Chapter 21 Kitagawa Police Department's Special Investigation Team.
As night fell, gunshots and piercing screams shattered the tranquility of the villa district, turning the once luxurious residences, adorned only by one or two warm yellow lights, into a scene of scattered lights.
Soon, the blue and red flashing lights of police cars shattered the darkness of the night.
The detached villa was brightly lit, and the plants in the yard were clearly well cared for. Bright red roses were in full bloom, their color shimmering ominously in the moonlight.
The entire villa was surrounded by a cordon.
Several police officers got out of the police car, some carrying survey kits and others with police guns on their waists, and silently entered the villa.
If ordinary people saw this scene, they couldn't help but sigh that the police in wealthy areas are indeed different; they look much more well-trained than the officers they usually see.
However, a closer look reveals that the cordon around the area today is significantly larger than in previous murder cases, even extending to the gravel roads surrounding the villa.
Police officers in uniform are meticulously searching the ground, which appears to have no clues.
The last young man to get off the car stood out from his surroundings.
He was wearing leather boots, and his black trench coat was open, which made him look somewhat unserious.
In contrast, the white shirt underneath was buttoned up tightly to the top button at the throat, and a pair of black leather gloves neatly covered the fingers.
Despite having a busy day like everyone else and being hastily called out of his home to work overtime, his outfit was perfectly suitable for attending any high-society banquet.
Standing with the other officers, he looked more like the owner of the villa than a colleague.
“Inspector Kitagawa,” a policeman jogged over and handed the young man gloves and shoe covers, “the deceased is Seiichiro Hosono, president of the Hosono Company. He was shot in his study an hour ago.”
"It was his wife who called the police. After receiving the report, the Security Bureau's Public Security Team 0 immediately transferred the case from the Metropolitan Police Department's Investigation Division."
"The police have been keeping an eye on this company president for a long time, but we didn't expect this to happen before we could find anything out," the officer explained in a few words.
“The fact that they targeted the victim means the victim is highly likely involved in organized crime; they were probably silenced.” Kitagawa Ryusei changed his gloves, raised the security line, and entered the cordoned-off villa.
He first looked up at the windows of the villa, then shifted his gaze to the road outside the house, his steps never faltering: "Have the police officers on stakeout seen the perpetrator's vehicle?"
The officer shook his head: "No, even the surveillance footage didn't show anything wrong, but the tire tracks suggest it's someone we know."
The word "acquaintance" made everyone present shudder and their expressions turn serious.
As police officers in the Criminal Investigation Department of the National Police Agency, who are constantly on the go, they face dangerous criminals from all over the country every day.
Very few vehicles could be remembered by them, given their minds were already filled with cases.
Among the cars that are still at large, the most famous is a Porsche 356A.
He was almost synonymous with an assassin from the Black Organization.
Furthermore, this killer also had his own file number within the Criminal Investigation Bureau—004.
Given that this person is involved, it's no wonder that the mysterious Zero Group once again intervened to stop the Metropolitan Police Department's investigation.
But Kitagawa Ryusei prefers that whoever is handling a case should resolve it, rather than simply adding more workload to others.
He thought to himself expressionlessly, then said with a hint of regret, "It seems we won't be able to find any useful clues... Thank you, Mr. 004, at least this time we didn't choose to burn the house down."
He turned and walked through the villa gate: "Go check on the body."
The victim, Seiichiro Hosono, was murdered in his study on the second floor.
According to his wife's testimony, he stayed there after returning home today, and did not even come out for dinner, seemingly waiting for someone to visit.
Mrs. Hosono, thinking that guests were coming, hadn't washed up and was instead preparing a late-night snack for her husband in the kitchen.
When she heard the gunshot and ran up, she saw the study door wide open and Hosono Seiichiro lying in a pool of blood.
"Mrs. Hosono, do you know what Mr. Hosono has been up to lately?" Two policewomen patiently inquired as they stood beside the victim's family.
"I don't know. He hasn't been home much lately; he's been staying at the company the whole time," Mrs. Hosono sobbed softly, completely unaware of her husband's actions.
If she knew something, she might not have survived the Black Organization.
Everyone paused in silence for a moment, offering comfort to the bereaved family.
Kitagawa Ryusei, wearing shoe covers, stepped silently onto the thick carpet in the study.
He reached out and lifted the white cloth covering the deceased, facing directly at the dark muzzle of the gun in Fang's forehead.
