Tokyo: Rabbit Police and Her Evil Partner

Chapter 575 The Essence Beneath the Appearance
In order to find out where the fourth person's fingerprints came from, Kotaro Kanesaka and Nao Mori disguised themselves as reporters and went to the Hokkaido Police Station to retrieve the original case files and interview all the police officers involved in the auditorium shooting.

Unfortunately, things didn't go smoothly; they didn't have a North Island accent, and their secret was immediately exposed.

The Hokkaido Police Department was quite xenophobic and refused to cooperate, kicking the two of them out.

The other investigation teams didn't make much progress either. The novelist went off to see the scenery while investigating, and the famous detectives were equally helpless in the face of such a long-standing case, and could only run around hoping for the best.

Many clever people, like Kensaka Kotaro, did not give up on the prize money. For example, Aoshima Hara and his partner went to the Kawai family temple, asked the abbot, and learned about the conversation between Fushimi Shika and Minamoto Tamako in front of the tombstone. He had a vague guess in his heart, but no evidence.

A day flew by. The detectives, determined to solve the case, stayed up all night, while the novelists, taking a relaxed approach to sightseeing, chatted for half the night, exchanging ideas and making it seem like a writers' retreat.

The following evening, the second murder occurred as scheduled at the Hokkaido Police Academy.

This refers to the infamous "Sugamo Apartment Massacre" that shocked Tokyo!
The performance took place in a replica venue built to the left of the auditorium, which was basically a one-to-one reproduction of the corridor of Sugamo Apartment.

As soon as Mouri entered, she felt like she was in a haunted house. She hugged her arms, feeling a chill run down her spine, and even her small eyebrows were trembling.

The investigation is not going as smoothly as expected. Kanesaka Kotaro is currently very free because there is nothing to investigate, so he can only come with Mori Na to sort out the information of the second murder case.

Most of the other investigation teams also came in pairs, and very few people were too busy to come over.

"So much free time? Looks like everyone's progress isn't going very well..."

Kotaro Kanesaka had mixed feelings, unsure whether to be happy or anxious.

The two walked through the corridor toward the audience seats. To the left of the corridor was a row of old apartment doors, each with a bowl of salt placed at its door; to the right was a concrete railing. Due to limited space, the scenery on the railing was just pasted on, and the corridor was actually an enclosed space.

Mouri leaned closer to the railing to examine it closely. The paper showed a view of the U-shaped apartment building, which looked like a pigeon coop.

She had visited similar apartments during her field research trips. They were all remnants from around the 1970s, small, cramped, and dilapidated, with very poor environments. They were usually filming locations for horror movies and could be considered the core of Japanese people's dreams.

To ensure that everyone can see inside the corridor, the designer added tiered seating at the end of the corridor.

All the guests were crammed into their seats, shoulder to shoulder, and the corridor seemed pitch black, making it impossible to see anything clearly.

Suddenly, two beams of light appeared at the end, and footsteps were heard. Everyone held their breath and watched as Fushimi Shika and Minamoto Tamako walked in wearing police uniforms.

The show begins.

Mouri Nai was a little excited and took out her notebook to take notes.

Judging from their attire, they are still junior patrol officers in the police station.

Genji kept urging Fushimi Shika to hurry up, waving his flashlight around and observing the surroundings.

Judging from their conversation, the two seemed to have just started their jobs. Minamoto Tamako mentioned that she heard gunshots during the day, so she insisted on patrolling each house diligently; Fushimi Shika seemed to want to slack off and kept objecting to it.

Before the case began, Mouri Nai had hoped that the second case would be inextricably linked to the first, just as meticulous, just as melancholic, just as convoluted, and just as full of old grudges and secrets.

Until that eerie singing voice rang out.

"Is this ghost a spirit or a demon? The sound of the bow will surely reveal the truth..."

"Heaven is pure... Earth is pure... Inner and outer purity... Six senses are pure..."

These are lines from the Noh play "Aoi no Ue".

Genji suddenly turned the flashlight around, and the beam shone towards the end of the corridor.

Everyone stared intently as a door creaked open. The singing became exceptionally clear, accompanied by the soft accompaniment of a shamisen, like a ghost whispering in one's ear.

Immediately afterwards, the shadow of a female ghost appeared at the end of the corridor, disappearing in an instant, eliciting gasps from the audience.

This expansion is not right, right?
Is there something wrong with it?

Mouri Nai knew that the inclusion of fantasy elements in mystery works was a major taboo, as it would ruin the tone of the entire work, so she subconsciously adopted a critical perspective.

But then she thought about it again. Mr. Fushimi and Ms. Tamako had both promised that all the cases were real cases. She felt a little uneasy and couldn't help but shrink closer to Mr. Kanesaka.

"Why are you leaning so close?" Kensaka Kotaro asked in a low voice.

