XVII

Naoto had to get all the facts in order fast.

"Oba's real body? So the burn victim was someone else?" She was talking to Ikehara just outside the interrogation room.

"It would appear so, yes."

"Any specifics on Oba's death yet?"

"It looks like a suicide, but then they all did, right? He drove his car into the Oanray, at the South banks. The name 'Sujin' was written on each window. You just spoke to Toda, do you think he would have been able to pull this off before we caught him?" Naoto's head was still catching up to the new information.

"Toda is not the murderer." She stated simply before telling Ikehara about the bullet wound.

"Maybe you missed the shot?" The officer tried to rationalise.

"Or… ." Naoto urged her to reach the same conclusion she already had.

"Or our perp is still at large." Ikehara's eyes went large at the realisation.

"Send a patrol to Kujikawa's house, now." Naoto ordered, even though she had no authority over the officer. Ikeahara didn't argue the issue.

Though the patrol promised they'd be there in five minutes, the worry in Naoto's eyes did not subside. When it finally spread to Ikehara's, she offered to drive Naoto and herself to the house as fast as she could.

They pulled out of the parking space and had barely left the parking lot when a voice on Ikeahara's radio sounded, static crackling so they could only make out every other word.

"… hostage situation… explosives… gun… immediate backup… ." The message ended with them repeating the same address twice: Rise's apartment.

Their police car finally pulled up to the building. Naoto got out before Ikehara had even fully stopped the vehicle. Gun out, she ran to the front door. She could already hear more sirens approaching.

"Shirogane, wait." Ikehara called out, but Naoto had already stopped when she saw the tripwire in front of the door.

"He's got the whole place set up like that." Another officer called out to her.

"We don't know what he wants yet, he hasn't made any more contact." Another added.

"What did he say before?" Naoto asked them.

"Not to come in. That he'll kill Ms. Kujikawa if we tried to disarm the explosives before he was done."

"Before he was done with what?"

"He didn't specify."

"Could you see who it was?"

"No. He was wearing a mask. He said his name was Izanagi."

Naoto was panicking now. They seemed to be stuck in a stalemate. If they could even manage to get inside the building, the man claiming to be Izanagi would kill Rise before they could stop him. If they didn't do anything at all, the result would still be the same. Omoikane, God of wisdom. Naoto had no desire to find out what method of suicide the man would link to Rise's kami. She had to get inside the apartment fast, but how? A distraction? She looked around. More officers had arrived but they could do little else than stand around in formation, weapons trained on the house without a target. A bomb squad was standing by, dogs softly whining.

Naoto had started executing her plan before she was even fully aware that she had one. She'd run over to Ikehara's car again, taken out the megaphone that was there.

"Izanagi." She yelled at the house. No answer. She repeated the name again with the same results. This wouldn't work. How could she get his attention? Ikehara had made her way over to the window on the side of the house, with one of the members of the bomb squad standing next to her. They were ready, they were waiting for her to succeed.

"Hide." She called out the director's name, Ikehara now mouthing 'what?' at her in surprise. But the naming had worked. In the window next to the front door, a curtain was pulled to the side. A man wearing the familiar kabuki mask was staring back at Naoto.

"Hide," She repeated his name again, "Your plan has failed. Kenji Oba is still alive." The figure watched her motionlessly for a few moments. Naoto forced herself not to throw a quick glance to see if Ikehara had made any progress disarming the tripwire.

"One of your Furies is still left unaltered." She said, unsure if this was having any effect on the man. She was starting to believe that the angry expression on the mask would match the one below.

"Lies," his voice sounded loudly, he had somehow managed to hook himself up to the building's intercom. "Kenji has died. Suijin has been born." He sounded calm.

"He survived, he got out of the car in time." Naoto said.

"Lies," the voice repeated. "Oba is dead, I have seen the proof. You cannot trick me, Detective Prince Shirogane," His use of her name sent a shiver down her spine. "Distract me no longer, all you are doing is prolonging the end."

The curtains closed again.

"Hide. Hide." Naoto tried a few more times. It wouldn't be necessary to distract him any longer, though, Ikehara signalled her.

As she went over to the side windows, they spoke in hushed tones.

"Do we send in the strike team?" Ikehara asked.

