Nozomi and Nico arrived at the restaurant and took their seats. They ordered the grilled meat like Nozomi had wanted and the waiter brought out a grill. Shortly after a large plate of uncooked meat was placed in front of them.
"I-Isn't this a bit much, Nico?" Nozomi asked.
"Don't worry about it, I'm paying anyways," Nico shrugged Nozomi's worry away.
Nozomi tilted her head and began grilling some meat. The restaurant was filled with the scent of meat cooking. The sizzle of the meats echoed around the restaurant and caused many other restaurant goers to turn their attention towards them. Nozomi looked around the table, "Hey Nicocchi? Where are the sauces?"
Nico looked around but didn't spot any, "Give me a second," she held up her hand and waited until a waiter came by.
"Can I help you ladies?" The man asked.
Nico pointed over to Nozomi who was just about to eat a finished piece of meat. She was surprised and dropped the meat onto her plate, "Y-yes, can we have some sauces?"
"Of course ma'am, what would you prefer?" said the waiter.
Nozomi hesitated for a moment, "It may sound weird, but could you bring us some Hoisin sauce and Sriracha?"
The waiter bowed and left to the kitchen to fulfill Nozomi's request.
Nico placed her elbow on the table and used her hand as a headrest, "That mix again?"
Nozomi nodded, "You still haven't tried it?"
Nico shook her head, "It sounds too weird for me."
"Come on, Nico. At least try it today?" Nozomi pouted.
"What does it even taste like?"
"Hmm... It's like... a spicy barbeque sauce, I guess?" Nozomi held up her finger in question, "It has the sriracha spice that you like though!"
"Hmm... Maybe just a little..." Nico picked up some uncooked meat and slapped them onto the grill.
The two ate their meat slowly until the waiter returned with Nozomi's sauce mix. She smiled and thanked the waiter before moving the small sauce bowl to the middle.
"Here, have some Nicocchi," Nozomi pushed the sauce bowl closer to her.
Nico picked up her spoon and scooped up a small amount of it for her plate. Nozomi watched closely as Nico dipped the freshly cooked meat on the sauce. She watched as Nico brought it up slowly to her mouth and made eye contact. Nico hesitated for a moment and shook her head slightly. She engulfed the piece of meat and chewed slowly, making sure to savor the sauce.
Nozomi observed Nico's face, it went from an unsure expression to a more satisfied one, "Good?" she asked.
Nico nodded and waited until she finished swallowing, "It is surprisingly good!"
"Told you~" Nozomi smiled and reached for the sauce bowl. She brought it to her plate and poured a considerable amount onto it.
"H-Hey! Save some for me," Nico protested.
"I will fight you for this sauce, Nicocchi," Nozomi playfully threatened.
Nico flinched and started laughing. Nozomi giggled along with her and the two enjoyed their lunch.
"Hey, Nozomi. Do you see that girl over there?" Nico slyly pointed to a corner in the restaurant.
Nozomi looked around and spotted her, "That one?"
Nico brought up her hand to whisper, "Yeah, don't you think she kind of looks like one of those european dolls?"
Nozomi observed the girl, she had blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. If she had to guess, she was most likely from the UK or Russia.
"Yeah, she really does..." Nozomi muttered while keeping her eyes on the girl.
The girl looked over and made eye contact with her. Nozomi quickly looked away and stuffed her mouth with some more grilled meat.
"Nozomi, we're out of sauce," Nico brought up.
"It's your turn to ask," Nozomi denied.
Nico sighed and raised her hand for attention. The waiter brought over another sauce bowl of the mix and the two continued until they were completely full. They leaned back in their chairs and observed the remains of the battlefield on the table.
The waiter returned and handed the bill to Nico, she opened it and jumped a little.
"How much is it, Nico?" Nozomi asked.
Nico looked at the number, it was around $80 in yen. She decided to keep it a secret from Nozomi and lied, "Turns out they were having a special today, so it is around 3,500 yen." Nico reached into her pocket to pull out her wallet, she took out her debit card and placed it in the little booklet.
Nozomi reached into her own wallet and pulled out 500 yen, "Here, for the tip."
Nico grabbed the money from Nozomi and added it into the booklet. The waiter came by and picked up the check, he later returned with the receipt and the two were out of the restaurant shortly after.
"Okay, time to go grocery shopping," Nico declared.
The two girls walked a few blocks down to the marketplace, "Nico, look! There's a flash sale going on!" Nozomi pointed at a sign hanging by the entrance.
"All meat is 50% off?!" Nico grabbed Nozomi's hand and pulled her.
"Oww, not so hard Nicocchi!" Nozomi complained.
"Oh, I'm sorry Nozomi... Sales like these excite me, " Nico apologized.
"It's okay, I wasn't ready when you pulled me, " Nozomi tried to play it off.
Nico looked up and smiled before grabbing Nozomi's hand again. They both picked up handbaskets. One was for meats and the other was for things like vegetables, drinks and snacks. Nico decided to carry the heavier of the baskets and left the lighter one for Nozomi.