"Did the forensic investigators compare the bullet marks and rifling?" he asked.
The person who answered Kitagawa Ryusei was a woman with short, neat hair wearing a mask, holding a report in her arms: "It's confirmed, it's a Beretta M92F, the same handgun as in the previous incidents."
"The drawers and safe in the study also showed signs of being rummaged through."
It was undoubtedly a cover-up, carried out swiftly and arrogantly, with even the follow-up cleanup being extremely perfunctory.
Even so, the criminal investigation department still couldn't do anything about it.
A large part of the reason is that their dear colleagues in the police force are extremely guarded about information about criminals and are unwilling to easily reveal even a little bit.
Kitagawa Ryusei withdrew his hand and covered the body with the white sheet again: "Then we can only start with the other party's recent company accounts and business dealings. I'll have to ask everyone to investigate together tomorrow."
"Write a report here and file it as document number 004. That's it."
As soon as Kitagawa Ryusei finished speaking, the officers around him quickly packed up their tools and evidence to take back, their movements swift and efficient, just as they had when they arrived.
"jingle--"
The cell phone rang out in the unusually quiet crime scene, drawing the attention of others.
Frowning, Kitagawa Ryusei took out his phone from his pocket, and his eyelids twitched as he looked at the caller ID.
He pressed the answer button, his tone as flat and emotionless as still water:
"Mr. Kazami, please don't tell me that another lovely company president has met an untimely end tonight..."
The other end of the phone fell silent instantly.
*
If someone had told Kitagawa Ryusei in advance that being a policeman was more tiring than working for the Port Mafia, he would have disappeared on his very first day after graduating from police academy.
I will absolutely not accept the job offer from the Criminal Investigation Bureau.
At the beginning, the work of the Criminal Planning Division was under the control of Kitagawa Ryusei, and it was neither too challenging nor too boring.
Most of the time, he doesn't need to solve cases; he's just responsible for cross-regional investigations of major cases and statistical analysis of crime data.
But how can such a small country like Japan have so many major cases?
Therefore, Kitagawa Ryusei's work was generally quite easy.
—Until the neighboring security bureau established a zero group.
This is a department that only exists in legends within the National Police Agency. It doesn't even have a specific office; its members are distributed across various sections of the Security Bureau.
It was only said to be set up to target a large transnational criminal organization whose members were not only elusive but also had extremely high authority.
Of course, if that's all there is to it, then whatever Zero Group is—whether it's a real-life 007 or Super Mario—has nothing to do with Kitagawa Ryusei.
This inexperienced Zero Team member had no idea how to "restrain" himself. He dug out a batch of criminal cases spanning half a century from the archives and grabbed them all, incurring the wrath of the Metropolitan Police Department.
They collectively believed that the Zero Group had abused its power, that these criminal cases were not within the jurisdiction of the Security Bureau, and that any transfer should be handled by the Criminal Investigation Bureau.
This successfully dragged the Criminal Investigation Bureau into the mess.
At the same time, the elites of Team Zero realized that, regardless of whether their expertise matched the job requirements, given their manpower and the scope of their responsibilities, trying to solve each case individually would only lead to the sudden death of all of them.
So they turned to their superiors and applied for an increase in enrollment.
Anyway, I don't know what the higher-ups said, but the expansion of enrollment was not approved.
They drew a group of people from various departments of the Criminal Investigation Bureau, which is on par with the Police Force, to form a special investigation team, specifically responsible for cases taken over by the Zero Group.
Kitagawa Ryusei was the unlucky guy from the Criminal Planning Division, who also served as the squad leader.
Although they are nominally still under the Criminal Investigation Bureau, Kitagawa Ryusei has no desire to recall how many messes they have cleaned up for the Zero Group over the past two years.
The latter, like possessive food, scooped up any cases with even the slightest clues about that organization into their bowls and then piled them all in front of them.
What's even more laughable is that the information held by this mysterious department has never been shared with the special investigation team, leaving them in a state of semi-deafness and semi-blindness when cleaning up the mess.
Whether it's a power struggle or a check on Zero Group's power, Kitagawa Ryusei felt that the police department would eventually disband due to untimely communication when faced with a common enemy, as they couldn't act in unison or share information.
At this moment, a phone call came from Team Zero, and the special search team, which was about to head home, was forced to rush to the scene of the next "blind marriage".
