17. It's Better to Make Clever Plans with a Full Stomach

Shame is a very important part of the Japanese mentality. The threat of shame compels a Japanese person to behave according to the expectations of their social circle and society at large. Shame is the inevitable punishment for behavior that deviates from the norm. It is applied everywhere: from raising toddlers to instilling corporate standards of conduct. Even the yakuza trains its members not so much through fear, but by means of shame. Thus, it follows that a shameless person has it easier. They are less frightened by the moral pressure of others. No matter what they do, they are unlikely to blush.

Cynical, self-deprecating people like me are theoretically less susceptible to the influence of shame. But in practice, even I can feel my ears burning in an awkward situation.

Now, a question: what could be more awkward than when a girl who's in love with you introduces you to her family before a Saturday dinner? Only if you show up at that family dinner with your fiancée.

Still not enough? Add the fact that this girl's sister-in-law, a haughty, unpleasant woman in her thirties, initially looks down on you because you're just a low-ranking police detective, many steps below her father in the career ladder. Then, when she realizes whose daughter your fiancée is, she starts fawning over you so much that her husband almost has to intervene to stop her.

In my personal ranking, this visit to Tsurumi quickly went from "I want to get drunk" to "I want to die" to "Send me back to Cotabato." Yukino, who had been trained since infancy to behave properly at social receptions and official events, held up better.

Our goal was to have an informal conversation with Haruto Tsurumi, the deputy chief of the Chiba City Police Department. But instead, we ended up conversing with the entire Tsurumi family. Rumi's father headed the economic department in the city hall, and her mother worked in the cultural and sports department there as well. Her cousin was a quality control engineer, her sister-in-law an accountant, and only her aunt turned out to be a typical Japanese housewife from the upper middle class.

We carefully observed etiquette, maintained polite conversation, and ate a Western-style meal. This turned out to be the most pleasant part of the day. Free food is always wonderful, even if it's a bowl of bland, sticky, overcooked rice from a filtration camp in Mindanao. Even Yukino, whose culinary praise is hard to earn, sincerely complimented it.

All this time, I couldn't help but watch Rumi. The girl tried to keep her composure as best as she could, but now and then, she tried to jab at Yukino. A hopeless case. When Yukino wanted to, she could transform into her mother – polite, but ruthless to anyone who didn't acknowledge her absolute righteousness. But she didn't even need to resort to such extreme measures. After all, Yukino always treated Rumi, the lonely little soul, well.

Finally, dinner ended. The women began clearing the table. We were about to help, but then Chief Tsurumi intercepted us and suggested we talk in the garden. We weren't about to refuse.

Haruto Tsurumi lit a cigarette and offered us one. Yukino declined. I hadn't seen anyone in the Yukinoshita family smoke. I thought about it and followed her example. I started smoking while waiting at the embassy in Manila for a chance to return home. I quit a couple of years later when I became a patrol officer.

The chief smoked half his cigarette and asked us to explain why we had come to him in such a roundabout way. I handed the floor to Yukino. Speaking convincingly and strictly on the matter was her job.

"Correct me if I'm wrong. You want to press charges against a person with indirect but verifiable links to an organized crime group for defamation. By doing so, you want to bring the matter to the public eye and let it be known that the Yukinoshita family will respond to pressure with countermeasures. Which could potentially cause more harm than neutralizing one intermediary."

"Defamation won't do. Chapter 34 of the criminal code only allows private accusations. The victim, my father, would have to file the charge. But we're not involving him in this yet. Reputation damage, and possibly attempted extortion are our goals. Although proving the latter will be very difficult. These charges would require public accusations."

"It would be easier, Yukinoshita-san, if your father came to us directly. People would listen to him."

"He wouldn't want to risk his reputation. In our scenario, only the detective who was offered the compromising material is in danger," I explained. "There's a risk, but I've staked my nonexistent reputation before in worse situations. Right now, we have some facts on our side."

I opened two emails on my personal smartphone, both sent by Haruno the day before. One was from a firm in Minato. Their experts had examined the audio recordings of the negotiations. Leaving aside the long technical details, they concluded that the authenticity of the recordings could not be verified, as an attempt to manipulate the material had been made, violating the principle of evidence. "These recordings cannot be considered reliable and cannot be used as proper evidence in court," concluded a certain Masao Suzuki.

