committed suicide, then there would be no blood on the doorstep of this room. In this sense, isn't it logical to think that Gozou-shi was stabbed while the door of this room was open?"
"I see. As soon as Gozou-shi left this room, the attacker stabbed him", Kogorō said after realizing the situation. "The murderer probably first lured Gozou-shi to the door of this room, and to open that door, and then the murderer stabbed Gozou-shi in the stomach".
"Then who locked the door?" The man standing next to Akie asked.
"It was most likely Gozou-shi himself", Kogorō said.
Everyone looked at Kogorō in surprise.
"Someone stabbed Gozou-shi just outside this room, and in order to get rid of the murderer, Gozou-shi ran into this room, locked the door of this room, and then died of blood loss", Kogorō said.
"I see. That makes sense", Jouji said. "The wounded father tried to escape from the murderer in this room, and locked the door before he died".
"What a brilliant conclusion, Mōri-san!" Shizuka praised Kogorō.
"Heh heh!" Kogorō chuckled. "Wait a minute. That means you all had the opportunity to commit this crime. The murder happened around 8:00. Ran, Irene, Natsue-san, and I were sitting in the dining room since 7:30, so we couldn't do it. We can say the same for Suzuki-san, since he was right next to our table at the time. In other words, the murder was committed by someone who was not in the dining room during the time of the hour I just mentioned. That murderer must be one of you 7 Hatamotos!"
"Suzuki-san, when you entered this room, did you notice anything strange then?" Kogorō asked.
"No, I didn't notice anything special then", Butler says. "Oh really! This flower was in front of the door of this room".
The butler dug out a red flower from the right pocket of his jacket.
"Flower?" Kogorō asked.
"It-it's the same flower I attached to Takeshi-san's jacket earlier", Natsue said after recognizing the flower the butler was currently displaying.
Everyone looked at Takeshi who looked nervous.
"Now that you mention it, Takeshi came to the dining hall quite late", Akie said.
"S-Stop joking like that. I was in my room then thinking..." Takeshi rubbed the back of his head with his left hand.
"Admit it, Takeshi-san", Mariko said. "I happened to overhear earlier what you and father were talking about earlier when you were in his room. I heard you two arguing then! I was so surprised I thought I was going to pass out when I heard that you're actually Zaiki Isao's son!"
Everyone looked at Takeshi in surprise.
"Who is this Zaiki Isao?" Kogorō asked the man Mariko had yelled at earlier on the deck of the ship.
"Zaiki Isao was the of Zaiki Industries managing director. 10 years ago, his company was taken over by my father, which drove Zaiki Isao to commit suicide. A year later, his wife died due to some illness, and I heard that their son was taken to a foster home", Mariko's man said. "So that boy is Takeshi-kun?"
"I-Is that true, Takeshi-san?" Natsue asked. "Takeshi-san!"
"It's true. I'm Zaiki Isao's son, Zaiki Takeshi!" Takeshi said. "B-But I.."
"To get a chance to avenge your father's death you approached Natsue-san didn't you?" Kogorō asked. "By doing that, you got into the Hatamoto family, and you waited for the chance to kill Gozou-shi. And then tonight, you executed your plan!"
"N-No! I didn't kill him!" Takeshi shouted. "Natsue, wait!"
Takeshi was about to follow Natsue, who ran away crying, but Jouji stopped him by grabbing his hand.
"I always thought you had a lot of potential, but I guess I was wrong", Jouji said.
"J-Jouji-san", Takeshi said.
"You must be out of your mind to leave a flower at a crime scene after committing a crime there first!" The man standing next to Akie said to Takeshi.
"I-I lost the flower somewhere!" Takeshi said.
Shizuka looked at the crime scene until she saw a very small crumb of bread in one of the pools of blood on the floor. It even had carbon footprints. Shizuka picked up the bread with Muru's right hand, and put it in her pants pocket, then closed the zipper of that pocket.
"It looks like the blood that was previously on the floor outside the door to this room has been wiped off by something in front of the door to this room", Shizuka thought as she saw said marks on the floor outside the door. Then he looked at the butler:
"Excuse me, Suzuki-san, but was that flower really the floor at this point?"
"Yes", Butler said.
"The bread crumb I just found was in the pool of blood inside that room. What does this mean?" Shizuka thought.
"Suzuki-san, was bread served at Natsue-san and Takeshi-san's wedding today?" Shizuka asked standing up.
"Of course it was served. It was a party where French food was served. The person who prepared it is Jouji-sama who owns a French restaurant", Suzuki said.
"So he's a chef. Did everyone eat his dishes today?" Shizuka asked.
"Yes, except Gozou-sama. He hated western food, and even the sight of bread made him want to throw up", Suzuki said.
"So Gozou-shi was picky about food", Shizuka said.
"A little", Suzuki said.
"Jouji-san is a chef, so he carries his own knives, right?" Shizuka asked.
