Chapter 19 JK Detective 5

Although she missed a bus because she was stopped at the door, Kurosaki Utsuki still returned home before the time agreed with Hagiwara Kenji, and changed into the detective suit of "Hagiwara Kaki" before the other party came to ring the doorbell.

By the time her full-time photographer arrived, she had already reviewed the script she had written a long time ago and was fully prepared to shoot the video.

"Kurosaki-chan is really amazing." Hagiwara Kenji shared with her as soon as they entered the living room. "Yesterday when I was working part-time, the customers who came and went were all talking about JK detectives. This morning when I met Matsuda, he also took the initiative to talk about the young female detective who has the same last name as me."

Kurosaki Utsuki raised an eyebrow: "So, Matsuda-san didn't realize it was me?"

This is good news.

"Well, Matsuda did ask me if I thought 'Hagiwara Kakiko' looked a lot like Kurosaki-chan." Hagiwara Kenji scratched his head, smiling. "But he also said that if it really was Kurosaki-chan, there would be no need to use my last name and your own name as a disguise. After all, we were classmates."

He naturally skipped over the second half of Matsuda Jinhei's words, "Isn't it as if she's hinting that she wants to marry you?" As he recalled that sentence, for some reason, he suddenly remembered the scene when he first met Kurosaki Utsuki.

If the angelic girl who descended from the sky at that time was not wearing a light and airy white dress, but a complicated and heavy white wedding gown——

This is not good. How can I imagine a girl wearing a wedding dress for me?

"Eh—Is that so—"

Kurosaki Utsuki dragged out the tone a little and suddenly felt a little relieved.

She hadn't expected that the impromptu name could confuse the people around her. She had even worried that it might be considered that she was hinting at Hagiwara, and that the seemingly randomly put-together name might actually be a subtle confession of love.

She wouldn't confess in such a flashy way! If she were to confess her feelings to someone, she would definitely choose a quiet, elegant place with a good atmosphere, just the two of them!

Besides, she already has someone she likes, and she will probably never confess her feelings to him until she dies...probably not even after she dies. After all, right now, she likes that person while secretly supporting him and his childhood sweetheart.

"Then let's get ready." She handed the phone to the boy across from her, then shook the manuscript in her hand and raised her chin slightly. "This is the truth you also want to know. Just wait and see behind the camera."

·

Something seems to be wrong with Kenji Hagiwara, thought Kurosaki Utsuki after finishing the video shooting and taking off her mask.

He should have been happier after finally getting the truth he wanted to know.

At the end of last month, she followed Geto Suguru to meet the high school girl who was the trigger of the brutal murder ten years ago and died silently outside the apartment, and heard the whole background of the case from the girl.

It boils down to a very simple story, but if it were made into a TV series, it would seem a bit stereotyped and formulaic.

In a small family whose mother died young, a rebellious daughter had another heated argument with her father, who never understood her, and then stormed out. It wasn't the first time the daughter had left home, so her father likely didn't take it too seriously at the time. However, no one could have predicted that the daughter would quietly pass away from a sudden illness not long after.

When the girl died, she harbored no hatred for the world, only regret for never having explained her feelings to her father. She could treat the world with tenderness, but she couldn't control her own emotions, constantly clashing with her father, the person closest to her.

She was also grateful to the people who called an ambulance for her - but her soul followed her body on the ambulance to the hospital, and then took some time to accept her own death. When she went to the apartment again, she saw only the deserted and dilapidated courtyard and the earthbound spirit entrenched on the roof of the apartment.

She didn't dare to talk to the earthbound spirit, and the earthbound spirit didn't recognize her.

After that, she wandered around Mihua. At first, she always stayed at home and in her room, but later she felt that it was boring to stay at home alone, and gradually she regarded the hospital where she often came and went as her base.

It wasn't until now, ten years later, when she was spoken to by the Shinigami boy whom she had met a few times, that her time began to flow again.

Kurosaki Utsuki did not tell the other party any information about the murder case, but just asked for the other party's name and address as if nothing had happened. From this, she learned the identity of the suspect - he was the manager of a car repair shop not far from her home.

After she returned to Karakura, Geto Suguru was entrusted by her to investigate at the suspect's home, and indeed found photos of the victims next to the memorial tablet for his deceased daughter.

Those photos that should have nothing to do with him were more or less stained with blood, which was enough to prove a lot of things.

But she has not confirmed the truth with the man himself, so her speech in the video is quite restrained. Not only did she not mention the man by name, she did not even reveal a clue that could lead to the man's identity. At the end, she advised the man to surrender himself. After the video was broadcast, she planned to meet the man before the police contacted her to see how he would react.

She had not yet buried the girl's soul. After the dust settled, she thought that maybe she could let the girl see her father unilaterally again. If there was anything she wanted to say, she could convey it on her behalf.

