Welcome once again, one and all, to the best Persona 4 fic out there! Yes, another grand installment of such incredible storytelling prowess it has to be seen to be believed. Oh, but don't take my word for it, read and witness it for yourself! After a brief word to our sponsors, we'll get right into such meticulous mastery you'll be bolted to your chair from start to finish!
SeiryuuXPersona: Glad you liked it!
Zelenal: Thanks for the review! As to my writing style, I generally outline what I want to happen and work out how it fits with the direction of the story and then write it. I know where the story will go and what direction it will take to get there, but I allow myself some freedom for spontaneity so that, if something needs to change in the moment, I have the freedom and means to make it happen. Some of my best lines and ideas have come from those impulses, after all, so I keep up the balancing act and mostly pull it off with aplomb.
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Binbix: Glad you're enjoying the story! The aftermath of the battles in the TV World was always a point of interest to me, so that's what I wrote in the story. It felt fitting and it's led to some very interesting twists along the way. People are a compilation of their life experiences, after all, both good and bad. With that in hand, why would I not go with it? Thanks again, and hope you like this one!
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Chapter 34
It was late in the morning when the group assembled in Souji's apartment to discuss what they knew. Everyone was gathered around the kitchen table, notes and ideas and half-thought suggestions across the surface in a scattering of sketches and paper.
"I can't believe I overlooked that," Souji swore. "Simplest trick in the playbook. He knows where I'm going to school, knows how to get in touch with me, even told me he knew where I'm living, and I miss something like whose name is on the lease."
"It's something we all missed," Yosuke pointed out. "Your dad's been bent on you and Yukiko-san this whole time, why would you think he'd take an interest in any one of us?"
"I feel like a dolt for missing that myself," Kou added. "I've never given a lot of weight to my family's name, but a lot of people have in the past. Figures it'd be a businessman who sniffs out the connection and does something with it."
Souji glanced over. "Is everything okay with them?"
"It was when I called them. They knew what had happened and said they were looking into it. I have an appointment with a representative of the family later, see if I can get some more details."
"I still can't believe this. Sorry, Kou, I missed this angle entirely."
"It's no problem. Your dad's in his position because he's good at what he does, of course he's going to find things we overlooked."
"Maybe, but…"
Yoshiro glanced over, his voice unbending. "Dude, if you're done beating yourself up about this, there's a problem to solve and we'd love your input. Seems to me you guys have enough trouble without you getting stuck on yourself at the end of the first quarter."
Conversation at the table ceased and eyes went to the two guys.
Souji winced. "That's a foul play. You're interrupting me feeling sorry for myself."
"Sorry, do you need a few more minutes?"
"Nah, I'm good." Souji stood. "What does he stand to gain from this? It's not the same like with Yukiko and the inn, right?"
"It doesn't seem to be," Yukiko noted. "Making problems for a small business isn't the same as going after a family like the Ichijous."
"They haven't had any issues like what the Amagis are going through," Kou confirmed. "If anything, it made the issue a bit more relevant to Mom and Dad. They said they'd pitch in and help if you need it, Yukiko-san."
"That's appreciated, thank you."
"That still raises the question of what he meant to get out of this," Souji noted. "Was it just to make me jump or was it something else like–"
The door buzzer went off, then a second later Souji's phone rang. He checked it and answered it, tapped the code on the wall, and let out a breath. "News travels fast. My mother's on her way up."
That sent a few ripples through the group, not least of which was from the natural trepidation felt by a group of twenty-somethings when an authority figure was coming to call.
"Do you think she knows what's going on?" Yosuke asked.
"I'd bet my own money on it. She's smart and has a finger to the pulse of this stuff, so I doubt she'd leave any avenues unturned."
A minute later, Izumi was in the doorway, welcomed in by Yukiko and Chie. Introductions went around and then she looked at the brainstorming session in action and asked, "What have you covered so far?"
"We were going over what the motive behind this might be," Souji replied. "Figured that would be the place to start."
"That's a place to start, but not the only one. Have you decided what you're going to do now?"
"Respond. I kind of have to, right?"
"Yes, but by doing what? By going where?"
Souji bit back his knee-jerk answer and gestured to her. "I'm open to advice. The natural thing to do would be to chase the lead left by whoever took shots at Kou's family, see who did it and how and try to patch things up there. Except if I follow that trend, then that means I'm constantly reacting to whatever he does, doesn't it?"
"That's right."
"You think I should let it go, then?"
"I advise you to keep moving forward. You can't change what's already happened and it doesn't serve you to try. From what I've seen of the Ichijous, they can look after themselves. They don't need you to apologize when the fight is still going on, and if you try that and run into someone who stands to get something out of you, then you're getting it from two fronts."
Souji hadn't thought of that.
"You'll have plenty of time to make amends when this is over," Izumi went on. "But right now there's work to be done."
"What kind of work?"
"Whatever gets you closer to something you can use. You've been following those leads, right?"
"What I can, yes. Then this happened, and, well, you get it."
"That's why he did it. Not to pick a fight on another front, but to make you jump and see how you would react. If you stop and lose your momentum now, or if you let this distract you from what you're really after, you're in trouble."
"How are we supposed to stop someone who can hit anywhere he wants?" Chie asked. "If we move, he can hit us. If we don't move, he can hit us."
Izumi looked her over speculatively, then smiled. "Put it into the context of martial arts. That's in your wheelhouse, isn't it?"
"Wait, you can tell?"
"I've practiced tai chi for years. Even got into a few scraps myself when I was younger. I know what to look for. It's not so different when you think about it – you're in it to win it, there can only be one winner, and fighting dirty is a tactic, not a rule-breaker. Now, if you're against someone like this in a fight and you're not about to take their shit, what do you do?"
Yosuke and Yoshiro were giving Souji a look that clearly said, Dude, your mom is awesome.
"I'd take the hits and keep going," Chie decided after a moment. "You're going to get hurt in any fight you get into, so your best bet is to power through and finish things as soon as you can."
"Very good. That's your answer." Izumi looked at them. "It's worth saying now that you have to give it 100% in cases like this. I'd take it further and say that applies to any situation in life if you don't want to wind up eating dust. You're already up to your eyes in it so you have to put everything into this. Don't hold back, don't get careless, and don't ever let emotions or fairness get in the way of what you have to do. If you hesitate or pull your punches, you'll be working at a disadvantage, and in this business, second place is just the first-place loser."
"You know it's your husband we're talking about here, right?" Yoshiro asked. "The guy you married and live with and all?"
"I do know. He plays the game as much as I do and he knows how these things go. Like Satonaka said, you don't pick a fight without expecting to get hit back, and if you lose because you're careless or stupid, then you deserve it."
"Go at him full tilt, with everything I have." Souji smiled. "I have your permission? Everyone here's a witness"
"If I find out you had a chance and didn't take it, I'll smack you myself. You'll deserve it."
"Yes, ma'am."
"This still leaves us at a disadvantage, doesn't it?" Megumi asked. "He's got the first and second shot already underway, so who knows what his plans are?"
"Fighting at a disadvantage doesn't mean losing out of the gate, Takenaka," Chie replied softly. "It's the last punch that matters most. Just means we have to find our own way forward and hit him where it hurts. Everyone has a weakness, we just have to find his."
"Can you help us with that, ma'am?" Yukiko asked of Izumi.
Izumi, however, was looking at Megumi like she'd never seen her before. "Takenaka? Are you Megumi? Junko's daughter?"
Megumi jolted like she'd been zapped. "We're estranged."
"But that is who you are."
"Yes. Why?"