"Of course. He always uses his favorite knife", Butler said. "Well, well. These are not things a young woman should think about. Don't think about these horrors".
"You're right", Shizuka said:
"Suzuki-san, Jouji-san, and Natsue-san seem social, unlike the rest of the Hatamoto family. So if I want to solve this case, I need to talk to them. Takeshi-san seems like a nice guy, so I don't think he committed this crime . From the outside, this may already seem like this murder is solved, but I feel like the murderer just decided to frame Takeshi-san as the culprit. Does someone hate Takeshi-san so much that they decided to frame Takeshi-san as the culprit?"
Shizuka followed the others while Takeshi was taken to a nearby warehouse, the door of which was locked from the outside.
"There you go. You can think about your actions in this warehouse", The man accompanying Akie said to Takeshi, locking the warehouse with the latch outside the door.
"Open! Please!" Takeshi shouted. "Please! I'm not a murderer!"
"You're really funny, murderer!" The man standing in front of Akie shouted. "We'll turn you over to the police as soon as we get to Tokyo tomorrow. Just wait!"
"Besides Takeshi's motive, you have more than enough evidence to prove his guilt. Don't you, detective?" Akie asked Kogorō.
"Yeah, he has a motive. Now if the fingerprints are on the murder weapon, then this is an open and shut case", Kogorō said.
"Irene, how do you know about closed room cases?" Kogorō asked.
"I saw one in a movie", Irene said.
"Aha", Kogorō said.
(Later)
Everyone was sitting in the dining room as Suzuki brought them drinks.
"Please", Suzuki placed the glasses on the tables.
"Thank you", Shizuka said.
"You were lucky, Mariko-aunt", Akie said. "Because Takeshi-san killed grandfather, that stupid pre-announcement of the inheritance was not announced".
"That's true", Mariko said. "Since I'm the eldest daughter, my husband is now in charge of the Hatamoto Group. Ichirou-san, you must continue drawing to your heart's content. And in the end, the Hatamoto Group will be yours".
"I-I don't care about that", Ichirou said.
"Hey, I guess you're not going to hijack all the inheritance for yourself, are you?" The man sitting next to Akie asked Mariko.
"Don't worry! Since you're my niece's husband, you'll get money too", Mariko said.
"Why don't you stop that?!" Jouji asked Mariko. "So talking about money the same night dad died".
"Don't act like a saint here just because you left our family to become a chef! I know everything! You asked dad to lend you money for your restaurant, and he ruthlessly rejected your request! You wanted money too! Admit that you're happy about what happened to dad", Mariko said.
"Excuse me Suzuki-san, but who is he?" Shizuka asked looking at the man sitting next to Akie.
"He's Hatamoto Tatsua, Akie-sama's husband. He's a musician", Suzuki said walking up to Mariko's desk:
"Hmm...I don't know how to say this, but in case something happened to him, Gozou-sama had made a will".
"What?!" Mariko asked.
"I think Gozou-sama had planned to reveal the contents of his will very soon", Suzuki said.
"Th-then that means that", Tatsua said nervously standing up.
"That grandpa's entire inheritance will go to Natsue!" Akie shouted in disbelief.
"Yes, and the Hatamoto Group is run by someone chosen by Natsue-sama", Suzuki said.
"It-It can't be!" Mariko said.
"I already said before grandpa's murder that grandpa has possibly chosen Natsue as his heir", Akie said, remembering what she had whispered to Mariko before.(Something I made up myself.)
"I don't believe it! Then why did I even marry Akie?" Tatsua said angrily.
"Did you actually marry me just to get my grandfather's inheritance?" Akie asked Tatsua.
"Yeah, because it's true! Who else would want to marry your lass, golden snob?" Tatsua asked Akie.
"Look who's talking! You have no talent and yet you want to be a musician!" Akie yelled at Tatsua. "Why don't you get a job instead?"
Tatsua left the dining room, and Akie went to the kitchen to get some food.
Kogorō also went to the kitchen to get food.
"Sorry, Jouji-san. Natsue-san, and Akie-san are quite different even though they are sisters, aren't they?" Shizuka asked.
"Yes", Jouji said.
"Natsue-san gets along well with everyone", Shizuka said.
"Yeah. He's positive", Jouji said, and went to the kitchen to get some food.
"I'm going to look Natsue-san", Shizuka said.
"Wait, because I have something for him too", Ran said.
The girls left the dining room, and searched for Natsue for a while until they found him on the deck of the ship.
There were stars and clouds in the sky.
"Natsue-san", Ran said. "What are you doing here?"
"It's nothing. I was just thinking", Natsue said.
"Are your thoughts about Takeshi-san?" Ran asked.
"I believed him", Natsue cried. "I believed Takeshi-san. But he only married me so he could murder my grandfather to avenge his father's death! I can never...never trust anyone again!"