An hour passed by and the two girls were finally out of the marketplace with numerous bags in their hands.
"Here Nozomi, let's switch," Nico handed Nozomi her bags of clothing that they had shopped for earlier today. She then reached for the other groceries in Nozomi's hands.
"I-isn't that heavy for you though, Nico?" Nozomi held the groceries back.
Nico shook her head, "I'm used to carrying a lot of groceries, don't worry about me."
Nozomi reluctantly handed over the groceries she was carrying. Nico had all of the groceries while Nozomi carried the clothes they had bought. Nozomi looked over at Nico while they walked, it didn't really look or seem fair for Nico to carry all of that by herself. For whatever reason, Nico insisted on doing it.
Nico felt her fingers going numb, since there was a sale, the meats were heavier than usual. Normally she would complain since she grocery shops alone, but she was with Nozomi. She didn't want Nozomi to do any hard work like carrying heavy groceries. So Nico kept her mouth shut and smiled.
For Nozomi.
"Do you still want to visit the park?" Nico asked.
"No, we should head home," Nozomi replied.
Nico was confused, "But didn't you want to go too?"
Nozomi shook her head, "I do, but not if you have to suffer."
"W-what do you mean?" now Nico was totally lost.
Nozomi pointed down at Nico's hands, "Your fingers are really red, you're in pain aren't you?"
Nico looked down and noticed her fingers were a different color than usual, "N-No, not at all!"
"Nico..." Nozomi looked at her apologetically, "You don't have to do this in spite of me."
Nico remained silent and continued walking, "I'm not doing it because I have to... It's because I want to."
Nozomi stayed silent.
Nico led them to the park instead of her home. She set down the groceries on a bench and took a seat. Nozomi did the same and sat next to Nico.
"Let me see your hands," Nozomi reached for Nico's hands and observed them withiin her own. They were very red and looked painful.
"I'm fine, Nozomi," Nico tried to pull away but Nozomi wouldn't allow it. She started to feel her fingers getting massaged gently by Nozomi. The pain in her fingers slowly subsided and returned to their normal color.
"Is that better?" Nozomi asked quietly.
Nico turned away and nodded, "...Yeah..."
Nozomi got up and stood in front of Nico, "Hey, lets go on the swings," Nozomi pointed towards the swingset behind her. Nico got up and followed.
Nozomi took a seat on one of the swingsets and Nico took the one next to her. They started swinging with each other, "Hey Nico, do you remember that day when you tripped and hurt your knee?" Nozomi asked.
"Yeah... I do. You carried me all the way home and cried because you thought it was your fault," Nico started laughing.
"But it was, wasn't it? I was the one who pushed you," Nozomi replied.
"I just lost my balance, you didn't do anything," Nico explained.
"But I still feel bad about it…"
"Don't worry, at least it wasn't something permanent or serious," Nico joked. She started giggling, "What about that one time when we bet on who could finish the monkey bars. The loser hand to princess carry the winner back home."
Nozomi laughed too, "Neither of us were able to do it."
Nico bursted out into laughter when she pictured the memory in her head, "You couldn't even make it past the first few," Nico started to feel a pain in her stomach from laughing too much.
Nozomi pouted, "Well you didn't finish it either, and you didn't go much further than I did."
Nico continued to laugh, "M-My stomach! Stop it hurts!" She couldn't stop laughing.
Nozomi puffed her cheeks out, "Let's settle this bet now!" She got up and pulled Nico off the swings, causing her to simmer down on her laughter. She was pulled over to the monkey bars and released, "Bet and prize are still the same!"
Nico wiped away her tears from laughing and pushed Nozomi to the side, "I'll go first then."
Nico climbed the small ladder and grabbed the bars with her hands, she slowly made her way across the monkey bars. She reached about halfway when her hands really started to ache. She could normally do it, but since her hands were already hurting from before it was much harder.
"Are you okay, Nico?" Nozomi called out from the end of the monkey bars. Her face was worrisome.
"Y-yeah, I'm..." Nico reached her hand out for the next one and the hand holding her up gave out, "Ahh!" Nico came crashing to the ground and landed on her butt. She held her hands in pain and Nozomi rushed over immediately.
"Let me see!" She grabbed Nico's hands and looked at them, they were blistered and looked like they would bleed if anything else were to happen.
"This isn't good, I forfeit," Nozomi said.
"What? No, you have to go on the monkey bars too!" Nico protested.
Nozomi slid her arms underneath Nico and lifted her up into a princess carry.
"H-Hey! I didn't win you idiot," Nico thrashed around but Nozomi kept a hold of her.
"Stop, Nico!" Nozomi yelled, "I already hurt you enough today."
Nico stopped thrashing around and looked away, "...You didn't hurt me."
Nozomi held Nico tighter.
"I carried those groceries because of you, I didn't want you to do any labor because of what happened. If I have to give up something, then I don't mind," Nico held out her hands, "This is nothing compared to what you're going through..."
Nozomi's grip tightened, "What makes you think I'm okay with you hurting yourself for me?"