"No, they can't get through the window fast enough. Beside, I'm sure he'll shoot her as soon as he sees the guns. I… ," Naoto hesitated to suggest this part of her plan, "I think if I go in unarmed that he'll… He'll talk to me. I think he was waiting for an audience and that he'd want me to be it." She had no evidence to prove it, other than the road the investigation had led her on so far. She was surprised when Ikehara nodded.

"Okay. You can go in. I'll have a strike team ready to go in on the other side. Keep him distracted while they look for an opening."

"I will."

"Be careful, Naoto."

Naoto nodded as she placed her gun in Ikehara's hands.

The window wasn't locked. Naoto doubted it was out of oversight. Maybe her theory that Hide craved an audience was right. She slipped inside easily, feet first. Rise's kitchen. There was no one here. He'd talked to her from the living room window. She tried to open the door as quietly as she could. A soft bell rung clear through the air. Of course, Naoto sighed, he'd hung bells at each door to warn him of unwanted arrivals.

She could see Hide quickly swinging in her direction, gun already aiming at her heart. She put her hands up.

"Are you insane?" His voice sounded muffled through the mask. "Did I not explain what I'd do to her?" He motioned to the side. Rise. Naoto's heart skipped several beats as she fully took in the scene before her. Rise was sitting on a chair in the middle of the room, tape on her mouth, her hands bound around the chair's back. The chair was standing on a large sheet of plastic covering the floor. In front of the chair stood a large the left side a camera was set up, pointing at Rise. The light of a lamp next to it reflecting harshly against the plastic. On the right side was a table displaying a cordless power drill. Naoto quickly filled in the horrifying blanks. Wisdom of a 1000 minds: Drill a hole into your own brain.

Hide didn't give her time to come up with a plan, he was wildly swinging his gun from Rise's direction to hers and back. Was he unsure of who to shoot first? Naoto tried to speak in an unthreatening, calm way but she felt the pitch of her voice cracking in all the wrong ways.

"Look, Hide, the place is surrounded. You won't be able to walk away after this. Don't you want to tell at least one person why you did all of this?" She hoped the question would stall him long enough. Hide decided to focus his aim on Naoto alone. She saw fresh tears falling down Rise's cheeks. The silence went on for too long. Naoto could see Hide's finger squeezing closer around the trigger. If she rushed him now, would she still be able to get him on the ground after he shot her? Would that give the strike team enough space to move in? The muscles in her legs were already tightening, readying themselves for a sprint, when Hide finally spoke again.

"I'll show you," He took of his mask in a quick motion. His expression did not match the mask's. Instead he had an enthusiastic grin, his eyes quickly jumping between Naoto, Rise, the objects in the room. "Keep your hands up, detective." He came over to her, dropping his mask on the table on the way. He pressed the end of the gun against her cheek as he padded her down, checking her pockets, and her sides. He seemed pleased that she didn't bring a weapon, he let out a short hum. He moved the gun from her face, motioning toward the left corner of the room.

"Over there. No sudden movements."

Naoto obeyed the command, as she went over to the corner, her eyes met Rise's. She wished there was something she could do or say to her to let her know the strike team was on its way. Hide began to speak again.

"I'll admit. I'm sorta glad you showed up." Naoto would have to go along with him for now. At least his gun was not pointing at Rise. At least the drill was still lying on the table unused.

"So tell me, Hide. How does it work?" She knew it had been the right thing to ask when she saw the director's smile widen.

"It is glorious, detective. The ultimate film. My masterpiece."

Naoto caught up quick. The camera; Hide had filmed each death. He walked over to the television, eyes and gun still trained on Naoto. He turned the image towards her and pressed play. On the screen was a close-up of Seki Haruki's face. Her pupils were extremely dilated and dark smears of mascara and eyeliner told Naoto that she'd been crying. Now Seki's expression was neutral, though, serene. The image zoomed out then, showing the actress fully. She was standing in the open windowsill, back towards the street. Naoto knew how this one would end. She wanted to look away but she could feel Hide's eyes on her. He wanted a witness. She watched Seki fall.

"Do you understand?" Hide paused the image on the exact moment the impact was shown.

"I-" Fortunately he didn't wait for her response.