Mouri Nai blushed and asked in a low voice, "Aren't you scared? This actually happened..."

"Someone must be playing tricks. There are no ghosts in the world," Kanesaka Kotaro scoffed.

"How did that woman suddenly disappear?" Mouri Nai didn't believe it; she was very flexible in her acceptance of different worldviews.

"I don't know, let's wait and see the details of the case later." Kensaka Kotaro was intrigued by the case; it was rare for him to be so curious.

After careful consideration, Mouri Nai jotted down notes in her notebook—adding supernatural and horror elements to mystery novels could attract readers' interest.

But how do we ultimately justify paranormal events?
Mouri Nai felt this was a difficult point; if it wasn't handled well and the setting couldn't be accepted by the readers, it might backfire.

When Minamoto no Tamako and Watanabe no Shun met in the hallway, the situation had already taken a completely different turn.

Mouri Nai became increasingly curious about what would happen next.

Who exactly is the female ghost?

Is Seiji Yasukawa's claim of "soul-soothing" true or false?

What secret is Tsuyoshi Nagashima hiding?
Why do the residents of Sugamo Apartment put salt in front of their doors?
……

The events took an increasingly bizarre and unpredictable turn, completely different from the first case. This was not a simple murder, but a social realism mystery incorporating elements of suspense.

Mouri Nai felt that "dying alone" and "runaway children" were both good starting points, and if written well, they might spark heated discussions in society.

The case is relatively simple, without many complicated trajectories; it consists mainly of coincidences and two tragic lives.

When the videotape of Yukimura Aoi was played, Mouri Nai could empathize with their pain; when Nagashima Tsuyoshi arrogantly provoked her, Mouri Nai also got angry and threw a punch...

Until the massacre occurred, with eighteen guests dying overnight, all the evil and filth came to an abrupt end under the immense violence.

Mouri Nai felt as if the story had come to an abrupt end. She wanted to know if Yukimura Aoi's sister had been found, and also what happened to Hira Sakurako.

As for the deaths of those eighteen guests, in Mouri's view, they deserved it.

In the end, the villain should be punished; otherwise, it's not a proper story, but just a self-indulgent product written by the author to disgust readers.

After the performance, staff distributed booklets again, detailing the events surrounding the Sugamo apartment massacre.

Upon learning from the pamphlet that Seiji Yasukawa had saved Hirako, Mouri breathed a sigh of relief.

She quickly flipped through the booklet to the end, and exclaimed in surprise, "Did it end with a gang shootout?"

Kotaro Kanesaka is still reading: "Tsuyoshi Nagashima was a member of the Inagawa-kai and embezzled tens of millions of dollars in drug money. It's normal for a fight to break out... There were eighteen people, all of whom had weapons. The scene looked like a brawl."

"So that means it wasn't done by one person? Could the real culprit behind [Heavenly Punishment] be an organization?" Mori Nami guessed. "Ms. Gen said that all four cases were committed by the same person," Kanesaka Kotaro reminded her.

He didn't want to make the case more difficult to solve; whether it was a copycat or the real culprit in the auditorium shooting, as long as it could be used to earn a reward, that was fine.

"Maybe Miss Yuan is wrong?" Mouri crossed her arms: "Aside from the blood-written [Divine Punishment] inscription, the scene has absolutely nothing in common with the previous case!"

"On the surface, that's how it seems, but the core is actually very consistent: revenge—avenging the victims and leaving behind the blood-written words 'Divine Punishment.'" Kensaka Kotaro reminded him, "You need to see through the appearances to the essence."

“I see, that makes sense,” Mori nodded, then raised a question: “But how could one person kill eighteen people? And they were all young and strong, and all of them were armed…”

"Weren't all the sword masters in ancient times supposed to be able to kill a hundred people? Killing eighteen people is only at the level of a minor swordsman," said Kensaka Kotaro.

"Eh……"

Upon hearing this, Mouri suddenly realized it made sense.

She felt that her thinking was limited; the murderer didn't necessarily have to be a vicious and ruthless bandit. A good villain and a good storyline complement each other.

For example, Moriarty, nicknamed "The Professor," would make the story even more exciting with him as Holmes's adversary.

The same goes for the Heavenly Punishment case. The young lady of the Kujo family is fighting against the number one swordsman in Japan. Just looking at their identities is enough to create a lot of buzz!
"Where should we start our investigation? This is a case in Tokyo, do we have to go back to Tokyo?" Mouri Nai, like Kanesaka Kotaro, lives in Tokyo.

One of them lives in Bunkyo Ward, and the other lives in Ashita Ward.

"I'll probably have to go back to Tokyo. It should only take a day by train," Kensaka Kotaro said firmly.

"Why not take a plane? Wouldn't it be faster?" Mouri asked.

"We don't have enough money," Kotaro Kanesaka said honestly.

"No problem, I'll pay!" Mouri Nai patted his chest and said with great enthusiasm, "I also want to contribute to the investigation!"