The only good news was that they hadn't turned back yet, and there were police cars available for them to ride in.
Everyone's resentment skyrocketed, and Ms. Rino Miyagi from the Criminal Investigation Bureau's Scientific Investigation Division stared intently at the scalpel in the box.
It seems like there's a strong idea behind this young lady: one person, one knife, to give them all a peaceful rest.
A shaggy, buzz-cut man leaned out from the back seat of the police car, his tone earnest: "Kitagawa, can't we really just put that Kazami Yuya in a sack and beat him up?"
Upon hearing this, everyone in the car turned to look at the man driving.
Clearly, the resentment had been brewing for a long time, and it wasn't just one person who had this thought.
While driving, Kitagawa Ryusei kept his eyes straight ahead and said in a cold tone, "I'm sorry, Nakajima-kun, no. Do you still remember that you're a member of the Crime Suppression Countermeasures Office?"
Seeing the disappointment in the others' eyes, he continued to explain, "As the only ones who know that Kazami is a member of Team Zero, it would be too obvious if we took action now."
"If you want to make a move, either change the time, or find their leader and put him in a sack. The other party is in a high position, and having suffered a loss in secret, they won't make a fuss until the murderer is found, in order to maintain order among the followers."
They're all from the Crime Suppression Countermeasures Office, so why are they so inexperienced at this kind of thing?
After two years of getting to know each other, Kitagawa Ryusei thought with a hint of disdain that there had been no progress whatsoever.
"I knew Kitagawa wouldn't disappoint!"
Upon hearing this, Nakajima Yuzuru was so excited that he almost leaned half his body forward into the front carriage: "Once I find that guy, I'll get you guys to help me put him in a sack!"
Faced with the suddenly protruding head, Rino Miyagi in the passenger seat turned pale and quickly protected the toolbox: "Sit tight, you Nakajima brute! Kitagawa-kun is driving!"
"Fasten your seatbelts!"
At that moment, Kazami Yuya, who was diligently negotiating with the Metropolitan Police Department, sneezed several times in a row. After finally recovering, he turned around and continued, "Excuse me, Inspector Megure, where were we?"
"Oh, this strangulation case is of course still handled by the Metropolitan Police Department; but as for the shooting case, I'm sorry, since it involves a case under the jurisdiction of the Public Security Bureau, our people will be taking over soon."
Megure Juzo's expression wasn't good, but he knew the case involved firearms, so he couldn't object.
The crime scene was the banquet hall on the 12th floor of the Mihana Hotel, where a cocktail party was being held at the time of the incident.
The guests, who were all dressed in elegant gowns and clinking glasses just a moment ago, were caught off guard by this sudden turn of events.
Two bodies lay side by side on the banquet hall floor. One had obvious ligature marks on its neck, while the other had its heart pierced.
Those who were examining the body heard the two talking and looked up. When their eyes met, a clear distinction could be seen between them.
One of the teenagers, seemingly out of place in the scene, looked up in confusion at the two opposing groups.
He lowered his voice and asked the handsome man beside him who was deep in thought, "Dad, can we still investigate these two cases?"
As the special consultant for the Metropolitan Police Department in this case, Yusaku Kudo looked at Inspector Megure, who was negotiating, and covered his son's head with his hand: "Let's take a look at the strangled body first."
The boy pursed his lips, seemingly unable to understand, but his attention was still drawn to the details of the case before him.
Before long, the special investigation team that Kazami Yuya had been waiting for finally arrived at the scene.
"Inspector Megure, it's nice to see you again." Kitagawa Ryusei shook hands with the kind-looking police officer in front of him with a friendly smile.
"Kitagawa-kun, it's you again."
This wasn't the first time the two had interacted, but compared to Kitagawa Ryusei, Megure Juzo's smile was rather bitter.
As colleagues who were summoned from their homes to the scene of the case, Kitagawa Ryusei looked at the other person with unusual kindness, deeply empathizing with the bitterness in that smile.
He was about to say something when his gaze shifted, and he stopped just as he caught a glimpse of a figure out of the corner of his eye.
After a brief moment of confusion, he realized something, and his expression gradually became one of disbelief.
In that instant, Kitagawa Ryusei's perpetually impeccably composed face seemed to crack open like a gaping maw from an abyss.
It's like adding food coloring to an art student's pure white paint, then adding star anise, cinnamon, and chili peppers—the color, aroma, and taste are all indescribable.