"You know what? I don't believe Takeshi-san is your grandfather's murderer, even if the accusation against Taskeshi-san is now strong in every way. I believe in his innocence because of his character", Shizuka said. "I read in a book a case where a girl went to a store with her father, While living in the country. It was such a small village that everyone there knew each other. Once, when the girl left the store with her father, the shopkeeper prevented them from leaving. In the pocket of the girl's father's coat, they found namely the chocolate bar then. The shopkeeper was also familiar, and said he would look into it if the man would just admit that he had taken the chocolate bar, but the man did not admit it, because he had not taken the chocolate bar. I suspect that someone tried to scroll in that case the reason for pinching the girl's father's neck by putting the chocolate bar in the man's jacket pocket. The girl then heard her gentle father's cry for the first time. The shopkeeper could not help but call the police. The girl then told the police that she saw that her father did not pinch the chocolate disk. But only the girl's father believed his daughter. The girl's father worked in the agricultural plant of that area, and he was suspended from his post for a couple of months. Soon after, the overly responsible man divorced his wife and moved out of his wife's and daughter's home. I guess he couldn't stand being suspected of being a thief. However, the daughter was sure of her father's innocence because of her father's character, and decided to love both of her parents. He apparently found it difficult when his words about his father's innocence were not believed. Even her mother didn't seem to believe her daughter's words about the innocence of the girl's father. Maybe Takeshi-san feels really bad now that no one seems to believe in his innocence".
Natsue looked at the girls curiously.
"Irene-chan is right, as I believe in Takeshi-san too", Ran said. "I'm not sure why I believe him. I don't think Takeshi-san is a bad person. I mean, he's the person you chose, right? He can't possibly be a bad person!"
"Ran-san, Irene-san", Natsue said.
Shizuka took off her jacket, and put it on the shoulders of Natsue standing in front of her:
"You're welcome".
"Thank you", Natsue said.
Molsk! Dhak! Shizuka looked around after first hearing a recent splash, and then a sound that resembled a thump.
"Say, did you just hear something strange?" Shizuka asked.
"Did you hear something Natsue-san?" Ran asked.
"No, nothing", Natsue said.
"I definitely heard something", Shizuka thought. "It was the sound that comes from dropping something into the water, and then there was a loud thud. It came from the lower deck of this ship!"
Shizuka started running towards the stairs leading to the lower deck of the ship.
"Irene-chan!" Ran, and Natsue followed Shizuka curiously. "Wait! What's wrong?!"
After running for a while, Shizuka and Ran stopped when they saw Tatsua slumped against the edge of the lower deck with a gash on his head and blood on his face.
"Hey, you two! What…" Natsue stopped when she saw Tatsua. "Yeeeeeeee!"
With Natsu's shout, everyone came to the lower deck of the ship.
Kogorō began examining Tatsua's wound:
"The cause of death is likely to be a concussion caused by a blow to the victim's head. Upon closer inspection, it appears that the weapon was something like a lead pipe".
"Who-who who could have done such a horrible thing?" Natsue asked.
"C-Could it be T-Takeshi?" Mariko asked.
"That's absurd. The warehouse is locked", Kogorō wiped his hands on a handkerchief.
Shizuka started running towards the warehouse.
"Hey, what now, Irene?!" Kogorō, and the others followed Shizuka.
"It's open!" Shizuka said after noticing that the warehouse lock was open.
Kogorō grabbed the handle of the warehouse door, and pulled the door open to find Takeshi gone.
"He is gone!" Shizuka yelled, and pressed the wristwatch she got from Agasa, the flashlight method turned on, allowing Shizuka to explore the dark warehouse from outside the door.
"Where did you get that wristwatch?" Kogorō asked.
"My uncle did it. That way the flashlight doesn't get wasted", Shizuka said.
"Good invention", Kogorō said.
"Thank you. I'll tell my uncle what you think. He'll be happy about it", Shizuka said.
"What? Takeshi wasn't in stock?!" Mariko asked after arriving with the others.
"We definitely closed the warehouse door, and we locked him in there, but he's absent", Kogorō said.
"So-so the person who killed my father and Tatsua-san is Takeshi?" Mariko asked.
Akie cried. He had previously hugged Tatsua.
"The loud noise Irene heard earlier was most likely the murderer hitting Tatsua-san. The splash Irene heard earlier could have been the murderer throwing his murder weapon into the ocean, or the murderer jumping into the sea realizing there was no way to run", Kogorō suggested.
"Takeshi-san", Natsue said.
"In any case, there is a strong possibility that the murderer is still on this ship. For now, I ask you all to seek safety in the mess hall", Kogorō said.
"I haven't done anything to Takeshi to make him want to kill me!" Mariko shouted.
"Have you forgotten his motives yet?" Kogorō asked Mariko. "Takeshi blamed Hatamoto Gozou-shi for his father's death 10 years ago. It's possible that Takeshi plans to kill every last member of the Hatamoto family to avenge his father's death on all of you!"
Hatamoto's family members looked nervous.