Nico didn't know what to say other than, "I'm sorry..."
Nozomi walked over to the bench with their stuff and set Nico down. She handed the clothing bags to Nico and picked up the groceries.
"N-Nozomi, are you sure?" Nico was still worried.
Nozomi ignored Nico's words and proceeded to princess carry her again.
"Hey wait! Isn't this too much?" Nico started to panic.
"It's... all good..." Nozomi struggled to get her words out.
"You idiot! Look at your legs, they're shaking! Let me off," Nico protested. "The clothes aren't even heavy and I can walk anyways."
"You won the bet... so..." Nozomi tried to reason with Nico.
"We can do it a different time when we don't have other things to carry," Nico beckoned.
Nozomi took a few steps before finally letting Nico down, "I give up."
"Good!" Nico fixed herself and stood straight, "Now let's go back home... and hand me some of the groceries."
Nozomi handed over some of the bags and the two of them made their way back home.
Umi stepped out of the police department and scratched her head, "Which way was it to Kotori's workplace again?" She began pacing herself to help jog her memory. It was vague but she did remember that Kotori had to take a train there every morning. She could always call Kotori, but since she was probably working, Umi didn't want to bother her.
Umi made her way back to the shopping district. The train station there was the one that Kotori had taken to work everyday. It was around 4pm now and most people should be getting off of work or at least getting ready to leave. The shopping district was filled with numerous amounts of people at this time.
It can get a little crowded but for the most part, Umi had an easy time navigating through the crowd. She spotted a red haired street performer packing up what seemed to be a keyboard. She remembered catching a glimpse of her earlier today after she ran into Nozomi.
"Hey, Maki!" Umi heard a voice call out. She watched the red haired girl turn her head after hearing her name. Umi followed Maki's gaze and spotted another girl with orange hair.
"I'm sorry I'm late," the orange haired girl embraced Maki and gave her a small peck on the lips.
"It's no big deal, let's leave," Maki insisted.
The orange haired girl nodded and the two left the scene.
Umi continued to make her way through the crowd and into the train station. Maybe if she was lucky, she could catch Kotori coming out of one of the trains. It would make sense, but since Kotori got a promotion, Umi wasn't sure if her schedule had changed.
Umi took a seat at a nearby bench and waited until the rush hour subsided. She searched the crowd with vacant eyes for any hint of ash color. Unfortunately there was no sign of Kotori around. Umi gave up and decided to call her.
"Hello?"
"Hey Kotori, it's me."
"Umi? It's rare for you to call."
"I know, I need a favor."
"What is it?"
"Can you meet me in the shopping district? I'll buy you a coffee."
"Umm, sure. I'm on my way home on the train now."
"Okay, I'll wait for you at the station then, bye."
"See you soon."
Umi hung up the phone and waited for the next train to arrive. An hour passed and a new train had come in, she waited and watched as crowds of people populated the station. Again she kept her eyes open for any ash colored hair. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around.
"Hey Detective~" Kotori did a playful salute and winked again.
"Hi Kotori," Umi stood up.
"So what is this favor?" Kotori asked.
"Follow me," Umi turned around and headed for the train station's exit. Kotori followed closely behind and checked her wristwatch.
"Hey Umi? Can you make this quick? I have to get home before Honoka worries," Kotori asked.
"It'll only take a few minutes," Umi opened a door to a cafe and let Kotori in first. The two made their way to the counter and ordered drinks. Kotori got a caramel mocha frap while Umi just went with black coffee. They took a seat at a table once their drinks were finished.
"Okay down to business," Umi started. "It's going to be a little tough, but it's about what happened a few years ago with your family."
Kotori's mood sunk and she set down the drink that she was joyfully consuming just a moment ago. "What about it...?"
"The case I'm working on is... It's basically the same thing that happened to you," Umi continued.
"Oh gosh, that's terrible..." Kotori responded.
"And you remember Hanayo, right?"
Kotori nodded her head, "Your partner?"
"Former partner," Umi corrected.
"Oh I'm sorry..." Kotori apologized quickly after remembering what had happened to Hanayo.
"Anyways, she gave me some suspects and leads for the case and I need your help," Umi took a sip out of her coffee before continuing, "Do you know anything that could help us find the killer?"
Kotori shook her head, "No, everything I've known about it has been the same all these years."
Umi sighed and rubbed her temples, "Hanayo wanted me to ask you something important too."
Kotori tilted her head, "What is it?"
"There is a possibility that this could be a copycat case and given our small list of suspects, you are one of them," Umi said.
Kotori's jaw dropped, "Me? A suspect?! Why? I was the victim!"
Umi reached her hand out to calm Kotori but it was slapped away.
"How can they suspect me? I did nothing wrong!" Kotori's voice raised and caught the attention of the other customers.
Umi got up and knelt by Kotori. She put her hands on Kotori's shoulders and looked into her eyes, "Calm down Kotori, let me explain..."
Kotori wanted to say something back, but was able to keep it in.
"I don't think you're guilty, but the reason they suspect you is because of what you went through. The trauma that you suffered could cause you to react violently and maybe become a copycat killer." Umi tried her best to explain it.