He was about to take a few steps forward to confirm when a hesitant yet clear young voice called out from behind him: "Brother Ryusei?"
The unfamiliar voice interrupted Kitagawa Ryusei's thoughts; the person she had just seen was nowhere to be seen.
Looking back, there was no one in the direction the sound came from. It wasn't until Kitagawa Ryusei slowly lowered his head that he saw Kudo Shinichi squatting next to the corpse with dead fish eyes.
Shinichi Kudo: ...Am I really that short?
"Ah...little detective?"
Kitagawa Ryusei blinked, pulling the person out of his memory.
"He's a detective! There's no 'small' in his name!"
Shinichi Kudo wasn't too happy with this nickname, and he gesticulated wildly and shouted it out loud, almost jumping up from the ground in excitement, which attracted the curious look of the man next to him:
"Shinichi, who is this?"
Remembering that he hadn't introduced himself yet, Shinichi Kudo brought up the previous incident with a proud look on his face and said, "It's Ruki-nii, who cooperated with me to capture the kidnapper! I told you and Mom about it before."
He remained calm in the face of danger and, together with Kitagawa Ryusei, who was still a police academy student, they caught three human traffickers!
However, Kudo Yusaku knew his son's personality well and extracted the key information by cutting and omitting: "Oh, the time two years ago when you were almost kidnapped and were rescued."
"I haven't thanked Mr. Kitagawa yet." With that, Kudo Yusaku extended his hand and shook hands politely with Kitagawa Ryusei.
Seeing the boy's cheeks puffed up like a pufferfish, Kitagawa Ryusei immediately matched the drastically changed man with the child in his memory, and smiled politely at the man: "You're too kind, Mr. Kudo. Shinichi helped us a lot back then too."
Shinichi Kudo, feeling a little embarrassed by the straightforward praise, touched the back of his head.
He had been keeping an eye on the police officers who had come with Kitagawa Ryusei, and now he leaned closer and whispered, "Ryusei-kun, are you in charge of this case?"
He pointed to the corpse with its heart pierced and asked.
Faced with the boy's question, Kitagawa Ryusei lowered his voice in agreement: "That's right, but you can't get involved."
As expected, he received an incredulous and confused look from the other party: "Huh??"
The resentment that had arisen from working overtime instantly diminished upon seeing the child's expression.
Two years later, even Kitagawa Ryusei himself felt that his wicked sense of humor had increased. He slapped the boy on the head and casually made up a reason: "Kids who don't sleep well at night won't grow tall."
After saying that, he stopped teasing Shinichi Kudo and walked to the corpse, squatting down in front of it.
"Kitagawa-kun, the autopsy report is out. The preliminary assessment is that the weapon was an AWM sniper rifle/rifle. The rest needs to be examined in detail at the police station."
Rino Miyagi closed her forensic kit and changed out of her disposable gloves: "The deceased was standing near the window before being shot, and the bullet pierced the window."
"Thank you for your hard work," Kitagawa Ryusei said, flipping through the report and closing the document after a few quick glances.
He looked up at the broken window, glanced around at the sniper positions outside the building, and his expression became somewhat serious.
It was over 800 yards away.
Kitagawa Ryusei pointed to a building and turned to the crew-cut youth, saying, "Nakajima, go check the building's entry and exit surveillance footage and check-out records for the past half hour."
His voice lowered for the second half of the sentence: "I'll go find any possible witnesses..."
After completing the handover, Kazami Yuya nodded to the Special Investigation Team members with a stern face, then turned and left with his men.
Seeing this, even knowing that the other party was half-expressionless, the special search team members couldn't help but feel restless and sharpened their knives behind their backs as they put the sack on the other party.
Kitagawa Ryusei walked out of the banquet hall, hesitated for a moment in the middle of the corridor, and then chose one of the directions.
He hadn't gone far when he found the person he'd just caught a glimpse of out of the corner of his eye in the tea room, which was ajar.
The person on the sofa was wearing a dark blue hoodie, had stubble, and looked so weathered that he could be busking on the street at any moment. Only his blue cat eyes were as bright as they were two years ago.
His gaze was just as gentle as I remembered.
"Surprise."
Upon seeing who it was, the other person spoke first: "You look really cool right now, Officer Kitagawa."
He genuinely thought about it, both in terms of appearance and how he worked.