"The analysis was done privately, but I doubt the prefectural forensic experts will say anything fundamentally different," I speculated. "The situation with the documents is worse."

I opened another report, this time in English. For variety, Haruno had reached out to a U.S. firm in San Francisco, California. After reading their conclusion, I realized that the Kuronaga-gumi had overdone it.

Chief Tsurumi looked at the text, then at me. I politely pretended not to notice that the higher-ups didn't understand English. I pressed a couple of buttons, and a machine translation appeared on the screen. The quality was poor, but the main idea was understandable.

"Image quality is too low, numerous signs of file editing. Therefore, it cannot be determined whether these documents are genuine or forged. Someone might have tried to cover their tracks after clumsily photographing information they shouldn't have access to."

I then played the recording of my conversation with Sato Kobayashi.

"A good defense lawyer won't allow this in court," Yukino observed. "But I believe it would be enough to convince the prosecution."

"I agree. This is enough to open a criminal case. But what's my role in all of this?"

"A pawn in shogi is too easily turned around once it's captured," I sighed. "We suspect that the Kuronaga-gumi has people in the prefectural law enforcement. I need support in case they try to use them. At least someone with enough authority to keep the investigation on track"

"And make sure your career doesn't suffer, detective?"

"My career, reputation, freedom, or life in this situation are resources that can be spent if necessary to protect Yukino Yukinoshita. The attacks on her father are increasingly affecting her, and they must be stopped before they cause real harm."

Yukino gave me a grim look.

"Social suicide, Hikigaya-kun, also causes real harm to me. Don't cross the line," she warned.

Chief Tsurumi looked at us in surprise.

"Hikigaya-kun is an experienced social kamikaze. In the past, he repeatedly solved other people's problems in the most damaging way for his reputation."

The chief paused, then laughed.

"A courage test at the summer camp. It took me a great deal of effort to explain to Rumi that this isn't the right way to go about things. That usually, problems in relationships can be solved without bringing out the lowest aspects of people's personalities. I think she still doesn't believe in that. Sorry, I didn't immediately connect Detective Hikigaya and that young man from Soubu High School. Now it all makes sense, both in this situation and others."

Haruto Tsurumi stubbed out his cigarette and returned to the topic.

"Go ahead. I'll provide unofficial support for the investigation, and if I notice any attempts to interfere, I'll do my best to prevent it. It will be useful to figure out who still believes it's possible to represent the interests of criminals while serving in the police."

Not long before we left, Chief Tsurumi found an opportunity to speak with me privately. I wasn't too keen on the idea; I had gotten used to relying on my personal lawyer.

"Hikigaya-kun, I need to talk to you about something. Not as a senior officer, but as a relative of a girl who suddenly has problems. Seiichiro and Ami wouldn't initiate such a conversation themselves. For them, it's an invasion of someone's private life. But us, the police, we're more accustomed to such things, right?"

"I understand, Tsurumi-san. It's about Rumi's feelings, isn't it?"

"Exactly. I need some answers. For example, how long have you known about them?"

"This week. Rumi practically confessed to me during our last conversation. Before that, I had no idea. I thought she was just struggling to talk to me because she's a loner and I'm not the easiest person to get along with."

"Looking back, I realize that these feelings have been around for years."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know. I'm not much of an expert on the female heart. In fact, I'm no expert at all."

"Does Rumi have a chance?"

"I already told her. There never was, there isn't now, and there won't be any chances for any women but one. I had crushes in my youth, but my first real love became my last. Other women, besides Yukino Yukinoshita, don't interest me. I'm always ready to help Rumi as a friend, as an older brother. Nothing more."

"That's harsh. But at least you're honest. Thank you. Now I'll know which direction to steer conversations with my niece."

"Thanks for caring about her."

We finally said our goodbyes to the Tsuruumi family and headed home to Yukino's place. She was working on the materials for another case. I sat next to her, leisurely reading a well-worn copy of Independent People by Laxness, translated by Shizuki Yamamuro. Hana was dozing on the windowsill. And we were happy.