"But you know I wouldn't do something like that, Umi," Kotori looked back into Umi's eyes.
"I know..." Umi replied.
"I mean, we lived together for a year and you would have known if something was wrong with me, right?" Kotori asked.
Umi nodded and got back in her seat.
"I'm sorry I lashed out like that..." Kotori looked down.
Umi reached out for Kotori's hand and massaged it gently to comfort her, "It's okay..."
Kotori blushed at Umi's gesture, "You always did know how to comfort me..."
Umi cleared her throat and let go quickly. Her body reacted naturally to Kotori and she wasn't aware of what she was doing.
"That's all I needed from you today," Umi changed the subject.
Kotori looked surprised, "We're done already?"
"You have to make it back home to your fiancé don't you?" Umi stared back in question.
"O-oh! Yeah that's right, I totally forgot," Kotori scrambled for her belongings and grabbed her drink. "Thank you for the treat, Umi. And I'm sorry that I wasn't of much help."
Kotori rushed out of the cafe and left Umi alone in her seat.
She spent the rest of the hour in the cafe thinking about what to do next. There were no leads and the only other survivor of Case A.M. was out of the country. She could try to track down the other suspects that Hanayo had listed. However, none of them showed any sort of connection to the case.
Umi got up and left the cafe after calling it a day. She arrived home shortly and opened her front door, there was a letter on the floor. She picked it up and closed her door. She set down her belongings on the table and took off her jacket before grabbing her letter opener.
On the front of the letter it wrote, "Detective" there was no return address nor any other name on it. She inserted the letter opener and cut it open, inside was a small piece of paper. Despite it's size, the paper was of great quality and thickness compared to regular paper. It gave off a scent of something sweet like chocolate.
She inspected the paper and flipped it over, on it was a short note that read,
"My, My, the Mouse has been set free,
Oh wise Hunter...
The game of Cat and Mouse has begun.
See if you can stop this hunt,
Before the Mouse is gone."
"What is this? A poem?" Umi set the piece of paper down, "Why would someone send me this?"
A thought raced through Umi's mind and she reached for her cell phone. She quickly dialed Hanayo's number and waited for a response. It took a few rings for the phone to pick up, "Detective? What do you want?"
"I might have a clue, Hanayo," Umi held up the piece of paper.
"A clue?" She questioned.
"I need you to look up this poem first," Umi demanded and repeated the lines. She heard Hanayo typing away on her keyboard and waited for a response.
"Nothing in the database checks out," Hanayo responded.
"Are you still in your office?" Umi got up and started putting on her jacket.
"Yeah I am, why?"
"I'm heading over there now, you need to see it in person," Umi hung up her phone and quickly left her house. She got in her car and drove to the station to save time. She rushed past the front desk and knocked on Hanayo's door. This time she didn't wait for Hanayo's voice to walk in.
"You're supposed to wait for me to answer," Hanayo turned around to face Umi and complained, "Hurry up and show me already."
Umi handed Hanayo the small piece of paper and she analyzed it, "It has some sort of sugary smell, maybe chocolate?"
"That's not important, I need you to analyze this note," Umi demanded.
"Well you're going to have to give me some time to do everything," Hanayo protested.
"How long will it take?" Umi wanted Hanayo to finish quickly.
"I don't know, a few days?" Hanayo threw out a half hearted answer.
"We don't have a few days, I need that information now," Umi looked into Hanayo's eyes.
"... Fine, just stop doing the eye thing," Hanayo turned away and started analyzing the note.
"Eye thing?" Umi questioned.
"You have a tendency to stare into people's eyes when you need something, your eyes are what get people to do it," Hanayo spoke while focusing on the note.
Umi was confused, "What's wrong with my eyes?"
"Have you looked in the mirror lately? They're a lot different from how they used to be," Hanayo explained.
"I didn't even notice..." Umi sat down and kept quiet while Hanayo did her work.
She first analyzed the paper, it was of high quality and just like any other official document, it was watermarked. Hanayo typed the name of the company that printed the paper into her computer and it came up with a surprising result.
"Hmm the paper isn't produced here in Japan, it was either imported or printed somewhere else. It seems to be of very high quality, very expensive too," Hanayo read out loud.
She then analyzed the ink that was used, "Looks like the ink is a unique blend, it isn't sold anywhere."
She moved on to analyze the writing. With today's technology, there are ways to match handwriting to certain individuals. It is still in the developing stage, but it should narrow down to a list of potential suspects. Hanayo scanned the piece of paper into her computer and launched a program. It then ran an analysis and it came up with 5 potential matches.
"Are one of those people our culprit?" Umi got up and walked over to Hanayo.
Hanayo looked up at Umi, "That seems likely, the handwriting is a close match to all of them," she printed out a sheet of paper with numerous amounts of personal information.
Hanayo handed Umi the sheet, "Here is everything we have on the individuals."
Umi nodded and grabbed it from her hands. She read the information and sighed, the suspects were spread out across the entire town and it would take an entire day to reach them all. She decided to go home and get a fresh start on it tomorrow.