Kotaro Kanesaka did not refuse and nodded in agreement.

Since there was a breakthrough in the previous case, this case can be investigated further.

Kotaro Kanesaka plans to thoroughly investigate Shika Fushimi's alibi and confront Takusai Kazama, who is also involved in the case.

He pointed to the photocopy of the confession in the booklet and said to Mouri Nai:

“Look, the confession says that Kazama Takusai spoke with Fushimi Shika at one or two o’clock in the morning, which happened to be the time of the incident, so both of them have alibis.”

"Huh, so what?" Mouri Nai scratched her head, not seeing what the problem was.

Kotaro Kanesaka took out another booklet, opened it to the first page, pointed to one of the names, and said, "Look."

"Huh? The detective who investigated the auditorium shooting is also named Kazama Takusai? Is it just a coincidence?" Mouri narrowed her eyes, her beady eyebrows widening. "This is too much of a coincidence. There must be something fishy about this!"

Kotaro Kanesaka wanted to say that this was obvious, but considering that Naoki Mori had paid for the plane tickets, he didn't say anything.

"So, this person is our next target for investigation?" Mouri Nai pressed.

“Yes, he most likely knew.” Kanesaka Kotaro closed the booklet and left. “I have a feeling that this person might be able to solve the mystery of the fourth person’s fingerprints.”

Mouri was overjoyed; she was especially eager to know what would happen next.

The two bought plane tickets that night and took a few hours to sleep in the airport terminal and on the plane, which helped them catch up on their sleep.

Not everyone has the perseverance, willpower, and financial resources they do. Many plan to continue their investigation in Hokkaido, analyzing the simulated scenarios in the pamphlet in an attempt to deduce the identity of the murderer.

When Mouri Nai and Kanesaka Kotaro got off the plane, they encountered Aoshima Hara at the airport.

He also came to Tokyo, but without his partner. Instead, he left his partner in Hokkaido to organize information for the next case.

While waiting for the taxi, the three exchanged a brief conversation. Aoshima was very courteous and didn't mind sharing information, and Kanesaka Kotaro reciprocated by sharing information with him in order to solve the case.

In this way, it's as if two groups are investigating the case, making them far more efficient than their competitors.

"Regarding the fourth fingerprint, I asked the Hokkaido detectives, and they said that when Kazama Takusai was investigating the case, he believed that the fourth fingerprint was carved with a needle..."

Qingdao Yuan also found crucial clues in the first case.

Kotaro Kanesaka didn't hide anything and told everyone what he knew.

When the two sides compared accounts, Fushimi Shika's suspicions increased exponentially.

"Without crucial evidence, mere suspicion is meaningless." Aoshima's primary goal for this trip to Tokyo was to find the survivor, Seiji Yasukawa, with the alternative being to visit the orphanage and see if he could get any information out of the autistic child.

Kotaro Kanesaka nodded in agreement.

About ten minutes later, the taxi arrived, and the two parted ways at the intersection. As usual, Mouri paid the fare.

Unlike two years ago, taxi prices have skyrocketed, and Kotaro Kanesaka can no longer afford to take a taxi.

They went to Sugamo Koban, claiming to be old friends of Kazama Takusai, and that they had come all the way from Hokkaido to visit him, wanting to give their old friend a surprise.

Mouri Nai is a popular author, and there were mystery novel fans in the club who recognized her. They were very enthusiastic and not only asked for her autograph but also personally led them to Kazama Takusai's house.

Kotaro Kanesaka knocked on the door, and the two stood at the door for a while before a middle-aged man with one arm and one eye opened the door.

He looked tired, weathered, and his eyes were full of sorrow.

Kotaro Kanesaka said he came to visit because of Ms. Gen's wedding.

Kazama Takusai welcomed them in, and after they sat down on the sofa, he revealed his true purpose and asked Kazama Takusai what evidence he had that the fingerprint was engraved.

Kazama Takusai did not give a direct answer. The events that had occurred in Tokyo these past few days had left him exhausted, and for the first time in his life, he wished that Fushimi Shika could be here.

"What are your plans after you find out the truth?" he asked rhetorically.

"Of course I'll tell the truth and get the bonus," said Kotaro Kanesaka.

"Even if the truth hurts the bride?" Kazama Takusai asked rhetorically.

Mouri Nai asked impatiently, "What do you mean by that? Are you implying that the groom is the real culprit?"

“No, I just want to say that there are a thousand truths in a thousand people’s eyes.” Kazama Takusai stood up, no longer intending to say anything more, and gestured for him to leave: “Is the truth in your eyes the truth that the bride wants?”

"Are you very familiar with the bride and groom?" Kotaro Kanesaka asked from the doorway.

“We know each other very well,” Kazama Takusai said. “I hope you will think it over carefully before making your choice.”

(End of this chapter)