Izumi tugged the girl off to the side, talking in low tones. The meeting went on for another twenty minutes, plans were discussed and worked out and discarded as needed, before Izumi got up again.
"Leaving so soon?" Souji asked.
"There's something I need to look into. If I can help, I will, but it's better if we don't know the details of what the other is digging into." She smiled ruefully. "What we don't know, we can't tip off to anyone else, and you can bet that people will be watching how you react."
"Will you be okay working alone like that?"
"I'm used to it. I do my best work solo." Izumi sighed and turned to Megumi. "It's none of my business, but I hope you don't hold a grudge against your mother. She's… well, she wasn't always like that."
Megumi's eyes narrowed in anger. "Respectfully, ma'am, what do you know about it?"
"I know she used to be a lot more than she is now. A lot more. I've tried to help her get back up to that."
"And how's that going?"
"Poorly, but I'm still working at it."
"You're right – it's none of your business. She's my mom, but you should have heard some of the things she said to me, seen some of the things she did. Where she is now, that's not a parent – it's a walking disaster. I don't have time for that in my life."
Izumi smiled. "I think every child thinks that way about their parents. You have valid reason to feel this way, I'm not suggesting you don't, but it's not as easy as you might think it is."
"Oh yeah?"
"I used to think the same way about my parents. My brother and I were always close, and we still are, but growing up it felt like our parents were from another planet or something. Why couldn't they understand us? Why couldn't they get things right? It wasn't until I had Souji that I realized what being a mother is really like."
"That's an excuse," Megumi ground out.
"Maybe it sounds like one, but when you have children, call me when you figure them out. And not when they're teenagers and adults, but when they're young and impressionable, when it counts the most to be there with them and you're dealing with your own life and everything else that's going on all at once around you. If you figure that out, I'll take my words back, because Souji didn't come with an instruction manual or a time machine, and I promise you that you didn't either. Parents have to balance raising their kids with being a spouse and dealing with everything that life is throwing at them at the time, and in your mother's case, life has one hell of an arm. I'll be clear about this: I'm not making excuses for her or for myself. I won't deny that I made mistakes with my own family. But I'm here, trying my best, and I will say that she did what she could with what she had, the same as I'm trying to right now. Maybe that's flawed, maybe it's even falling completely short of the mark, but we're still just people doing the best we can. Sometimes we pull it off, sometimes we don't."
"You know what she's like now, right?"
"Yes. And I even know why, the whole reason, start to finish. Do you?"
Megumi said nothing.
"Maybe that's a reason for you to talk to her, maybe it isn't. It's your choice and I'm not here to preach to you. But before burying her and throwing away the shovel, try to get the whole picture first." Izumi looked over at Souji. "You've come to the right answer on all this. Keep moving forward, call in whatever favors you need to, and don't stop for anything. You've got connections you can use, so use them. I'm going to do the same on my end."
"Moving separately to cover more ground?"
"Yes, and he'll expect me to tell you what to do. He knows how I operate, so that would just put you at a disadvantage. Contact me if you need to, but this is the best way to go."
"Got it."
Izumi looked like she had more to say, like she wanted to hug Souji, but she turned contemplative, the gears turning behind her eyes as she mulled things over. At last she nodded and left with a brief parting to Souji and Yukiko.
Yoshiro looked at his girlfriend. "What did she ask you?"
"She wanted to talk about my dad. Businesses practices, where he was at particular times of the year, that sort of thing. I haven't seen him in forever and I have no idea how she knew about him." Megumi's tone told them all how little she wanted to discuss it.
"We have a place to start," Souji concluded. "There's lots to do, so let's get to it and see what we can dig up. I'm not sure about you guys, but I'm sick of lagging behind."
It was later that same day when Souji and Yukiko rang a doorbell and were let into the residence of their first and most prominent contact.
"I did say that I'd help you if you needed it," Minoru-san said, "but I didn't expect it to be this quick."
Souji and Yukiko had come to the Koyama residence to make good on that very promise, making a quick call and getting a quicker time to come over without any questions asked. Souji had spoken carefully around exactly what information he needed and about whom, but a calculating query from the older man pushed him to get to the point. That had resulted in the pair making an in-person visit wherein Akane-chan had immediately glomped onto Souji, introduced herself to Yukiko with a cheery smile, and urged them to come see her new baby brother, Sanosuke. The women huddled in the living room while the men spoke off to the side.
"I didn't expect to need it this soon, either," Souji answered, standing straight and carefully minding his manners. Minoru-san and Etsuko-san had always told him to be comfortable in their home, but the few times he had been here, same as now, he found it a challenge to relax. Whether it was that Minoru-san was his boss, that it was quite a nice home to be in, or some other instinct that kept Souji tense, he didn't know, but it was there. "I'd hoped that this matter would stay small and localized, but certain other parties have made that impossible."
"Life is like that. Business is like that even more."
There was a short cry from the pair's new son. Etsuko-san waved to them to continue their conversation, seeing to the boy, but Yukiko stepped over and said, "Is there anything I can do to help?"
Etsuko-san seemed about to brush off the offer, but she got a canny look in her eye that Souji mostly missed, a look that all women know by the time they emerge from the cradle, and offered their son to her. "If you could hold him for a minute, that would be fine."
"Are you sure? I've never really…"
"It's fine, dear. Just hold his head like this and his legs here and… perfect, just like that."
Yukiko sat stiffly on the couch in the living room and gently rocked the boy under Etsuko-san's guidance and advice. The child squirmed and flailed, then cooed and giggled, then gurgled into sleep.
"There you are. He's not easy to get to sleep once he gets going. You're a natural."
Yukiko said nothing, only smiling and rocking, her face shifting into a look that was half foreign and half familiar. Souji wished it wouldn't be strange to catch it on camera and frame it on a wall, but then he was sure he wouldn't forget it, either. His beloved looked soft, content and gentle with the baby in her arms, but there was a hint of that velvet-covered steel that he'd seen so often in the TV World, the grit that pushed her past her limits time and again in the face of adversity. Even if this was the first time she'd met Sanosuke, Souji wondered if the baby felt safe in her arms and that was why he was content to sleep so deeply against her. And she would make sure that the baby continued to feel safe in her arms, he knew. With the sole exception of the infant's parents, Yukiko would fight anyone who tried to take the child from her just then and until such a thing happened she would watch over him for as long as she was permitted.
Tender and caring, eyes half-lidded, hair falling from her shoulder and obscuring the view of her face, creating a little haven for her and the baby that stopped anyone from wanting to interrupt. It made Souji wonder what she might look like with their children, if she would nurture them in that same way. It was the first time he'd ever seen this side of her, but the prognosis was pretty positive.
He didn't see the knowing look Etsuko-san gave him, and it wasn't until Minoru-san cleared his throat that Souji got his head back in the game. "Sorry, my mind was elsewhere."
The older man smiled. "It's quite all right. I understand."
Akane-chan went over to them, eager to talk about "what Onii-chan is like," with Yukiko, and soon the girls were keeping to themselves in their little corner of the house. Etsuko-san didn't take Sanosuke back, and Yukiko rocked him on and on, even unconsciously shifting her grip to keep him comfortable.
"Let's talk in here," Minoru-san said, leading Souji into an office walled with books. "The women can have their time together. Etsuko doesn't get that often enough."
"She must be busy looking after the kids. It makes sense," Souji offered.
"It's not just that. The other women in the area like her, from what I understand, but she's not fond of their chatter or cattiness, as she calls it. She prefers people of character, which is probably why she welcomed Amagi so easily. She can see it and so can I – that girl's a keeper."