Kitagawa Ryusei stood with his hands in his pockets, leaning against the doorway, without going in.
"It was quite a shock," he said, looking the man up and down before asking, "What's your name?"
“Midori Kō, unemployed.” Morofushi Kagemitsu winked at him, clearly pleased with their understanding.
Upon receiving the signal, Kitagawa Ryusei averted his gaze, refusing to meet his eyes.
Morobuchi Kagemitsu: ...?
Why was the reaction different from what he had imagined? He thought he would at least get a hug... Morofushi Kagemitsu looked at the young man in front of him and fell into thought.
However, he had a deep-seated feeling that he shouldn't be the one to take the blame.
The brief silence also gave them a chance to observe each other.
Without saying a word, Morofushi Kagemitsu looked like a completely different person. The stubble on his chin, which would never have appeared on Morofushi Kagemitsu during his police academy days, was solid proof of this.
Kitagawa Ryusei has also changed a lot, both in appearance and temperament.
Having not met for two years, the sudden encounter made the difference even more apparent.
Kitagawa Ryusei used to have a youthful air about him, but now he has completely shed his immaturity and become much more mature.
Perhaps it's due to the passage of time and the accumulation of experience, but now he exudes an aura of composure and confidence...
Perhaps it also contains some strange and unusual elements, somewhat like... a scoundrel, thought Morofushi Kagemitsu.
"Logically speaking, a baby face shouldn't grow any bigger... Kitagawa, were you sure you didn't lie about your age back then?"
Facing the young man whose features had clearly matured and who now possessed a radiant beauty he had never seen before, Morofushi Kagemitsu, who hadn't seen him for two years, was once again filled with emotion.
It was clearly an unintentional remark, but it inevitably reminded people of another baby-faced person.
In an instant, Kitagawa Ryusei's expression became incredibly interesting, and he couldn't help but let out a sound: "Ha!"
Morofushi Kagemitsu: "..." He probably knew who should take the blame for what just happened.
He already knew that he had made contact with his childhood friend, who was also an undercover agent, within the organization he had infiltrated.
I heard that Zero finally got his codename in the US and is preparing to return to Japan soon. I wonder when I'll run into him. Morofushi Hiromitsu smiled dignifiedly to himself.
Skipping over inappropriate reminiscing and venting anger, Kitagawa Ryusei knew that the other party's current status was special, and there were probably many things that couldn't be said, but there were still some questions he had to ask: "Is the shooting incident related to you?"
Knowing the other party had important business to attend to, but not expecting the first question to be so difficult to answer, Morofushi Kagemitsu stammered: "...Um, well, you can't say that."
"That has to do with the organization you're in."
Unexpectedly, this turned out to be a lucky guess. Kitagawa Ryusei immediately understood the meaning behind his words and continued, "You had an accomplice? A sniper? You were responsible for observing targets and dealing with emergencies at the banquet... By now, the other party has already escaped, hasn't they?"
The series of questions hit the nail on the head, and Morobuchi Kagemitsu realized he couldn't answer any of them. He could only helplessly admit, "Don't you already know?"
And Ryusei, aren't you being a little too skilled?
“Hmph,” Kitagawa Ryusei remained silent, not delving into the matter further, but slowly posed one last question: “Was it to silence them? Just like that Porsche 356A?”
The fact that Team Zero took on two cases in one night inevitably raises suspicions about their connection.
It's unclear what word triggered Morofushi Kagemitsu's alarm, but Kitagawa Ryusei noticed a rare twitch in his brow and a change in expression. He took two steps forward and grabbed Kitagawa's shoulders: "You ran into Gin??"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Morobushi Kagemitsu realized that he had overreacted.
His gaze was fixed on Kitagawa Ryusei, as if he couldn't believe that his former comrade would try to trick him into revealing information on their very first meeting.
Kitagawa Ryusei, who had successfully tricked the information he wanted, was unconcerned and raised his eyebrows high: "Gin? So that's his name. Quite unique."
"You'll lose me if you do this..."
Morofushi Kagemitsu sighed first, but didn't loosen his grip on Kitagawa Ryusei's shoulder, his expression serious: "That person is really dangerous, Ryusei, don't try to confront him."
He emphasized, "Absolutely not."
After staring at the other person for a moment, Kitagawa Ryusei gave in and concealed their work-related interactions: "Don't worry, not for now."
Unexpectedly, Morofushi Kagemitsu's work was related to the organization targeted by Group Zero.