"The fourth and final part. I call it Furies Forever. No more CGI and producers interfering. Only pure, raw exaltation and divinity," He paused looking proudly at the screen for a moment, before turning back to Naoto, "You're wondering how I did it, right, detective?"

All Naoto could do was nod. He scoffed.

"You shouldn't allow yourself to be distracted from the eternal by such dull technicalities. I suppose I could enlighten you, if it would help you better understand the necessity. Let's see. Fujin, yes, the first one. I will admit it, Fujin was messier than I would have liked," Hide kept moving around while he talked. Naoto strained against her instinct to lunge at him whenever he passed too closely to Rise. "I knew that the most effective alibi would be for the night of the first transformation, after that I would be in the clear. Considering you never came for me, detective, I'm assuming my reasoning was correct?" The smug tone in his voice made the hairs on Naoto's neck stick up.

"It was easy enough to convince Kenji to help me. That boy was… not very bright at all, was he? Which did make for a rather clumsy shot. Couldn't follow clear instructions. I wish I could have been there in person, directing over the phone takes away the authenticity of it all. The second one, though, I'm sure you've appreciated the attention to detail there." He pressed a button on the television again. Ide painting on a white wall, quickly growing paler.

"Kagutsuchi, one of the best scenes I have ever created. 'From death reborn, eightfold.' Fitting, no?" The question was once again a rhetorical one. He skipped forward to an image of Oba Kenji in a car. He didn't have the same serene look on his face as the other two, eyes wide as he wrote his message on the windows before moving his hands to the steering wheel. "He thought he had been so clever, hahaha. That he could convince me that he beat me to it. I wouldn't have believed it even if I hadn't seen it. You saw it too right, you were there at the party?" Naoto nodded. "What a coward. Drugging his own girlfriend and that boy. What was his name again…," He paused now, looking up as if he was searching his own brain for the answer. He sighed as he walked backwards toward Rise. Naoto's muscles were screaming now. Hide pulled the tape off Rise's mouth.

"This is gonna bother me al day. What was that stuntman's name again?"

"Yoshi. Itoh." Rise barely got the words out, her eyes tearing into Naoto's.

"Right, right, poor Yoshi," He came back closer to Naoto, "Poor Yoshi had to burn for nothing. Oba didn't fool you, right. He didn't fool me, at least. But he did offer me the opportunity to plant Toda's DNA all over Rise's room. Hell, I should thank him. You lot might have never let her out of that ugly hotel room if you didn't all believe it was the manager all along. And then I wouldn't have had my leading lady back here," He twirled around making a grand gesture at the room, "In the perfect setting for my final scene." Naoto tried to look past him for signs of the strike team. Were they close? Were they waiting for her? She wouldn't be able to stall him for much longer.

"We should get started soon." Hide had made his way over to the camera. He pressed a few buttons, briefly looking away from Naoto before brusquely looking her in the eyes.

"There's a part in here for you too, Shirogane. If you'd want it," His voice was lower now, "See, I've been watching the two of you. There's a chemistry there that the camera would love. That no one can fake. Taking turns protecting one another, that is what the great movie romances were made off, right?" His tone suggested he was toying with her.

"What's the part, Hide?" She tried to sound as confident as possible though it was clear to everyone in the room that he had the upper hand.

"Ah, straight to the point. Always quite the pragmatic detective. The diligent detective prince."

"Hide, what's the part?" His monologuing had started to get to Naoto. She had to resolve the situation soon, it felt like everything could spin out of her control in less than a second.

"That's not what you ask, though," Hide points the camera at her. "That's not what the script says. You ask 'What do I need to do to save her'," He pauses, waiting for Naoto to say the line. After a few seconds of her silence he continues anyway. "And then Izanagi says: 'Silly detective, you can't save her. All you can do is make it easier.'" His gun stays on Naoto as he looks at Rise, his head tilted to the side. He walks towards the table, picks up the drill with his free hand and presses the handle a few times in demonstration.

"Just tell me what I need to do." Naoto was staring intently at Hide. She saw Rise move from the corner of her eye.

"Naoto, don't," Rise's voice begged for her attention but Naoto was too scared to look away from the director, "Don't do this. You don't need to do this. It'll be fine. You saw the others. If he drugs me first I won't be in pain." Naoto's heart broke at the implication. Hide didn't acknowledge that Rise'd just spoken. He merely put the drill back down.