Souji couldn't keep the smile from his face. "I know. Some days, I… I know she's special. One of a kind."
"And you've already put a ring on her. Smart man. But, back to business. You certainly don't do things in half measures, do you? I thought this matter of yours was a simple family dispute or difference of opinions, but to call it something else is quite the understatement."
"You're not wrong. My father is… well, he is who he is. It might sound strange to say this, but I never expected to see this side of him or the business he's in. It was always something he did off somewhere else and it didn't have anything to do with me. Now it's right in front of me and I'd hoped never to have to deal with it."
"You've been fortunate not to up to this point. He knows a lot of people and he plays for high stakes. If I'm being honest, I have no desire to see where this goes between you and him. I suspect that I will see it regardless of that wish – the business world isn't as large as it seems, and I'll keep my promise to help you – but he is certainly not an enemy I would have picked on my own. Not if he has the stones to poke at the Ichijou family like you describe."
"Should I do anything about that?"
"It sounds like you've been given advice on the matter so far. It's solid and I suggest you follow it. What's done is done so your best hope is to follow your own leads and keep pushing. If you find something important, then that's when he won't have the time to go after those around you. If you flinch or show weakness, if you stop at all, he'll take a bigger chunk out of you. Then you'll get angry or scared and do something careless and then he has you right where he wants you, for whatever reasons he has."
"My mother said the same thing."
"As I said, you're operating on good advice. I recognized your name when we met, but I was glad to see your father's attitude hadn't rubbed off on you. Then again, I doubt he would have saved Akane like you did without even knowing her, so that's a moot point regardless."
Souji still wasn't good at taking praise, deserved or not, so he pressed on. "Where should I go from here? I need to find something he can't ignore, dig up a weak point to hit him where it matters, so where do I start?"
"That's a hard question to answer. Everyone in this business has a weakness in the same way that we all have a price. Often those two things are one and the same, and it's only a fool who thinks he's invulnerable. The way to stay afloat in this pond is to know the weak spots of the other fish but to not let anyone know that you know. It's uncertainty and the threat of mutual destruction that keeps the rules followed and makes certain that we're all polite to each other. It sounds crazy to describe it like this, but it's all part of the game. The fact remains, however, that your father is quite adept at keeping his weak spots hidden. He has them, I'm sure, but people have tried to dig into them and find out how to topple him. He's still here and they aren't, so that should tell you how successful they were. Odds are that he has cohorts, people in similar positions to himself, and they're why he can do as he does with impunity, but they're also going to be protected in their own way, perhaps even more than he is, so you'd be starting with less than nothing if you went after them. There's also the threat created by making a scandal of your own, either by fabricating a convincing lie or by provoking him into a careless move, but I don't see that being easy and I don't think you have that much time."
"It probably isn't, and I don't. I'd like to get back to my life while I still have the chance of it being normal. As to those other people you mentioned, dealing with him is enough for me already, I don't need more enemies. If other people have tried to take him down before, do you know where they started or what they turned up? Any promising leads you've heard?"
Minoru-san smiled. It wasn't a pleasant smile, nor was it the expression Souji was accustomed to seeing at work. This was the look of a man who had seen things and made decisions and kept going where other people either didn't or couldn't. "This is where it gets challenging. If I give you specific information, then I risk opening myself to an attack that I'd rather not fend off right now. A slight exaggeration, but if we're all in the situation I described to you then that means me too, and I'd rather not have to deal with those things. Etsuko and the kids especially don't need to deal with it. So all I have is a rumor. And I'm confident that it's got some validity to it. That's a common trick, actually – either promoting a false rumor or making one up about yourself and then letting people chase it right into a trap. Ambitious entry-level workers and nosy journalists jump at the bait and get into trouble all the time that way, and you get to play it off as being the victim of slander."
"This is sounding less like back-room business deals and more like a cloak-and-daggers political conspiracy," Souji admitted.
"Power and money go hand in hand. You bring up politics and you're not far from the mark. There's no small number of Diet members who have shady connections and want them kept private. They'll work quite hard to keep those connections private, actually, and they'll throw anyone, even the people who facilitated those connections, under the bus if it serves their purpose. Knowing all this, I can't point you directly at anything. This is not just for my sake, but if I'm wrong and you step on someone else's toes and get a bad reaction, then you've got an even bigger problem on your hands."
"I imagine that would amuse Dad all by itself," Souji noted grimly. "But whether it does or not, I'd rather not make that mistake."
"Smart man. Don't give me details, but you're spreading your efforts around?"
"Yes. Through other people, here and elsewhere."
"Good. Tell them to stay on the trail even if things get difficult. It's not an exact science, but the harder it is to move forward, the closer you are to something important, and if you chase the lies enough, they'll lead to the truth. What I'll give you is some names and an address. They were, or are, people who worked for your father and had dealings with some other interesting people. The information's commonplace enough in our circles that it could come from any number of people, but it's a trail you'll have to follow on your own."
"Have other people followed these leads before?"
"Other people knew of them, but they didn't dig deep enough."
"You're speaking in past tense. How up to date is this information?"
"Several years. But the address has remained the same."
"I assume these people are still at this place? Do you know if they've moved?"
"Oh, I'm quite confident they're still there. It's not a place one leaves easily."
Souji raised an eyebrow. "I'm probably not going to like the answer to this, but it's not prison, is it?"
"No, no, no place quite so pedestrian. But you'll see that for yourself." Minoru-san looked at him intensely. "I hope you know how seriously you have to take this, Souji. He's already made his move and there's no stepping back from this, so you had better give it your all no matter how hard it gets."
Souji stared right back. "I know what the stakes are. I'm not going to run and hide, and I'm certainly not going to give up. I want my life – our life, mine and Yukiko's – to be ours and no one else's. That means putting this to rest, once and for all, whatever it takes."
Minoru-san smiled grimly. "It's good you understand that. Keep that determination close, because this won't take you anyplace nice. I'll help you further if you need it, but this is where you can start."
"Thanks, but I know the risks you've taken so far. I won't put you in the line of fire if I don't need to, not when you have a family of your own." Souji rose and bowed. "Thank you again. Please take care of Akane-chan and Etsuko-san."
"I will. You look after your lovely bride as well."
They rejoined the women after that. Yukiko was still holding Sanosuke and talking to Akane-chan, Etsuko-san insisted on making lunch. An hour later the pair left the house and headed for the train station to take them to the address Minoru-san had provided.
"They're nice people," Yukiko said as they walked. "Etsuko-san especially. You can tell she loves Minoru-san, even if he's older than her. And their kids are so cute."
"They all liked you. Akane-chan especially."
"She thinks the world of you, you know."
Souji smiled. "We'll have to let her down gently; I'm already taken." He looked around, noticed that they were in a lull in pedestrian traffic, and pulled her close and kissed her.
She squeaked in surprise, but hummed happily and kissed him back. When they broke apart, she asked, "What was that for? Tell me so we can do it again."
"I wanted to do it. That's all."
"Well, when we get back to your room…"
He smiled. "I missed you too." He slipped his arm around her waist, letting her rest against his side, her head on his shoulder. "Now, let's go to work."
"Yes, yes," she murmured.
When they got to the address, however, their lightheartedness faded. Souji had some idea of what to expect, knowing the area relatively well, but he still double-checked the address and the name of the place when they arrived.
A cemetery. The address Minoru-san gave him led right to a graveyard.
"Not a promising start," he noted.
"Did we wind up at a… dead end?" Yukiko giggled.