Umi woke up early the next day and was already on the hunt for the culprit. There were 5 total suspects and Umi made a travel plan to get to each one in the shortest amount of time. It would take her the majority of the day but as long as she captures the culprit, she didn't care.
The first suspect was a man in his 50s, he lived a little bit out of town so that is why Umi visited him first. He was a very feeble looking man and he was being taken care of by his children. Umi eliminated him from the suspects list after she talked with the family. Apparently the father wouldn't have been able to make it into town because of his health and the children were too busy taking care of him.
Umi traveled to the next suspect's home which was a little closer to the center of the town. This man must have been in his 20s and he seemed to be living the bachelor's life. Umi had interrupted him in the middle of an awkward moment with a girl he had met the other night. The girl was his alibi because they met in the club on the night of the murder and didn't return home until 4am.
She moved on to the next suspect's location and arrived just outside the shopping district. The man here seemed to be in his 30s and was an average salaryman. Umi questioned him for some time, but it felt like the man was focused on something else. He was most likely interested in Umi, but she shot down any advances that he could make. It turns out that the man wasn't familiar with the paper that was used and he was at a bar passed out drunk on the night of the murder.
Umi didn't fully believe him when she left the small apartment. The bar that he reported going to was located in the shopping district so she knew where she would head next. She made her way to the shopping district, it was a Saturday and families were out and about at this time. There were also scaffoldings and construction going on in the courtyard in preparation for Tanabata.
"It's almost July 7th, huh?" Umi whispered to herself.
She weaved her way through the crowd and avoided running into any people. She spotted the bar and made a dash for it. When she opened the front door a bell rang and the bartender looked at her. She was maybe in her late 30s or early 40s, she bowed and yelled, "Welcome to the Homura Bar!"
Umi nodded and looked around, the bar was dimly lit and it was a little difficult to spot out how many people were in here. She made her way to a bar stool and sat in front of the woman.
"What can I get you, ma'am?" the woman asked.
"A glass of red wine," Umi replied.
"A little early to be drinking, don't you think?" The woman suggested.
"It's going to be a long day," Umi said back.
The woman nodded and pulled out a wine glass and a bottle of red wine. She poured the wine gracefully into the cup and slid it over to Umi.
"I have a few questions for you, miss," Umi said as she picked up the wine glass.
"What is it?"
"Two nights ago, do you remember a man around his 30s in a business suit that was here?" Umi asked.
The woman brought up her hand to think, "Hmm... I'm not sure, we get a lot of those kind around here."
"He was here late that night and was passed out drunk, does it ring any bells?" Umi continued.
"Hmm... Now that you mention it, there was a gentleman who we had a difficult time getting out of the bar," she answered.
Umi pulled out a picture and presented it to the woman, "Was it this man?"
The woman nodded, "Yeah that is definitely him."
"Thank you for your time then," Umi left some money and headed for the exit.
"Wait, you forgot your drink," the woman called out.
"I don't drink, you can have it," Umi responded as she left through the doorway. The woman shrugged and took the wine for herself.
Umi walked down the steps and pulled out the sheet of paper she got last night from Hanayo. She crossed off the third suspect and read up on the next two. The 4th suspect was located near Kotori's workplace while the 5th one was on the other side of town. She focused on the paper as she walked.
Umi felt something crash into her and it knocked her onto the ground. She rubbed her head and looked up to see a small boy on top of her.
"Geez Kotarou, stop running around, you'll get people hurt!" two teenage girls ran over. One picked up the boy and the other helped Umi up.
"We're so sorry about our little brother, our family hasn't been out together for a while so he's excited," the girls apologized. Umi held up her hands and tried to reassure them that she was fine. She wasn't mad in the slightest bit.
"Kokoro, Kokoa? Where are you?" A voice called out.
"We're over here with Kotarou!" They yelled back.
Umi looked up to see a family walk around the corner. Her eyes widened a little when she saw them. Nozomi was with the family and she waved to Umi with a smile, "Good morning, Detective."
Umi waved back.
"Do you know her?" Nico asked.
Nozomi nodded, "Mhmm, she's the detective in charge of my case."
"Is this the friend you said you were staying with?" Umi asked.
"Yeah, let me introduce them, this is the Yazawa family and Nico here is my best friend," Nozomi swung her arm around Nico's shoulders and pulled her in.
"Ahh! Nozomi stop! I can't breathe when you do that," she pried herself out of Nozomi's grip and straightened herself out.
Umi felt a tug on her pants and looked down to see Kotarou, "Onee-chan, who are you?"
Umi knelt down to match Kotarou's level, "I'm a friend of Nozomi and I catch bad guys."
"Like in the animes?" He replied.
Umi nodded her head, "Just like the animes," she stood up and looked at Nozomi and Nico, "I should get going now."
"Wait, Detective!" Nozomi made her way towards Umi.
She stopped walking when Nozomi called out and turned around.
"Won't you join us for lunch? We're having dim sum at a chinese restaurant," Nozomi asked.