After asking these questions, Kitagawa Ryusei knew he couldn't stay any longer, so he turned and walked out of the tea room, lost in thought.
Perhaps the Criminal Investigation Bureau should add one or two more numbers to its register.
For example, this mysterious man who drove 800 yards today.
We can also compare today's ballistic trajectory with the evidence from that pile of unsolved cases later.
With such seasoned sniping skills, he couldn't believe the other party was a newcomer.
The investigation into the strangulation case in the banquet hall has reached a stalemate. Shinichi Kudo is frantically scratching his head, breaking the apple on the back of his head in half.
Conversely, another shooting was nearing its end.
Since they can't catch the murderer for the time being, they can only follow the clues and search for all the information they can find, then seal it away and settle accounts later.
Nakajima Yuma rushed back: "Kitagawa, I checked the check-out records and CCTV footage. Nearly fifty people entered and exited that hotel in the last half hour. Were they all out ghost hunting at night?! To prevent any accidents, I found all the room booking records from when the banquet location was announced until the time of the incident!"
Faced with a mountain of videos and documents, Kitagawa Ryusei pressed his twitching brow hard, already anticipating a fierce battle to come: "Send me the videos, and a few of you are in charge of the documents. Screen out the suspicious individuals."
The two guys from the Criminal Investigation Department's Investigation Division on the Special Investigation Team were both detained in the department for overtime today, but they weren't getting any of their assigned tasks done.
Kitagawa Ryusei thought expressionlessly.
"Ryusei-nii..."
Just as things were about to be finished, Shinichi Kudo dawdled up to him.
The boy asked with a troubled expression, "What if the person you suspect has a perfect alibi?"
Unlike the guests who were killed in the shooting, the victim of the strangulation was one of the banquet organizers, who was found dead in his hotel room before he was to give a speech.
By reasoning about the time of death and the motives of those present, Yusaku Kudo narrowed down the suspects to three people who had entered the deceased's room before the incident.
Shinichi Kudo stayed by his father's side, observing the development of the case, but the suspect he thought was the most suspicious was the first one to be ruled out by the police as a possible perpetrator.
The other party was under surveillance the entire time and never left.
Could it be that his suspicions were wrong?
“If you’re asking me what I would do, I would start to doubt whether the case even needs the murderer to be at the scene, and try to prove that his alibi isn’t a get-out-of-jail-free card,” Kitagawa Ryusei said, looking down at the boy who was caught in self-doubt.
"You know, there are many ways to kill someone."
The two years in Tokyo taught Kitagawa Ryusei one thing—humans without superpowers can always unleash unimaginable “creativity” when they want to do evil.
The methods employed include setting, suggestion, and ingenuity.
Sometimes even Kitagawa Ryusei was astonished, and the Taoist priest was impressed.
The boy's eyes slowly lit up, as if he had been suddenly inspired, and a small light bulb lit up beside his head: "Could it be a mechanism?"
Without waiting for a reply, he confirmed his guess: "There's a three-bladed fan in the victim's room. If we keep the victim immobilized and set a timer for the fan to activate, it can lock the rope and kill the person!"
"The reason there was no rope on the fan is because the murderer removed it beforehand, so the murderer is very likely Mr. Ooshiro, who was the first to discover the body!"
As the boy added the rest of the information, Kitagawa Ryusei waited until he finished his reasoning before reminding him, "These are just guesses. If you want people to believe you, you must provide more concrete evidence."
“I know that much… and the other party can’t possibly cover it up perfectly,” Shinichi Kudo looked up and flashed a bright smile. “There will definitely be fibers from the murder weapon left in the fan. As long as the alibi is invalid, I’ll have evidence to convince Dad and Inspector Megure!”
After saying that, he turned around and ran to his father, leaving Kitagawa Ryusei behind. He grabbed the man's clothes and made him bend down, whispering something in his ear until he got a look of approval.
"I didn't expect Ryusei to be so patient with children."
He slowly emerged from the tea room at some point, and Morofushi Kagemitsu, having witnessed the scene just now, seemed thoughtful: "I thought you would be the kind of adult who gets annoyed by children causing trouble."
After all, in his mind, this "adult" in front of him was almost like a child.
Kitagawa Ryusei looked away from the energetic Kudo Shinichi and realized that this was the difference in energy brought about by the age difference.