Souji groaned and walked in. Even in the middle of the city there was a respectful hush about the place, the sense of turning away and letting the dead rest. Souji looked up and down rows and began to read the headstones. "He said that other people weren't digging deep enough," Souji mused. "Setting aside the idea of an illegal exhumation, there's something here that gives us a starting point, but it's not immediately obvious. You take that side, I'll take this one.
The names Minoru-san had given were Tani Youta and Shiratori Takehiko. No details or specifics, just those names and the address. Souji hadn't heard of either man and didn't remember his parents ever mentioning them. It made him wish he could go back in time and take greater interest in those conversations.
The two went up and down the grave markers and jotted down close similarities until Yukiko called him over, finding something close to a clean match, one Tani Daiki, deceased as of eight years ago.
"He lived to be 69," Yukiko noted. "Seems like quite an old age if someone murdered him."
The calm tone she took when considering that possibility chilled Souji just a little.
"And these plots," she continued. "They're working class, not business or from a rich family. The location, the size, it's like this was the best the family could do."
"I see your point, but where'd you get the idea from?"
"We had a funeral service contact us once for sponsorship to set up in Inaba. They had a lot of literature on the subject, all their prices and options, that sort of thing. It stood out to me. Their plans fell through when they couldn't come to an agreement with the mayor, so it wound up being nothing, but…"
"That's my girl. What else does it tell you?"
Yukiko walked around the grave plot, a thoughtful frown on her face. "It feels… incomplete. I think this was meant to be a family plot for other relatives, maybe siblings or kids now that they could afford to be here, but it's like someone stopped halfway and now they've left it. I don't think there's anything specific that's giving me that impression, no clear evidence or anything, but that's the feeling I get."
"That's more than I'm getting, so we'll go with it. I didn't see any plots for Shiratori, so I wonder if this is a one-off." Souji thought it over. "People in business, tied to my father, but the family grave plot doesn't reflect a high income and there's a chance it was meant for more people, suggesting a long-term investment. There aren't any other names to suggest a family plot, so I wonder if the family moved here from somewhere else, tried to start over, and they planned to put down roots. Maybe someone got in over their head, tried to take a shortcut and got the wrong kind of attention."
"Obituaries would be the next step," Yukiko advised. "Or funeral home web sites. They make a big deal out of broadcasting which families use their services as a way to advertise, usually for a discount." She smiled. "It was something else that company talked about."
Souji kissed the top of her head. "I couldn't do this without you. Let's see what we can find."
They went back to the apartment and scoured the internet for hours and came up with a lot but only a little at the same time. The Tani family originally settled out near Kyoto and many of them still lived there. The news archived their articles and talked of a particularly messy divorce between Tani Daiki and his second wife, a woman whom even the generally-neutral news articles couldn't speak well of. Her influence on his family had been poisonous and his other children and nieces and nephews broke ties with him, but Tani Youta had come east with him, looking after his grandfather in his ailing health. Of Youta-san there was no news, but the funeral company that had provided the plots, just as Yukiko guessed, posted that Daiki-san had died of fast-acting dementia. When Souji looked up the court records of the divorce, it showed that Daiki-san had been of sound mind at the time, just three years before his death, so his demise seemed to be natural and age related.
"I'll ask Doujima if he can find anything," Souji said. "See if there was anything unusual about Daiki-san's condition or if there were any incidents worth noting."
"I hope he was pleasant," Yukiko put in. "I know some nursing students who are putting time in at the Kyoto hospital. Dementia patients can be challenging. It might give us false positives if he was violent or difficult to handle. Still, that's a good thread to pull on. Ask if he can pull any records on Youta-san as well, because I can't find much after they moved here. I also got the feeling like no one had been to the gravesite recently. The city's staff clean the graves as part of their regular maintenance, but it didn't seem like someone had been caring for it outside of that."
"Your feelings have been on point so far, so it's worth checking. What do we have on Shiratori?"
Shiratori's past, they learned after a few more hours of research, was as impressive as it was checkered. He entered the police system at the age of sixteen for drug possession, two more misdemeanor raps by the time he turned twenty which led to his name making the court records, and other minor offenses like battery, trespassing, stalking his girlfriend once, and several altercations with the family doctor. What kept his prison sentences short was his good behavior on the inside and being properly medicated – Shiratori's behavior indicated that he was on the spectrum, probably a high-functioning autistic. His parents had worked to help him, but when his father declared bankruptcy and his mother died of an aneurysm, treatment for his condition fell to the wayside. His academic skills were remarkable, however. His knack for languages, mathematics and patterns giving him a great insight into day trading in the stock market and the bedrock for investment patterns Souji recognized from class and from work. At last report he'd found the right balance in his life and had found a partner he was going into business with, back in the same three-year span as when Daiki-san and Youta-san came to town.
"Now we have a timeline," Souji concluded. "We know when these guys were active around eight years ago, we know they aren't anymore, or at least that we can't find them very easily, and we know that they both had reasons to go into business, which ties them to my father somehow."
"This is digging into old stuff," Yukiko noted. "If we assume that Daiki-san's death was the point this all ended, you and I were twelve to fifteen years old when this was going on. Some of those records won't be on the internet, and it's not like we can interview the family without Doujima-san or Naoto."
"It won't be easy," Souji agreed, "but we've come this far. If Minoru-san is right and other people weren't digging deep enough, then I wonder if what we're looking for is even online. It could all be on paper, kept in an archive somewhere." He tapped his table thoughtfully. "I'll send what we have to Naoto, see if there's anything on her end that stands out."
Yukiko pulled her phone out, set it to speaker, and dialed a number. "I just had an idea."
Two rings later, a familiar voice picked up. "Inoue."
"Inoue-san, it's Amagi Yukiko, Risette's friend," Yukiko greeted. "Do you have a moment?"
"Amagi… Ah, of course! Tall, black hair, you know you'd make for a great contrast for Risette if you want to get into modeling. I know four magazines that would be perfect for you. I can see it now: Classical Beauty of our Homeland, the Debut of the Century!"
"Thank you for the offer, but modeling wouldn't work with my future plans."
"That's a shame. I've got a competitor near Tokyo who's bankrolling this blonde he says is half-Japanese, but if you saw her you wouldn't believe it either. Great presence and a natural in the clothes she tries on, she really knows the business and she's hungry for work, but… well, that's my problem and not yours. What can I do for you? Risette said you might call."
"Do you know anyone in hospital records? Someone who has access to stuff that might not be converted to an online database?"
"That's quite a question to ask."
"We're looking into something that dates back to when we were teenagers. Not everyone will have upgraded their systems in that time and I know that some hospitals don't have the budget to convert everything to electronics. It's a bit of a long shot, but I felt like I might ask."
"It's not as long a shot as you think. You didn't hear this from me, but the model business is as cutthroat as they come. Information and scandal are the grease that turn the gears, so we're all looking for the juiciest scoop on a competitor. That means hospitality managers who book weekend getaways, freelance photographers for the right shots, and, yes, people in hospitals who notice if someone's not eating well or is expressing signs of drug dependence."
"That's… quite cutthroat."
"Like I said, you didn't hear anything from me. I might know some people who know things, so give me what you have and I'll look into it. It might take a while, though, so you should tap into other sources if this is a rush."
"We've taken that into consideration. Anything you can give us would be excellent."
She sent the names and dates over and ended the call.
It was late by then. The two turned his laptop off and put their phones to the side, resting together and staring out his window.
Things were moving at a sharp pace, and the familiar scent of a trail to chase kept them both thinking long after they said they were done for the day. They were both mulling over one point, however, that tumbled around their minds, something so easily predictable that they didn't even need to ask if that was what the other was thinking.