"I would love to but I'm bu-" Umi felt a tug on her pants again.
"Come with us Onee-chan," Kotarou beckoned.
"She can come eat with us, right Nico?" Nozomi turned around to ask. Nico hesitated for a second.
"We don't exactly have the money to, Nozomi," Nico replied.
Nozomi pulled out her own wallet, "I can pay for her."
Nico's expression became worried, "Are you sure, Nozomi?"
Nozomi nodded and turned back to face Umi, "As long as you will come, Detective."
Umi thought about it in her head. She did say that she would join Nozomi the next time that she asked. But she was busy at the moment. She pulled out her phone to check the time, it was already 12pm.
"I guess I could fit in a lunch..." Umi mumbled.
"Great! Follow us," Nozomi grabbed Umi's hand and walked alongside the family.
Nico whispered over to Nozomi, "Hey Nozomi, aren't her eyes kind of weird?"
Nozomi whispered back, "Yeah, they are. I don't know anything about it though..."
The group made their way to a chinese restaurant where they were seated around a circular table. Nozomi took a seat in between Umi and Nico while the rest of Nico's family sat with each other.
"Have you ever had dim sum before, Detective?" Nozomi asked.
"Yeah, I've had it a few times," Umi replied.
"What's your favorite? I really like the pork dumplings."
"I actually like those too."
"Really? They're great aren't they? Nico here doesn't really like them, she prefers the shrimp dumplings," Nozomi pointed her thumb at Nico.
"Shut up, Nozomi!" Nico wasn't liking how Nozomi was embarrassing her in front of a stranger.
The waiters started making their rounds and the group would constantly grab things from their carts. Umi & Nozomi specifically got more pork dumplings as opposed to the other dishes.
Nozomi narrowed her eyes mischievously, "Hey Kotarou, why don't you try some chicken feet?"
"Eww no way Nozo-nee!" Kotarou retaliated.
"Kotarou! I told you to stop calling her that," Nico yelled at him.
"It's okay, Nico, I'm okay with it," Nozomi grabbed a chicken foot with her chopsticks and plopped it on Kotarou's plate. "If you eat it, I'll get you something from the gatchapon~"
"Really? Okay then!" Kotarou began eating the chicken foot.
"Be careful not to swallow any bones, Kotarou," Nico's mother warned. He made a sour face as he ate the food and it made Nozomi laugh. Her laughter caused the rest of the family to laugh alongside of her.
"I wonder how she's recovered so quickly..." Umi thought to herself. Umi reached over to the last pork dumpling and her chopsticks collided with Nozomi's. She backed away immediately, "You can have the last one."
Nozomi shook her head, "No, it's fine you can have it."
"No, I insist since you're paying for me," Umi set down her chopsticks. Nozomi frowned and picked up the dumpling. Umi pulled out her phone to check the time, it was 1pm now and she really needed to get back to work soon. She yawned and leaned back against her chair.
"AN OPENING!" Nozomi yelled. She thrusted the pork dumpling into Umi's open mouth and removed her chopsticks quickly before she could bite down. Umi was caught off guard and she almost fell backwards on her chair.
She chewed on the dumpling until she could fully swallow it. She let out a gasp of air and chugged down some water before beating against her own chest.
"Are you okay, Detective?" Nozomi held Umi's shoulders and patted her back.
"Why would you do that?!" Umi yelled.
"I'm sorry... I really wanted you to have the last one..." Nozomi pouted.
Umi sighed, "It's okay... just feed me normally next time."
Nico's mom waved to a waiter for a check and paid for most of it. Nozomi threw in Umi's expenses and the group was out of the restaurant soon enough.
"Thank you for the meal," Umi bowed to the family, "Now if you'll excuse me, I must be getting back to work now."
The family wished her good luck and Umi made her way to the train station. The next suspect was close to Kotori's workplace so she decided to take the train. The trip would take an hour so she took a seat and went through her phone to pass the time.
The train came to a stop and it was now 2pm. If she was lucky, she would be able to get to the last suspect by 3 or 4. She checked the address on her cellphone and stepped out of the train. It was within walking distance and shouldn't take more than 30 minutes to reach.
The 4th suspect lives in a high rise apartment and has connections to certain underground organizations. Of course on the surface they seem like a normal businesswoman, but the information Hanayo had on them was more than the public could uncover.
The suspect's name was Toudou Erena, a member of one of the three families that governed underworld Japan. Her along with the Kira family and the Yuuki family control most of the systematic crime that happens within the city. Of course Umi and Hanayo were aware of their existence, but the families have been working carefully to avoiding doing illegal activities. They were carrying things out through business deals and pressuring smaller companies to give into theirs.
In the end, the current police force neither has the evidence or manpower to take down any one of the families.
Umi arrived at the highrise apartment and entered the lobby, "Hello, I need to speak with Toudou Erena."
The lobby attendant looked up, "May I ask what business you have with her?"
Umi pulled out her detective's badge, "I have a few questions to ask her."
The lobby attendant picked up the phone and dialed in a number, "Hello , you have a visitor."