"You pay me tribute. In blood." He walked back over to the camera, picking up a blade that had been standing against the tripod. The katana Rise had used in the films. Hide unsheathed the metal with his left hand, and pointed the tip of the blade at Naoto.

"And what would she get in return?" Naoto could feel a hard knot forming in her stomach.

"A bullet instead of a drill." Hide demonstrated by pointing the gun at Rise for a moment, firing a mock shot as he faked the sound.

Naoto's mind raced through all possible outcomes at record speed. Saying yes would keep Hide's attention on her for just a little longer. It would keep his back turned towards the side entrance, maybe giving Ikehara and the others the opening they needed. Even if they didn't make it on time, Naoto thought, already having decided: a bullet instead of a drill.

Under Rise's loud protest, Naoto nodded. Hide smiled triumphantly.

"A fitting addition to my finale," He sheathed the blade and handed it to Naoto, "Don't do something stupid, detective." He pointed at his gun before he went to unhook the camera from its tripod. Rise had stopped yelling. Naoto forced herself not to look, she knew Rise would be angry for this. Hide stood next to Naoto now. Still too far away, Naoto thought.

"No magic juice for you, I'm afraid. The detective needs to stay sober, stuck in their unsatisfying reality. Now then, at the neck please, Shirogane." He dragged his finger across her skin, the sensation felt as if she had already been cut.

"Fine. Make sure you get this." Her anger had somehow overpowered her nerves. She unsheathed the sword with steady hands. Hide started to say something then, but Naoto was already pressing the blade against her neck, hard enough to draw blood. She heard him mutter "Excellent" under his breath. Her final plan worked, he came in for a closer shot. She prayed the strike team was in position, she closed her eyes and clenched her fist tighter around the blade. Let's see him dodge this one, she thought.

A loud yell quickly got Naoto to open her eyes. Hide dropped the camera, his hand hovering above a bloody wound in his leg. Rise was standing behind him, the drill still whirring. She was looking at him with a rage in her eyes Naoto had never seen before. Then, the strike team arrived. Hide turned towards the loud noise of their entrance. Naoto took the opportunity to kick him in the back of his knees and wrestle the gun out of his hand. She aimed for him, though he'd seemingly already given up the will to fight. He put his head in his hands and fell to his knees. The strike team was on him then, two men pushing him flat down on the ground, a third putting him in handcuffs. Naoto put his gun in her own holster before quickly running over to Rise. She stopped just a few feet from her, though. Rise's look had not changed, still clutching the drill as she stared at Hide. As gently as she could, Naoto closed her hand over Rise's and she loosened her hold of the drill's grip. With her other arm, Naoto pulled Rise close to her. The drill fell to the ground. Rise slumped against Naoto, almost threatening to topple them both. Naoto had to take one step backwards to support them as Rise started sobbing into her shoulder.

"It's over." Naoto tried to comfort her. The sobbing continued, quieter now. Finally Rise pulled back, placing one hand on Naoto's cheek.

"Don't ever do something like that again." Naoto could see that Rise's wrists and hands were bleeding from where the rope had strained against them. She'd managed to wriggle herself loose while Hide was distracted. The detective inside Naoto insisted she'd have the paramedics look at the injuries immediately. Still, she didn't move for another long while.

Naoto woke up the next day with Rise's arm wrapped around her chest. The actress had been reluctant to let go of her, even after Hide had been taken into custody. She'd briefly let go of Naoto to get her hands looked at. She'd put a hand on Naoto's knee when they stitched the wound in her neck. She'd entwined their fingers, intermittently caressing the back of Naoto's hand with her thumb, as Naoto told Ikehara what happened. In the back of Ikehara's car, she rested her head on Naoto's shoulder. Naoto felt her nod off a few times and wondered if she could ask Ikehara to just drive around a little longer while she slept.

Back at Naoto's apartment, Rise pulled her towards the couch by her arm. Naoto wrapped it around her shoulders when Rise cried again. She kept it there when the crying stopped and Rise simply thought for a while.

"Hey, Naoto?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you."

"Hm," Naoto pressed a kiss to her forehead and Rise sank into the touch. "I love you."

"I love you too."