With so many threads to follow and so much happening, what were they going to find at the place where everything met?
It was that same night that Izumi walked up to Junko's place without hesitation. The months before and since her last visit with her friend had seen very little progress on mending this bridge. She'd tried to help, had tried to talk her past everything and get her to move forward, but dancing a tango on ice would have yielded better results. Texts often went unread and unanswered, the tone of what replies were given became harsher and bitchier, and there were long stretches where Izumi just didn't bother and let her friend stew in her misery. At the time, Izumi had been content to stay the course and hope it would all blow over in due time. She'd had the time to wait, after all.
But now Izumi didn't have the time for stews or misery. She strode up to the house and rang the doorbell, then knocked, then rang again, then knocked again while phoning Junko's number, then calling Junko's name while knocking and ringing and calling. She knew the woman was home, had seen the light on when she came up, and ignored the looks the neighbors and street passersby gave her.
Predictably, it took under thirty seconds before someone answered. One very unhappy resident slammed the door open, glared with bloodshot eyes, and wound up to whip the door shut in Izumi's face.
Izumi moved faster, stepping into the door before Junko could get any real momentum. The door hit her side without the force to do any real damage, and by then Izumi was in. Junko demanded, "What the hell do you want?"
"To talk, and I'm not taking 'no' for an answer this time."
"You're not welcome. The cops call that trespassing, don't they?"
"The cops are busy with actual crimes, and what do you want to wager that they know all about you from the locals? Besides, police have a hard time figuring out who the aggressor is when two women are involved. Considering you just tried to slam a door in my face, that'll make us even for them. Those aren't good odds for you, now let me in."
"Go to hell. I don't need another lecture or more of your 'help.' You can take your sympathy with you and shove it."
"I'm getting drunk just off the booze on your breath, Junko. Think you can lift me out of here if I pass out?"
"You're getting trashed on a few fumes now?"
"You're not drinking just a few fumes, are you? Actually, are you even bothering to let it finish in the still? Or are you drinking right from the jar now?"
"I can't afford the good stuff like you can."
"If you're going to use my charity to get hammered, then you can stick to the cheap crap – furniture polish is an acquired taste, I hear. Stop being so polite so I can ask my questions. The sooner you do, the sooner I'm out of here."
Junko snorted. "All business now, is it? Where's your compassion and friendship now? Where's the talk about sisterhood and the good old days?"
"I don't waste my time or compassion where they're not productive, and you're proving to be a waste of both right now."
"So you're sick of me, but you're still here?"
"Yes. Thing is, what I need can't wait. It's important and it has a ticking clock, so if it means being here with a dried-up booze-soaked has-been, then I'll do it."
The bloodshot stare turned murderous. "Fuck right off."
"I will. Once I get what I came for."
"I want it in writing. You get what you want, you never talk to me again."
"Deal. Just tell me where to sign. You have a pen and paper inside, right?"
Junko let her in, slamming the door and just missing Izumi, then said, "Hurry up and ask so you can leave."
Izumi turned to her. "I need to know something about Megumi's father."
Few things could have escalated this meeting from explosive to thermonuclear so quickly. That one statement did it. Junko snapped, "Him?! Why?!"
"It's important."
"Important to you. Never mind what it does to me, huh? Not enough I have to see his face everywhere I look and hear about him, but now– wait, if it's important to you, that means Souji's involved, doesn't it?"
"Somewhat."
"In it for yourself again, aren't you? To hell with anyone else. What, are you trying to get him out of another problem? Babying him and buying your way back into his life? How's that going, by the way?"
"If you'd answer my texts or even read them, you'd know."
"Being a dried-up drunk takes up a lot more time than you'd think. Only the really important things get through."
"Only the really important things. That explains why you haven't talked to Megumi in years. By chance, do you know where your own daughter is now?"
"Fuck right off about her. Why're you bringing her up all of a sudden?"
"Because I saw her just today. She's involved in this thing I'm looking into."
"What?!"
"Not directly, but certain people will know about her soon if they don't yet. This problem I have? It was aimed at one of Souji's friends to get a reaction. They're aiming around him instead of right at him – you know the trick, we used to do the very same thing. The people lining up the shots will know that Megumi's friends with Souji soon and they're not going to care who they hurt once they get started. You remember where things go from there, right?"
"Why the hell is she anywhere near him?"
"I don't know. It seems like they wound up as friends without knowing about us or their fathers. I couldn't believe it when I saw her, but there she was. Right in the middle of this whether she wants to be or not, and when I talked to her she didn't sound like she was planning on leaving. The die's been cast and she's part of this now, whether you like it or not."
Junko's emotions ran the gauntlet right then and there. Anger and resentment, pain and fear and the love of a mother all crashed and warred with the bone-deep suffering of a woman who had been pushed past her limit and held there. "There's nothing I can do about that," Junko decided at last. "Tell her to bite her tongue and get over whatever they do. It'll be over faster that way and they'll go away once they get what they want."
"I should tell her to give up? She's a young woman at the start of her professional life and you're okay with them torpedoing her?"
"Life's not about what we want. When the big guys want something, they'll take it whether you stand up to them or not. That's how it goes. If she doesn't fight them, she can salvage things once they're done."
"Right, because rolling over and dying is clearly working for you."
"You don't know anything, so go to hell. Maybe I gave up, but fighting would have made this all much worse. There's a lot more you can stand to lose than this, you know."
"I don't believe that for a second, so I'm not giving her such bad advice. If that's what you want her to do, go tell her yourself. It'll give you an excuse to leave the house and see her."
"What the hell do you know?"
"I know that fighting gives you a better chance than giving up does, and I know that she deserves better than this. Maybe the big guys do decide to come after you, but at least you can sleep at night if you give it your best. But no one said it would be easy. I know that there's more to your problem and her father than meets the eye. That's why I need information, to see what I can do."
"And what'll you do when they bring the hammer down on me and her, hm? Rush in and save us? Bail us out? You're in this for Souji, so what do you care about anyone else?"
"Helping me helps her, Junko. You've stuck it out this long. Maybe it hasn't been easy, maybe it's been downright terrible, but you're still here. That means you can make–"
"A difference? I tried. I've tried for years, bled myself dry at every turn and look where it got me! Failures and roadblocks at every turn! You think you can change that? You know who her father is, you know how big a boot he has. You think this is as bad as it can get? Do you?!"
"I don't care."
Junko was still for a moment, then stepped closer. "Say that again. Right to my face."
Izumi took that challenge. "I. Don't. Care. The time for sitting this out has passed. You can blame your hard life and his influence all you want, but I know that at least some of this is what you've done to yourself. Maybe he put you down, but you're the one who decided to stay down. Instead of fixing things and standing up for what you want, you've let your life and your daughter pass you by because you're too afraid to do anything else."
The resulting silence became murderous.
Izumi continued. "Do I know how big of a boot he can bring down on you? Yes, and I don't care, but here's a more relevant question: Why would he even waste the effort? You're here because you want to be here, because it's where you think you belong. You won't take anyone's help, you won't fix yourself when the opportunities are given to you, and you won't even try when you stand to benefit. Why would he bother with you? With you sabotaging your own life, what else does he even need to do?"
"Get the fuck out. Now."
"No."
"I said–"
Izumi dug in. "Not without my answers."