Umi could hear some sort of talking from the phone's ear speaker.
"She's with the police department and wishes to ask you some questions," the lobby attendant listened closely to Erena's words before covering the microphone, "She asks for your name."
"Sonoda Umi," she replied.
The attendant repeated Umi's name and waited a few seconds before nodding. She placed the phone down and ended the call, "She will see you, take the elevator over there to floor 27 and she will be in room 3."
Umi nodded and thanked the attendant. She followed the attendants instructions and arrived in front of Erena's door. She knocked gently and the door was answered immediately by two large men.
"Stand down boys, unless you want a dislocated shoulder," a voice called out.
The two men stepped to the side and allowed Umi to walk in. She stepped past the guards and stood face to face with Erena.
"Well Detective, it's nice to see you," Erena opened her arms in a presenting manner. Umi spotted another girl sitting on the couch located behind Erena.
"As you can see, you've interrupted my date with Anju," she said bitterly.
"I have a few questions for you, Erena," Umi ignored Erena's tone.
"Right down the business already? That is just like you, Detective Sonoda," Erena joked around with Umi.
Umi had no time to play games, "Where were you two nights ago?"
"I was out at a business party with the Kira's and Yuuki's," Erena answered.
"How long were you out?" Umi continued.
"It must have been from 8pm to 2am, I believe," Erena answered again.
"Are you aware of the murder case that happened during the night of this party?" Umi brought up.
"I remember vaguely seeing it on the news after waking up with a hangover if that is what you mean," Erena scratched her head.
Umi thought to herself for a moment, "Are you interested in any poems?"
"Poems? I gave up sappy stuff like that long ago, Detective," Erena shot down Umi's suspicion even lower.
"Do you mind if I look around your apartment a bit?" Umi asked.
"As long as you don't break anything, Detective," Erena made her way back to the couch and took a seat next to Anju, "Now where were we?" the two girls proceeded to flirt with each other.
Umi paid them no mind and focused on looking for anything in Erena's apartment that would tie her to the case. Unfortunately, Umi couldn't find anything remotely related to the case during her search. She returned to the main living room to see Erena and Anju really going at it.
"I'm leaving now, thank you for your cooperation," Umi said as she passed the couple.
Erena was able to get her words out for a moment, "Good luck with the investigation, Detective."
Umi made eye contact with the bodyguards as she left through the door. Something didn't feel right about Erena, it felt too natural, too smooth of an encounter. She decided to shrug it off. No matter how she approached Erena, it always ended in the same way.
With 4 of the suspects crossed off of the list, only one remained. Umi had to make sure she was prepared for the possibility of this last suspect being the killer. She didn't bring her gun with her since she left it in her car, so she had to rely on her martial arts training that she received from her father many years ago.
The last suspect's home was located in the slums which was ironically next to the luxurious posh of the city. Umi didn't really have to walk too far, if she paced herself she could make it to the residence within an hour.
During her walk, she noticed how slowly the town began to change. The highrise buildings and bustling crowds slowly started to disappear and replace with smaller homes and very few pedestrians. The noise level had dropped drastically and became much more of a calm neighborhood rather than a busy city.
She arrived in front of the home after an hour had passed and it was now 4pm. The sun was still up since it was summer, so she had a good few hours of sunlight left. She observed the home, it was run down and looked like it hasn't been cared for in years.
She carefully stepped around the uncut lawn that grew over the path to the front door and knocked on it.
There was no response.
She knocked on the door harder this time and listened for a noise. There was still nothing.
She twisted the doorknob and it gently pushed open. Umi looked around before entering. The house was dark and it showed no signs of habitation. She reached into her jacket and pulled out a small flashlight.
She clicked the button on the back and lit herself a path. The place was very run down, holes in the ground, old clothes and books were thrown on the floor. There were old shoes near the front door and dust collected on the shelves.
Umi carefully made her way through the house, making sure to avoid the holes and items on the ground. She could hear white noise coming from inside the building, "A TV?"
She traced the sound with her ears, it was coming from upstairs. She made her way to the bottom of the staircase and took a step. The step broke under her weight, "Ahh! Damn it..."
Umi reached down and pulled her leg out of the hole. She continued up the stairs and made herself as light as she could. The sound of the white noise grew stronger with every step she took until she arrived in front of a door. It was slightly cracked open and she could see the light from the TV shining out.
Umi propped up against the wall in a breaching position. She readied herself and slammed her shoulder against the door. She stumbled into the room, it was empty but it showed signs of habitation by the amounts of trash on the floor. Umi kicked the trash around to clear a path.
She made her way to the TV and shut it off. She opened the curtains to let light in and looked outside, "There's no one here..."
Just as she spoke those words, a figured bursted out from the closet next to the door and made an escape. Umi's mind went into autopilot and she chased after the figure. If the person was running, it had to be the culprit. The suspect ran past the front door and slammed it shut in Umi's face. Umi couldn't stop her momentum and collided with the door, "Crap.." she pulled it open and rushed onto the street. She looked left then right and caught the glimpse of the shadowy figure run past a corner.
