A/N: Hello everyone. I hope you are all doing well. Starting school again in nine more days. RIP. Sleeping schedule is still a disaster. RIP again.
Chapter 12: The Tunnel And The Note
Sergeant Tanaka and Hiyori later found Inspector Etou and Kanami poking around near the entrance of the mansion. Hiyori noticed how Kanami's father immediately cast a wary eye upon her. It was a look of judgement, dark with mistrust. That gaze was too powerful on her conscience and the Heijou Toji found she couldn't keep looking straight at it. Letting her eyes drop from the pressure in Inspector Etou's expression, Hiyori listened as he then turned to his colleague. Only Kanami kept a look of concern towards the conflicted raven-haired girl.
'What's bothering her?' the Minoseki Toji thought.
Unaware of the increasing agitation Kanami and Hiyori were feeling, the two men shared the details of their findings. When Sergeant Tanaka mentioned the conversation with Iroha, Inspector Etou gave a low whistle, raising his eyebrows.
Erasing his previous expression of skepticism, he turned to Hiyori. "How long has it been since President Gojou became your guardian?"
"About two years by now," Hiyori replied.
Adjusting his tie, the inspector gave a "hm" before continuing, "Moving on from that, the servants weren't very helpful as expected. I'm not ruling them out entirely, but I don't think it's likely that any of them, including the Elite Guards, had a part in Yukari-sama's murder. Because of one thing you've just brought up, Tanaka, by telling me about President Gojou—motive. I bet my hat all five of the presidents had some sort of resentment towards Yukari-sama, including her younger sister. First and foremost—the choosing of the next Origami heiress. Second of all, secrets."
Confused, Hiyori repeated, "Secrets?"
Kanami, however, knew what her father meant right away. Without a second thought, she explained shortly, "Scandal."
"Exactly," Inspector Etou said.
Giving his short moustache a slight tug, Sergeant Tanaka added, "One of the many motives your father and I have had to deal with: the killer wanting to shut up someone's mouth permanently."
Trying to hide the shudder running down her spine, Kanami protested, "But Akane-sama and the presidents of the Five Traditions…they're good people. They've been friends for years! It just can't be…"
Her voice trailed, getting fainter and farther away. Although the Minoseki Toji didn't finish her sentence, everyone understood.
Not casting a glance at the girl next to her, Hiyori jutted in, "Kanami, not everyone is a saint. Even the closest of people can turn against one another when they feel threatened."
"Hiyori-chan…you don't know that!"
The Heijou Toji turned her head slightly to look at Kanami and the latter was startled at what she saw. Hiyori's skin had turned a pale-green and deep black circles were underneath her sunken eyes. It almost looked as though she hadn't slept properly in days. But what caught Kanami's attention saw the hint of sadness in those shadowed burgundy eyes.
In a hollow voice, Hiyori asked, "Kanami, do you really think I'm a stranger to traitors?"
The brown-haired Toji's shoulders slumped forward a little. She knew Hiyori was still stubbornly holding onto the sorrows of the past. Kanami could see it in those tormented eyes, as the Heijou Toji bit her lip, filling her mouth with blood.
Reminding herself over and over again about how Yukari readily merged with Tagitsuhime... Origami Yukari—a selfish woman who never once cared about her mother's happiness, even though they were friends. At least—this was how Hiyori interpreted it to make herself feel better. It wasn't a very good excuse because deep down inside her heart, Hiyori knew Yukari was not to blame at all and indeed had the best intentions. Still, a gnarled hatred staining Hiyori's soul refused to let her release the grudge she held onto for years.
And just by staring at the inky darkness in Hiyori's glare, the other three could tell that her expression was not far from those of Akane and the five presidents...
After going over what they learned so far, Inspector Etou made it their new objective to finally check out the secret passage in Yukari's room—which Kanami especially was keen to do. Ever since her acute sense of sight caught those inconspicuous prints in the dusty tunnel, she had been itching to investigate where exactly the underground passage led to. Hiyori could see the change in the Minoseki Toji's expression, her light-brown eyes giving off a sparkling glint. The days when she helped her father were all coming back to Kanami, awakening her intelligent brain. Although she shared a passion for kenjutsu like her mother, she also was fond of the mysterious suspense in her father's work. The satisfaction of coming to a definite conclusion when a crime was solved was one of the few things Kanami felt she could be proud of.
Upon walking back to the crime scene, the four bumped into the Elite Guards. Maki and Suzuka, done with having to hear the grievances of Yukina, were only too happy to be anywhere but near her. With convincing from Inspector Etou and Sergeant Tanaka, the two Elite Guards agreed to give them a few minutes.