However, when faced with the questioning of photographer Kenji Hagiwara, she revealed the suspect's identity without hesitation... and the result is what is happening now.

"Hagiwara-san, is the suspect someone you know?"

But the other party answered the question irrelevantly, probably in response to everything she had concealed in the video: "Kurosaki-chan is really gentle."

So she suddenly swallowed the words she had prepared.

...Forget it, it doesn't matter even if he knows the suspect. He won't help him escape anyway.

Wednesday, May 6th

As the vice-president of the club, after school Kurosaki Utahi had to go to the Academic Affairs Office to submit a form regarding the club's membership composition. Although she tried her best to speed up her pace, she still couldn't get back to the classroom before Hagiwara Kenji left.

She knew the man's part-time job schedule, and she thought he probably had plenty of time, so she wasn't sure why he was so anxious. But she didn't intend to delve into it. After all, she had plans for the day—she had to go to the police station to assist in the investigation as a detective on a case.

This was her first time at the police station, so she wasn't particularly excited. As she neared the bottom floor, she emailed Kogoro Mori, whom she had contacted previously. Within two minutes, she saw the young detective jogging down the hallway, spotting her among the other people in the hall.

"Hagiwara persimmon?"

"That's my stage name, for sure." Kurosaki Utsuki nodded and cooperated by taking out her student ID. "My real name is Kurosaki Utsuki, and Hagiwara is the last name of my photographer."

The young detective opposite was stunned for a moment, as if he had never seen such a mature and steady high school student like her. Then he asked casually, "Isn't your photographer coming with you?"

"He has a part-time job—and he's just a photographer. It wouldn't do him any good to reveal his identity," she shrugged. "That's why I wear a mask. I don't want to draw attention to myself."

Although she would be recognized by people close to her, at least nothing happened to her at school today - even the two girls at the back table were discussing "JK Detective Hagiwara Kaki".

...It may also be due to the fact that she is too lazy on a daily basis.

The detective on the other side frowned at this and asked, "You didn't want to make it public, but you still sent the video to the TV station?"

"After all, I solved the case, so it's okay to keep it as a souvenir, right?" Kurosaki Utsuki said with a pout, "Besides, I don't want to give the credit to you, the police."

If the police in Mihua City could be more reliable, solve more cases, and reduce the number of unsolved cases, the crime rate would definitely be effectively reduced. This would also reduce the number of souls requiring soul burial and the number of souls degenerating into the void.

But we can't deny their efforts, after all, many cases have been solved. We can only say that some criminals are too cunning and have good luck... probably.

The detective on the other side seemed to have heard the hidden meaning in her words and his voice became much sterner: "Do you have any opinions about the police?"

"How could that be? Police are 'normal people,' while most criminals are 'abnormal people.' It's already difficult for normal people to understand the minds of abnormal people, not to mention that some clues can only be obtained by chance." Kurosaki Utsuki said, "And I was the one who happened to get some clues by chance."

Kogoro Mouri had just taken a step and was about to take this high school student, who he didn't know whether to say was thoughtful or influenced by watching too many TV dramas, to the reception room, but he stopped when he heard her words.

"Are you trying to say that your ability to solve cases wasn't due to your strong reasoning ability, but simply due to luck?"

"Yeah, I think it's okay to tell the truth to the police." Kurosaki Utsuki raised her head, a look of self-righteousness written on her face, "I'm not good at reasoning at all, so there are some things I may not be able to explain to you clearly."

"you--"

"By the way, I've actually recorded several videos and plan to send them to the TV station once a week," she said. "Those cases have been dragging on for a long time anyway, so there's no rush."

In response to the young detective's disapproval, she explained lightly, "Besides, even if I gave them all to you, you wouldn't have the energy to investigate them all in one go, right?"

All in all, although the young detective's almost uncontrollable "Huh?" and "Explain it clearly" could be heard intermittently in the visiting room, the relationship between the police and the public was generally harmonious.

After hastily dealing with many issues related to "assisting in the investigation", Kurosaki Utsuki bid farewell to Mori Kogoro, who was worried about how to write this report, and happily set out on the journey home to work.

However, when she returned to the entrance hall, Kenji Hagiwara suddenly appeared in her sight.

Walking alongside the young man was a strange middle-aged man. When the young man subconsciously stopped upon seeing her, the man also stopped. His gaze rested on her face for a few seconds, and as if suddenly realizing something, he said, "Are you the detective who discovered the truth?"

The other party seemed to be turning himself in.

Kurosaki Uta hoped that the man would leave with Detective Mori who came to take the person away, and finally turned her head to meet Hagiwara Kenji's face.

"Is that the criminal from the case ten years ago?"

"Yeah." The boy nodded, a very faint smile on his face, but she didn't think it was a smile at all. "He came to surrender."