She pursued the suspect once again, they ran down an alleyway and Umi was able to make visual contact with the suspect. The suspect was quick, but sooner or later Umi will catch up as long as she stayed focused. The suspect led Umi around in a wild goose chase which eventually ended up in the city.
The suspect did not hesitate to run across busy roads and avoided any incoming traffic. Umi was surprised with how swiftly the suspect was able to move. However, because of her own amounts of training, she was able to keep up.
She caught the suspect running into a multi level parking lot and followed after them. She kept on their tail until they had reached the top, "You have... nowhere else to run," Umi was breathing hard from the chase. She approached the suspect slowly, "It's over, give yourself up," she inched closer towards the suspect's back.
Umi moved in close enough and placed a hand on their shoulder, "You have the right to remai-" the suspect suddenly shifted their body and punched Umi across her face, causing her to stumble back.
The suspect took the chance to escape and climbed over the railing. Umi shook her head to reassure herself and regained her focus. She watched as the suspect jumped off of the railing. She rushed over and looked down, the suspect landed safely on a rooftop and continued to run.
"You slippery little..." Umi took a few steps back and hopped the railing. The wind blew against her hair as she hurdled down towards the roof. She landed and rolled to avoid any serious injuries from the fall. She continued her pursuit after the suspect along the rooftops.
It seemed like the suspect had planned the escape route beforehand. That would explain why Umi hasn't caught them yet. But Umi wasn't even close to giving up yet, there was no way she would let the case end up like Case A.M.
Umi pushed herself to catch up, but since the escape route had been planned, Umi was at a disadvantage. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, she speed dialed Hanayo, "Come on, pick up Hanayo..."
Umi kept her eyes on the target and continued pursuit.
"Detective? What is it? You sound out of breath."
"Hanayo! I'm chasing after a suspect who may be the culprit. Send backup immediately and use my phone as a tracker," Umi hung up her phone without waiting for a response and returned her full attention to the target.
She had been on his or her tail for an hour now and the sun was beginning to set, much earlier than Umi had anticipated. The suspect dragged Umi across the entire city and now they were headed towards a docking bay.
The docking bay was full of warehouses and if Umi wasn't careful, she could lose the target. She reached for her flashlight to help her see better and kept it fixed on the target's back. She followed the suspect into a dark and abandoned warehouse where she lost sight of them.
She shined her flashlight around but stayed by the entrance, it was the only exit and as long as she remained here or kept it closed, she would know that the suspect was still inside. Umi closed the warehouse door behind her and the building was covered in darkness except for the light that shined through the windows. Umi's flashlight also offered an advantage for her.
She carefully searched the warehouse for the suspect and kept her guard up, "Give yourself up!" Umi yelled.
She searched the entire area and found nobody, "Where the hell did they disappear to?"
Umi heard a swinging noise from behind her and ducked quickly. She turned around to face the suspect. They were hooded and the lighting of the warehouse kept their face from being shown. The suspect was holding a large lead pipe and was ready to put up a fight against Umi.
She readied herself and got into a judo stance. Her family had their own style of judo that was unrivaled in local tournaments. If she played her cards carefully, she could disarm and have the suspect down on the ground in one move.
The suspect swung and Umi stepped to the side. Another swing came and she ducked underneath it. She took this opportunity and grabbed the suspect's collar from a low position. She pivoted herself around and lifted the suspect over her shoulders and slammed them onto the ground.
The suspect let out a shriek of pain and dropped the lead pipe onto the ground. The sound of it echoed through the warehouse as Umi approached slowly. The suspect got up and pulled their hood back to reveal their identity. It was a man that looked much different from the one on Hanayo's info sheet.
He took up a boxing position and taunted Umi to attack. She stayed calm, she knew that her martial arts was a defensive one and she would lose easily if she were to go on the offensive. She didn't know the skill of the suspect either and whether or not he could hold himself in a fight.
She waited until the man attacked. He threw a straight punch which Umi dodged easily, he quickly followed up with his other fist and Umi blocked it on time.
He was fast.
Umi needed to be able to close the distance between them and get underneath his punches if she wanted to win. If she wasn't careful, she could end up knocked on her ass from an uppercut.
She waited for another opening to arise. The man threw a hook and Umi took a step inside of his arm. He brought up his other fist for an uppercut just as Umi had predicted and she blocked it by smashing her arm against his. The smash caused the man to stumble back and leave himself wide open.
Umi step in quick and grabbed his dominant arm, she shifted her weight and swung the man over she shoulder again. He came crashing down and she kept a hold on his arm this time. She twisted his arm back and used her knee to keep his head down.
She had him in a hold that would increase in pain if he struggled. Any sign of struggle from him signaled Umi to pull his arm farther back, "Stay still, I might break your arm on accident if you keep squirming around."
Umi used her free hand to dial Hanayo's number, "Hey, where's the backup I called?"
"They should be arriving now," Hanayo replied.
Umi heard sirens surround the warehouse and the doors opened up,
"You are under arrest."