He half-opened his eyes and glanced at the blue-eyed youth: "If it's something as troublesome as answering a few questions to help solve a case, then give me a dozen, thank you."
With such keen insight into cases, if it weren't for his age and the potential for child labor, he would have already taken Shinichi Kudo to the Criminal Investigation Bureau.
Children's appearance makes them less likely to arouse suspicion, which makes it much easier for them to commit crimes or find criminals than for adults, right?
“I have a feeling that Ryusei is thinking about something dangerous,” Morofushi Kagemitsu interrupted his thoughts. “The way he looks at that kid is like he wants to roll him up and sell him by weight.”
Caught red-handed, Kitagawa Ryusei denied it without any shame: "No way."
He changed the subject, asking curiously, "Speaking of which, are you sure it's okay for you to communicate with the police under your current identity?"
“The information on this fake identity is fairly complete. After all, even criminals need to make a living,” Morofushi Hiromitsu said with an unchanged smile. “Besides, it’s perfectly normal to be questioned by the police at a crime scene, isn’t it?”
Two years later, seeing that familiar smile again inevitably brought up some unpleasant thoughts for Kitagawa Ryusei.
As the case neared its end at the other end of the banquet, the murderer was identified and knelt on the ground, weeping bitterly. Inspector Megure then took out the handcuffs he had prepared beforehand.
The special search team was ready to wrap up, and the surveillance video had been sent to Kitagawa Ryusei's email address.
He turned his gaze back to the young man he hadn't seen in a long time, paused for a moment, and then said, "It's good that it didn't affect anything... Do as you please, I need to go back to work overtime."
"I wish you success in your work."
He turned and left.
He hadn't asked a single question about Zero... Morofushi Kagemitsu lowered his eyes, unsure whether to feel sympathy or schadenfreude.
It seems that everyone has changed a lot in the past two years.
*
As autumn draws to a close, even the wind has taken on a fitting name—Kogarashi (木枯らし).
The leaves turn yellow and fall, drifting and floating to the ground.
Kitagawa Ryusei handed the police car keys to Miyagi Rino, who needed to go back to the classroom to work overtime on the autopsy. At that moment, he was standing on the sidewalk covered with fallen leaves, waiting for a taxi that would be willing to take him.
The leaves on the ground will soon be cleaned up by the cleaners, and pedestrians who arrive a few hours later will not hear the rustling sound of their feet on the fallen leaves.
He was idly thinking, letting his thoughts wander further and further away.
Working overtime should have been the worst thing that happened to him today, but not anymore.
The worst thing that happened today was that I had to work overtime and still managed to think of that awful guy.
Meeting Morofushi Kagemitsu was a pleasant surprise; at least he knew that his comrade, whom he had lost contact with after graduation, was indeed living well somewhere they couldn't see.
But the other one is a different story!
He inevitably thought of the special search team's dinner party a while ago.
After a long day of work, everyone sat in a private room. As usual, the conversation started with angrily cursing Group Zero, then transitioned to guessing the identity of Group Zero's leader, and culminated in wishing Group Zero to disband.
Somehow the conversation veered off course and ended up talking about dating experiences.
“Kitagawa has definitely never been in a relationship,” Nakajima Yuma said confidently, skipping over Kitagawa Ryusei and asking the next person. “This guy is just a little bit away from being asexual and lacking in the scent of tobacco and cool pine resin.”
Yugo Asahina, an officer in the International Investigation Management Office, is a well-informed Japanese-American: "In manga, a person with a sexually frigid personality is usually a suave scoundrel who is sexually unsatisfied in private."
He clicked his tongue twice: "I couldn't tell."
Kitagawa Ryusei: "..."
"Asahina, I remember you're on vacation tomorrow?" he said with a forced smile.
Looks like you have a lot of free time...
The threat worked instantly; the other party immediately fell silent, and even made a zipping motion near their mouth and blinked their eyes, as if that wasn't enough.
When her attempts to be cute failed, before Kitagawa Ryusei could say anything further, she heard Kawashima Chisa from the First Investigation Division on her right demonstrate her superb professional skills.
She turned the grilled meat in front of her with her chopsticks: "I can't say for sure whether he's in a relationship or not, but Kitagawa-kun definitely has someone he likes."
"Huh??"
The people around the table almost spilled their drinks, stopped eating their meat, and all raised their heads, revealing rows of beady eyes.