"You both don't mind going to the scene of the crime, do you?" asked Inspector Etou.
Suzuka gave a sharp gasp and tried to conceal it as a cough. Her Elite Guard partner, however, showed no reaction whatsoever. Nevertheless, Maki felt as though she was being led to the den of a terrible aradama and must move quietly. When they all reached Yukari's room, the two Elite Guards started a little, when Kanami twisted the wooden wall lamp. A dank smell wafted from the tunnel that lay behind the wall panel.
'Golly!' Maki exclaimed internally.
"We should find out where exactly this passageway ends. Akane-sama said it leads to the other side of the mansion, but I want to see exactly which room it leads to," Inspector Etou, as he ducked in.
"Stay to the sides," Sergeant Tanaka instructed, pulling out a portable flashlight. "Don't walk through the middle. We may be able to get something from these prints Kanami-chan spotted."
Preparing her nose to be exposed to the tunnel's foul stench, Maki said, "There isn't much on the other side of the mansion though. Just the dining hall, the armoury, and the guest bedrooms where the presidents are staying."
"The guest bedrooms, you say?" Inspector Etou mused aloud. "That may get us somewhere if this passage leads us to a certain one. We might just figure out who is our main suspect."
They groped their way through the dimness, only guided by the three flashlights of Maki, Suzuka, and Sergeant Tanaka. Kanami, who was bringing up the rear, almost jumped out of her skin when she felt a cold corpse-like hand suddenly grab her shoulder. Biting back a scream, she whipped around to see the poorly-lit face of Hiyori. Recovering from her initial fear, Kanami was tempted to right away let out some sort of exclamation...until she got a closer look at the Heijou Toji's face. Hiyori was...scared.
'Oh right. She's afraid of the dark,' Kanami remembered, recalling how when they were in the netherworld, Hiyori had been gripping her hand like a vice.
Understanding the ebony-haired girl's fears, Kanami held out a hand to her. Hiyori immediately accepted it without question, holding on tightly like there was no tomorrow. The warmth of Kanami's hand gave the Heijou Toji a calming sense of comfort. Hiyori knew that with the Minoseki Toji she had nothing to fear—Kanami would protect her. In those few moments, both of their hearts were pounding with a passion so intense that the tunnel seemed to be a few degrees warmer.
Five minutes later, with a yank of a handle they found, the six individuals all stepped out into the brightness again. They were all unpleasantly dirty, covered with cobwebs and dust. Their faces at once became grim when they realized where they were...an ordinary hallway.
Picking out the cobwebs that got tangled in his moustache, Sergeant Tanaka said, "Isn't this...?"
Maki nodded with consternation. "Yep."
"But this is a hallway," Hiyori said.
"Not just any hallway," Suzuka sighed in disappointment. "This is where all the guest bedrooms are."
Kanami looked at all the five doors before them in dismay. It would've been so easy—so easy to just creep out of one's room into the hallway and use the secret tunnel. Slowly, the six of them all stared at each other, thinking the same thing.
'Any of them could've done it.'
No one could help feeling disappointed that the trail had gone cold. They were back to square one.
"The thing is whether the culprit even used the tunnel in the first place," Kanami said, at last. "Because when Director Maniwa went to get Yukari-sama in the morning, her door was unlocked."
"But the tunnel seems more likely because the murderer wouldn't have risked being seen walking in the hallways," Hiyori said.
"Nice deduction, you two," Sergeant Tanaka praised. "We'll make great Toji inspectors out of you both in no time."
With a frown, his colleague said, "Don't suggest such a thing to my daughter, Tanaka. You'll make a Sherlock Holmes fantasy world get into her head."
However, Hiyori saw him secretly wink at his daughter with a knowing look. Shaking the dirty matter off of their formally pristine uniforms, Maki and Suzuka excused themselves to go back to their tasks.
"Etou, Juujou, you do your rounds in an hour," Maki grunted, before walking off.
His hands on his hips, Inspector Etou told Kanami and Hiyori to take a break before then. "Tanaka and I will continue on and you can join us later."
Hiyori's immediate thought was to go back to her room. She wanted to take a shower to get all the grime off of her body. Maybe she'd even relax in the bathtub for a few good minutes and massage her temples. A noticeable migraine was starting to ache her head. However, when she returned to her own quarters, upon opening the door, she saw that a note had been slipped underneath it. Five big bold words were written on the white piece of paper.
I KNOW YOU'RE A MURDERER.
A/N: Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Who could've sent Hiyori the anonymous note? Is our favourite Heijou Toji really the killer?! Or perhaps...?