Junko swung, but Izumi moved in close and grabbed her arms, slamming her against the wall hard enough to rattle it. Junko struggled furiously, clawing and kicking with a victim's fury, but years of martial arts, a childhood in the rough parts of Tokyo, and a cop for a brother had hardened Izumi's body and instincts into iron. She got in close and cut out any momentum from the flailing strikes, pushed hard against Junko and pinned her arms. Junko's legs lacked the leverage to do any damage and so she was left squirming in place, held as much by Izumi's muscles as by the inexorable will the woman had brought to bear. When Junko lashed out in desperation with a headbutt, Izumi grabbed her chin and pushed back, controlling the hold and pushing hard until the air left Junko's lungs, stifling any screams at the same time. Just like that, Junko was held helpless, and Izumi was close enough that even her wintery whisper could be clearly heard. "Your neighbors probably hear racket over here all the time. The people outside knew who you were, too. Seems like you've made a name for yourself, and not in a good way, so I doubt they'll rush to call the cops even if they hear you."
Junko struggled again, tried every angle and trick and heaved mightily, but nothing worked. The anger burned alongside fear that was accompanied by a genuine curiosity just then. "What the… hell are you–"
"Listen," Izumi ordered. "You were always smarter than me. You saw the connections where I didn't, you have instincts I don't, and you knew where the secrets were hidden before I did. You were who I aspired to be like when we were younger. You were the best of any of us, and I know you're smarter than this. If there's any part of that woman in you, if you haven't pickled what sense you have left, then think. Run the numbers and really, actually think. I've always been your friend and that hasn't changed. I know your situation. I know how much he hurt you and I know how hard you've been running from everything, Megumi included. So why am I asking this when I know it's this hard for you? You can assume I'm a twisted both who feels out of seeing my closest friend suffer, but you're wrong, and you know that you're wrong. I know all that and I still came in here to pry at your bloody wounds. You can't move unless I let you, so clearly I take this seriously. Now ask yourself: Why? Why would I do all this and what must be going on for me to push this hard?"
Those questions clearly ran through Junko's mind and in just a few moments there was a look of hope on her face. It was twisted and ugly, not because of the emotion itself but because Junko's face had gone so long without expressing it, because the woman had gone so long without feeling it, that hope looked warped and twisted on her. "You're… You have something to work with. Does that mean…"
"It just might. You see why I need information, right? You see why I need your help."
"You… that's…"
Izumi loosened her grip, letting her friend catch her feet. "And I need all of it right now."
"If… if I do this, you know what it'll mean, right?"
"Yes."
"And you, you're going to go that far?"
"It's for Souji, so absolutely. You'd do the same thing for Megumi."
"That's… what if…"
Izumi grabbed her friend's shoulder and uttered words she knew were longer odds than any gambling table. "Trust me."
It was two hours later when Izumi left. She left Junko on the couch, tired and tear-stained, and made three calls. The first was to her brother. The second was to a cleaning service – after what she'd put her friend through, a clean house was the least she could offer. And the third was to Souji. She caught his voicemail and said only, "I've done what I can. The rest is up to you." Then she headed out into the dark, lonely night.
It was the next morning when Chie and Kou went to the office of an associate of the Ichijou Family. The place was everything one would expect of a place of old-money commerce, right down to the antique interior and the smell of incense in the lobby.
Kou fidgeted. Then he realized he was fidgeting and fidgeted more. He'd never been at ease with the expressions of his parents' wealth. He knew about it, of course, knew about their history and the work everyone had gone through to get as far as they had – everyone in the family knew how far the Ichijou name had carried them and so had been drilled to contribute to it rather than to squander it. But in Inaba, all that was a long way off, somewhere over the mountains and lacking any real footing in the sleepy boonies. Family visits were done without pomp or ceremony and people were content to dress down and be themselves, or so he'd always felt.
Here it was different. The reputation of the Ichijou name had to be immediately apparent and unmistakeable to anyone who walked through the door, and it was, right down to the light fixtures and the brand of wax the floor shone with. This was where name and money mattered, and it showed because it had to.
It felt to Kou like a noose was around his neck. Not tight yet, no tension, but the constant reminder that a false move or word or impression would have effects he wouldn't even notice until someone pointed it out to him. He'd dressed as professionally as he could and he still felt like an outsider, and when the suited-up execs of the office greeted him and bowed, he still caught himself between nodding and waving and bowing back. When he tried any one of those things, he could hear the rust creak.
Even Chie, right next to him and always watching out for a fight, looked around uncertainly.
The mood was made both better and not when he was welcomed into the office of one Kawakami Hiraku, the main correspondent for his family's branch of the tree. Hiraku-san was welcoming and had the air of an old-school businessman to him, but the sharp, assessing look in his, likely a natural reflex after so long in this lifestyle, made Kou's palms itch. That Chie was getting the same treatment put him on his back foot, too. His parents knew about his relationship with her and had encouraged him to pursue her (likely after so much time spent listening to him trip over himself whenever she was even mentioned), but it still left him disquieted and restless.
Hiraku-san watched them both in mild amusement. "It's quite all right, you know. We're always on your side."
Kou chuckled and hoped it sounded easygoing. "That obvious, huh?"
"It is, but don't worry about it. Your parents and the rest of the family know how to deal with little incidents like this. None of us would have made it this far if we couldn't handle a little push here and there."
"I'm glad to hear that, but was it just a little push? I heard it was the equivalent of a shot across the bow, but Dad always downplays things. He never wants to upset Mom and me."
"He's been like that for as long as I can remember, but he's quite right this time. Compared to other days and times, this was done for effect much more than with any real intent to harm."
Kou wondered what those 'other days and times' might have been, remembering a few occasions where Dad was especially chipper and wondering now if those were big takeovers or serious losses in the stock market. He decided then that he really didn't want to know that badly. "I'm glad that's all it was. I still feel a bit bad – I didn't expect to drag anyone into this just because of the friends I have."
"That's the nature of the business, I'm afraid, but it's also true that it's quite uncommon for us to have to worry about these things. Other people in our line of work know better than to engage in such theatrics."
"I… see."
"No, I don't think you do, but that's quite all right. Your parents wanted you and your sister to have a normal life and choose where you wanted to go. You are pursuing your own path and they wanted to make sure that nothing, not even their own preferences, interfered with that." Hiraku-san's smile turned a little cold just then. "This of course includes interference from anyone else, no matter who they are or what position they occupy."
"Has the family gotten involved, then?"
"Not directly, and we're not going to. We've made it clear, in our own way, that such antics will not be tolerated no matter who finds it funny. This will not involve anything overt or noticeable on your end, of course, but the circumstances do not demand that we openly respond."
"You'd be jumping at a feint," Chie noted. "That would be a show of weakness."
"Quite right, young lady. The matter has been assessed and the decision has already been made. This does, however, mean that we will not get involved in the goings on of Seta-san's personal feud with his son. That might be the impetus for his behavior, but such small matters cannot be seen to concern us."
"And it would send the wrong message," Kou noted, "for us and for Souji. He'd never take the easy road out, not when it's this personal."
"Your parents remember him from his time in Inaba. They have the same view of him as you do, and if our assistance is not requested then it will not be provided." Kiraku-san spread his hands and smiled. "It's as much an acknowledgement of his abilities as it is an out for them. I'm sure you understand."
"I do. I guess this was always going to be his fight. I'll help him where I can, but I didn't want it to affect us."
"Rest assured, it hasn't and it won't."
"Can you give us anything else to work with? Any connections that were used or, I don't know, weak spots that showed up when this was going on?"
Hiraku-san turned his smile to Chie. "You've been a good influence on him. Kou-san has always tried to think a few steps ahead, I assume because of his athletic activities, but he's gotten much better at it recently. I thank you for that if such is the case."