Unexpectedly, this was their reaction. Kawashima Chisa seemed even more incredulous than they were: "Didn't you notice the button hanging on his keychain?"
"That's clearly the style of a police academy uniform! Such an obvious clue!"
"I guess it was a gift from my boyfriend when I graduated."
All eyes immediately turned to Kitagawa Ryusei, as if they were just waiting for him to admit it before starting to jeering.
Kawashima Chisa calmly sipped her juice, keeping her accomplishments hidden.
Kitagawa Ryusei remained unmoved, calmly accepting all the gazes directed his way.
His fingers were fiddling with the object that was at the center of the conversation.
To be honest, if Kawashima Chisa hadn't mentioned it, he would have almost forgotten about this little item.
I carried it with me all the time, and it gradually became a habit.
Thinking there was nothing he couldn't mention, he first calmly admitted, "Oh, yes."
Then Kitagawa Ryusei chuckled softly, his gaze gentle: "Ex-partner."
Special Search Team members: "..."
Why is it so difficult to swallow that piece of meat in my mouth?
Rino Miyagi, who was the first to react, instantly looked like she was in a toothache: "I have some bad memories of the last time he made that face..."
She can't remember exactly whether it was "heroically fighting" with the traffickers to get them medical parole or taking the whole team to the archives for three days.
This person doesn't seem very reliable.
"Boss... if you don't want to laugh, then let's not laugh, okay?" Asahina Yugo suggested weakly.
We're scared QAQ.
“It’s alright,” Kitagawa Ryusei said softly, ignoring their pleading looks. Even his chewing became slow and deliberate, his white teeth patiently crushing the food as he continued, “It was just that he 'eloped' with his childhood friend the day after graduation. It’s no big deal.”
“I even set off fireworks every Lunar New Year to celebrate their escape.”
"The kind that crackles and pops when it's frying."
Even from a distance, the sound of "crackling and popping" could be smelled like gunpowder.
No one asked any further questions; everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, and the team spirit reached an unprecedented peak.
Thus, in addition to the murderous Zero Team, the topic of condemnation at the Special Investigation Team's dinner party now includes Kitagawa Ryusei's ex-girlfriend.
The guy who abandoned Kitagawa-kun—a man of extraordinary bearing, promising future, handsome as Pan An, ruthless and vicious—and dared to elope, must now be all alone in some corner of Japan, with no one to turn to.
Perhaps you're dragging your suitcase alone down a desolate street, only to find that the last taxi has been snatched up by someone else and you've been splattered with mud. In the end, you can only squat by the roadside, shivering and weeping, clutching your suitcase and the beautiful memories you shared with Kitagawa-kun!
Everyone chimed in with their own opinions, their expressions fierce and indignant, as if their partners had run off with someone else.
After saying that, he looked at Kitagawa Ryusei with a sincere, self-satisfied expression:
Let's make this clear beforehand: after we've cursed your ex, you're not allowed to take it out on us anymore.
*
Rei Furuya was all alone at this moment.
Dragging a heavy suitcase.
Walking alone on a desolate street late at night.
Having just returned from Los Angeles where temperatures reached 30°C, he wasn't dressed appropriately for the local climate, and the cold wind was biting.
No one was informed of the specific details of Rei Furuya's return, and he currently has no place to stay and doesn't know which direction to go.
After a long wait, a taxi finally arrived, but it stopped hundreds of meters away.
In the distance, some unfortunate employee from some company, who was working overtime until late at night, got there first.
The other person's face was obscured, but he was probably filled with the resentment of a working-class person. He opened the taxi door and got in, his black trench coat drawing a cold arc in the autumn wind.
The driver probably wanted to finish this fare and go home as soon as possible, so he drove at the city speed limit because there were few vehicles on the road.
The vehicle sped past, kicking up a considerable amount of dust.
Furuya Rei turned his head away from the taxi and sneezed twice.
Physiological tears kept welling up.
...I shouldn't have gone back to Japan so late at night; it was unbelievably desolate.
It inexplicably gives people a feeling of being cursed.
He picked up his suitcase again and headed towards the Mihana Hotel.
The wheels of the suitcase made a pleasant sound as they rolled over the fallen leaves.
Coming back now is not bad, Rei Furuya thought to himself, if it were during the day, perhaps he wouldn't have been able to enjoy the sounds of autumn all around.
Moreover... after two years apart, he really, really missed Kitagawa Ryusei.
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