Chie blushed and nodded in reply.
"You're quite correct in that any move reveals something about oneself in the process," Hiraku-san continued. "The idea of a perfect defence without flaws is one that only exists in movies and books. Seta-san's actions did indeed tell us something about him, though I suspect some of it is what you already know. He works through proxies, he knows where to strike when it's least expected, and he has a great follow through in covering his tracks. He knows his craft."
Kou was impressed. "You can tell all this by one move?"
"The best in the business are the best because we can read such things. Those who can't don't last long. Though before you credit this to some instinct or great ability, I should point out that this is more from observation and research than anything else. If you can't learn from those, then you shouldn't be here."
"What else have you learned?"
"About him? Very little, for the reasons I just gave. We understand that Seta-san's wife, Izumi-san, is helping your friend. In his corner, you might say. She's a very capable person in her own right, so I expect she can give you the more mundane details of the situation."
"You're right. She already has."
"Then I'll tell you what we've noticed in the last little while. Particularly, did you know that it hurt Seta-san to behave in this manner and take even this little of a shot at us?"
Chie perked up. "Hurt him? How?"
"We don't have a definitive metric by which we can measure this, but from the business that he's in and some of the connections he lost when they found out what he did, it actually looks like he lost face by even appearing to get involved with your parents."
The pair mulled that over for a moment. "Is it another feint?" Chie asked. "Maybe a lure for a trap or maybe a misdirection? Did he lose some connections but gain others in a net positive?"
"That is often the case in business, but there are some things that even gutsy businessmen won't get behind. The more cautious ones see such things as a show of future intent, that they might be the ones to be used for such purposes just because it suits his mood. Even if there are no lasting repercussions, it's still a matter of reputation."
"I thought he uses proxies to avoid being connected to the things he does," Kou pointed out.
"That's correct, but he's not the only person playing these games. Other people know what is going on when they see even seemingly unrelated events run in a particular sequence, and they aren't the sort to stand by and do nothing. They won't be in any position to help you, of course, for the same reasons that we aren't or simply because it's not their concern, but that bit of information is something your parents thought might be of interest to you."
"No one operates at a loss like this. Not if they want to stay in business and not if they want to seem competent. There must be a kickback we're not seeing."
"I suspect so – Seta-san is a cunning man – but I would offer an alternate hypothesis. I think there wasn't a net positive in this for him because he wasn't aiming to make it a net positive at all. His purpose was served by letting his son know that he had information close to the vein, so to speak, and he wanted to gauge his reaction. Whether by reacting or not acting at all, that's still information Seta-san can use."
"But Souji hasn't jumped. He's digging deeper on his own and not asking for help or getting the police involved."
"And by doing so, he's tipping his cards in his own way. Reactions are read and tallied whether we want them to be or not. You might be looking at this as a few hands in a card game, but these matches are played across hundreds and thousands of dealings, and it's only at the end that you can see who won. Seta-san knows this and it's his own reaction that is of interest."
"Go on."
"Losing business for a personal matter is a bad showing, no matter who you are. This is so elementary of a concept that I won't even entertain the notion that Seta-san doesn't know of it. But he still did it and he isn't moving to recoup his losses, so he's getting something he wants out of it and moving forward anyway. He's a man who takes the long view of the matter and also, I suspect, has people in his circle who can buffer his actions with their own influence. Remember the analogy of hundreds of card hands, now what if you have other players who have goals common to your own? Players who can cover your bets and help in the illusion you want to portray without, as I suspect in this case, ever letting the other players know you are at the table?"
Chie shivered. "That's a scary thought, but isn't it disproportionate to what we're getting into? This is a big deal to Souji, but it's still just a fight between him and his dad. Other people in even bigger business feels like it would be using a sledgehammer to crack sunflower seeds."
"If they were to directly involve themselves, then your analogy would be very on point. And the result would be exactly as you describe."
Kou let that sink in. "Do you have any idea who these people are?"
"No, but they must be at his level of importance or higher if he can do what he does without censure, and he's of great use to them even if his actions cost him, and possibly them, in the short term."
"That could mean they're as resistant to the small stuff as he is."
"Yes. The best players in that case, and keep in mind that one must have close connections to make this arrangement work, will fight and argue and behave like enemies in public, but behind closed doors they're all quite useful to each other. That makes pinning any one of them down or even digging up dirt on the whole relationship especially difficult."
"How would you get to the bottom of something like that?"
"The resources required to do so would make such actions prohibitive, so I advise that you not even try. Most businessmen don't like to share in the glory and rewards, but those who can work together and not upset the boat are quite good at keeping themselves and the arrangement watertight. I should note that I would be quite surprised if there were any interest in Seta-san's personal life – these connections would be present for the purposes of business and mutual gain, so using them in such a minor case would be seen as a genuine insult and a gross show of incompetence. That's why I don't think you'll see those people get involved directly. That's to your advantage, but it also covers Seta-san's tracks quite effectively. This is all speculation and assumption, of course, but that is what the situation looks like to me."
"That's all pretty sound. Can you give us anything else?"
"I advise you to not take anything for granted. Situations like this are especially difficult to unknot, and if you aren't watching every one of your angles, you'll be hit by something you've overlooked."
"Makes sense."
"I would also advise you to be especially careful. If these other people whose interests are being served by Seta-san do feel like they're being threatened, then they might take a more active role in this situation. Then you'd be up against people you have no precursor for on top of the enemy you're already fighting, and I'm sure they won't act with quite the same tact or restraint."
It was that afternoon when Naoto concluded her conversation with Doujima-san and hung up her phone. She added what the detective had dug up to the names Souji-senpai had given her. It had taken some discreet calls to her grandfather and some off-the-record contacts of the family to get the ball rolling, but things were in motion and she was waiting to see what popped up.
She and Kanji were chasing down leads and looking into Fukui-san's records to try and see who had leaned on him for help. Doujima-san hadn't been surprised when she passed on what she knew, and he'd passed on a fresh trail of names that he'd said came from an 'interested party.' It was in the business district of Okina City and stank of old money.
"Would this interested party be directly involved with the matters at hand?" she'd asked the detective.
"I can't say one way or the other. You know how it is. I will say that whoever passed it onto me knows the game Yuuma's playing pretty well, so they're more likely that you'd think to pull the same tricks as him."
"Quite clever of them, if a bit inconvenient for not letting us know who they are or helping us directly. After all, this does make us their proxies in this little scenario, doesn't it?"
Doujima-san had chuckled. "To catch a snake, you have to think like one. That's all there is to it. There shouldn't be any problem talking to the people on the list, by the way. They're ready for you."
"This is all getting bigger and bigger, Doujima-san."
"I've got faith in you. So does Souji and so do our new friends. On a completely unrelated note, how well do you know the Ichijou family?"
"Aside from Kou-san, not at all."
"They're good people. Nice and quiet, a bit reserved, but they're big on family. They would never broadcast it – they don't like the attention – but they're numbers two and three on the list of top people I'd never want to screw with."
Naoto could read between the lines well enough to know what Doujima-san meant. "That's good advice. I'll keep it in mind."
"Let me know if you need anything, and call if you run into any trouble."
"I will."
That had been the extent of their conversation. Naoto and Kanji were already on the trail that Fukui-san had provided, covering their bases and accumulating evidence as they went. Naoto was in her element and she loved every moment of it, eager to see where the mystery would take her next.
She noticed just then that Kanji was rolling his shoulder and checking the nearby corners. They were walking down a moderately busy street with normal people all around, but it was like he was itching to get out of his own skin.
"What is it?"
"My neck's been prickling all morning. I know this feeling. It's like in the TV World when we were fighting Shadows and something was about to turn the corner, but I can't see anything that would set it off."
Naoto thought it over. They weren't in the TV World anymore and the Shadows, clearly, could not cross into the real world, but that didn't mean the instincts and lessons earned and learned hadn't gone away. Such things didn't have a place in polite society – any combat veteran could attest to as much – but that didn't mean they were wrong. Naoto analyzed the situation and gave Kanji's reaction the credit it was due. As they walked, she checked the nearby storefronts and traffic mirrors used to navigate tight corners for pedestrian and vehicle traffic alike, checking behind them and seeing what she could find.
She had to admit, there was an advantage to having not grown much taller in recent years. Maybe she couldn't see over people, but other people couldn't see her, either.
There was a flicker of movement, then another. She moved closer to her partner. "Is it still bothering you?"
"Yep. Hasn't stopped."
"Don't look back, but I think we're being followed."
He stiffened and clenched his hands into fists but, to his credit, didn't act out of the ordinary.
"I can't be sure," she went on, "but I think that's what you're feeling. I'm starting to feel it now, too."
"Isn't there a word for feeling things that aren't real just because you believe in it? Plaise-something?"
"There are several, but you mean the placebo effect. You think it's a false positive?"
"Not really, but we're supposed to think of things from all the different angles, right? Avoid assumptions?"
That had been one of the earliest things she'd told him about detective work. Once again, he was showing how much he integrated her lessons, albeit in an unorthodox manner. She smiled and hugged his arm. "That's right. We should."
He cleared his throat and glanced down, noting just how soft and warm the place his arm was being held was. "Uh, Naoto? You got a plan?"
She nodded. "I do, but you're not going to like it. Let's keep walking like usual."
"I was going to, but why wouldn't I like that?"
"Because I want to stay behind while you keep going. You'll need to leave me on my own for a bit."
He stiffened and stared at her, perfectly and clearly showing how much he didn't like it.
She went on before he could go off. "It's only for a little while. I want to see who's following us. If we know what they look like, we'll have an advantage if they try anything. If you keep going, they'll follow you – they can see you no matter what. They won't have seen me as easily. That makes me the perfect choice."
Kanji bit his words back and mulled it over, his protective instincts clearly warring with her good points. "That still puts you on your own," he muttered. "You're a girl and you're smaller than me if they catch onto it. You stand out, too. You think they won't notice?"
"Would you?"
"It's you, so of course I would. Even strangers look at you all the time."
She blushed. "I mean in the heat of the moment. Take my jacket and hat, it's what people notice first. They'll follow you, I'll hide somewhere and see what I can find out. That alley up there? It cuts across and the map says there're businesses down there. That means signs and people, lots of places for me to hide."
"I don't like it. But it's a good idea. Better if we know this stuff than have it come out of nowhere."
"Thanks."
"If there's a problem, though, you call me. No matter what happens, I'm not risking your safety."
She gripped his hand in thanks. She would have kissed him if not for the people around them. "I will. Promise."
"Okay then. Let's do it."
Distraction was, Naoto knew from long hours of painful training, a matter of motion and its absence. The eye was attracted to things moving, it was what humans associated with change, so pulling off good sleight of hand meant causing changes while people weren't looking. Naoto undid her coat and slipped her arms out but left it on her shoulders, looking around the same as before and not changing anything else about her behavior. When they approached the alley, she ducked out of her jacket and cap and gave them to Kanji before slipping around the corner, hiding behind an air conditioning unit while Kanji held her clothes on his arm at around the same height as she'd stood. To anyone who hadn't seen the move, they'd assume she was still with him.
He moved on without looking at her or seeming out of place. She had to hand it to him, he knew what he was doing.
She kept to the AC unit and tried to look like she wasn't looking, seeming unobtrusive to the passersby. Foot traffic was busy enough that the same crowd that served as her distraction would also work to the advantage of–
Then she saw them. They didn't look shifty or like yakuza, but the way they walked and watched told her what she needed to know. She got a good look at both of them and knew they were on her trail, following from a smart distance and not standing out. Then they were gone past the alley opening, but the sensation remained.
Her instincts, like Kanji's, still whispered and kept her safe.
She texted Kanji, I saw them. Two males, about forty yards behind you. Average height, street clothes.
He replied with, Should we shake them?
No. If we do that, we could get other tails we can't pick out as easily. We know what these two look like so we'll be ready if they try anything.
Sounds good. You okay?
I am. Circle the block and I'll double check them once they pass me.
Naoto moved to the other end of the alley, slipping through the business people and blushing when she noted one of the signs in the window as she passed, "Just for lovers!"
Not now. Not yet. Once the job was over.
She shook her head and slipped behind another AC unit, watching as Kanji passed with her clothes in hand. When the two guys she noticed finally came by, they were as laid back as before. Nothing out of place.
There's an arcade on the corner ahead of you, she texted to him. It has a second entrance. You go in the far one, I'll go in the near one. We'll meet up and they won't know the difference.
Got it.
Naoto walked through the crowd, fighting the urge to walk faster. That was, she'd read, the hardest part of subterfuge. When you were under scrutiny or knew you had something worth someone's attention, you wanted to get somewhere safe as soon as possible. That was the first instinct of thieves and sneaks alike and the one they most firmly had to suppress. As it was she moved past the crowds lined up at game cabinets and found Kanji before he noticed her. It amused her on some level how the looks she was getting, an adult woman with a distinctly non-Asian bust line and unusual hair colour, quickly went elsewhere when she stepped in next to Kanji, clearly with him and happy for it.
"Anything happen?" he asked, looking her over as he handed over her clothes.
"Nothing bad. It seemed like the trick worked. How about you?"
"Same thing, but it was tough to keep the act up."
"Looked to me like you did a good job. They didn't behave any differently, not that I could see."
"What's the next move?"
"We have appointments to keep and places to go. If we stop now just because someone knows what we're doing, we'll never get anywhere."
Kanji grunted. "Yeah, that's not an option. Senpai's counting on us."
"I agree. So we'll keep going and see if anything changes."
"You remember what Doujima-san said about secondary connections and stand-ins for intimidation, right?"
Naoto remembered several conversations she'd had with Rise on the topic of flirting and the intentional acquisition of attention. Naoto had disregarded most of it and been cherry red for the rest, but there had been some things that had sounded like fun. Naoto looked up at him. "Yes, and I'm not afraid. You'll protect me if it comes to that, right?"
He blushed at hearing her say that, a silly smile on his face. "Yeah, without a doubt."
"Then I have nothing to worry about."
It hadn't been easy to say something so decidedly feminine, but he looked happier than she'd seen him in a while. Clearly letting him know she needed him wasn't so bad.
Kanji nodded, then cleared his throat. "You hungry?"
"I am. Why?"
"Seems like if we want things to look natural, we should do normal things. Walk, talk, eat, that sort of thing. I've heard the food around here isn't bad, so, you got a minute? My treat."
She smiled and hugged him. They'd been together this long, but he still tripped on the execution of asking her out. Words weren't his strong suit, and might never be, but he was trying for her sake and that was plenty for her.
"That's a good idea. Lead on, and I can pay for myself."
He argued with her, she argued back, and they agreed on a street side ramen place and ignored the two guys following them. After all, this might be work, but this was also a chance for her to be out on the town with her beau. So long as they were covering their bases and working when they had to, what was the harm?
And their tail could watch all they wanted to – it would seem like they were indeed getting a look at their targets unaware.
They could wait.