Chapter 20 JK Detective 6
Kurosaki Utsuki took a deep breath.
"Hagiwara-san, what on earth is—"
"That's the store manager where I work."
Eh?
Before she could say anything, the boy beside her clasped his hands together and made a sincere apology: "Kurosaki-chan, I'm sorry, I took the initiative to ask the manager whether he was the criminal or not."
Kurosaki Utsuki's breathing hitched.
It's not because I lost the opportunity to use the video I just shot, but——
"Hagiwara-san, that's a dangerous guy who killed ten people. You—"
She stopped talking halfway, and she suddenly realized that, at least before she told the truth, to the other party, that person was not a vicious murderer, but a trusted manager of a part-time job shop - perhaps just like Kisuke Urahara to her.
If one day she suddenly heard that Urahara Kisuke was a heinous criminal and had to be imprisoned in Soul Society to atone for his sins, it would be very difficult for her to accept it. She would suspect that there was a misunderstanding. If it was confirmed that it was the truth... she might even help him hide it.
...This analogy is not well made, the nature is different after all.
However, he certainly didn't expect that the truth he wanted to find out would actually hurt himself.
Although she was only pointing out the truth as a detective, and the criminal was ultimately to blame, no matter what...
"Want to go home, Hagiwara-san?"
It’s better not to bring up this topic again.
After Hagiwara Kenji responded, the two walked side by side on the way home.
Kurosaki Utsuki wondered whether she should bring up a topic, such as expressing her gratitude to the other party for sending her to the health room during the day. At that time, she was only busy rushing to work, and she called him in the classroom and left her body. When she woke up and came back from the health room, she heard that the other party had helped her create a sickly personality of "hereditary sudden hypoglycemia."
But she wanted to skip the case, but the young man next to her didn't show any intention of avoiding suspicion.
"Kurosaki-chan, I'm truly sorry. You diligently conducted your research, wrote the manuscript, and filmed the video, but I took the results without your permission."
Kurosaki Utsuki glanced at him and said, "That's not a big deal..."
After all, when the police release information about the case, they'll probably mention her name. Besides, she has more than one case to solve, so one more or one less won't affect Hagiwara Kaki's detective image much.
But Hagiwara didn't give up: "Really? If you're angry, you can scold me anytime."
...Huh? What's wrong with him? Is he provoked by the prisoner?
"I'm really fine with it and I don't feel angry at all."
"But Kurosaki-chan's expression has been very angry since just now."
The young man beside her stopped and spoke soothing words in his unique voice into her ears.
"Isn't it because of me? Because I went to find the criminal without permission... When I heard the truth from Kurosaki-chan last night, I suspected that something might have gone wrong. I also doubted Kurosaki-chan's judgment. That's why I asked the boss directly today if he was the criminal in the case."
At this point, he sighed softly: "Looking back now, it was indeed a very dangerous behavior. I have realized my mistake and will no longer doubt Kurosaki-chan's reasoning - so, Kurosaki-chan, don't be angry anymore."
So she really didn't have... No, it didn't seem like she was completely without negative emotions, and the reason was exactly the same as he said.
Hey, but he was obviously the one who was hurt, so why was she the one being comforted at this time?
Sunday, May 17
Because of her busy part-time job and the confusion in her heart about how to deal with the situation, it was the next weekend that Kurosaki Utsuki once again squatted on the windowsill of the Hagiwara family to watch the cat.
Her third video was just aired today. Nichijou TV even made a cute animated title for her reasoning video and sent her an email asking how many more videos she had and whether she could submit the manuscripts two weeks in advance to give them more time to prepare.
As for the apartment building in front of her and the tragedy that happened ten years ago, the police finally held a press conference and disclosed the details of the case yesterday after continuous investigation and evidence collection.
Her name, "Kaki Hagiwara," also appeared on the police's "assistant" list. This was not the first time, nor would it be the last.
In reality, she'd been investigating various cases while working part-time lately, so she already had new case files ready, just waiting to film a new video. However, even after feeling unwell during the day and asking Hagihara Kenji to take her to the infirmary, she couldn't quite muster the energy to invite the photographer to work.
It's a... somewhat complicated kind of escape.
Although she thought that he would not lose interest in solving the cold case and returning the truth to those involved in the case because of this matter, after all, he had comforted her at that time, but she just...
“Damn it… what on earth is going on…”
The orange-haired girl grabbed her sleeve a little angrily.
Why can't I say it out loud? This situation only ever happens when I'm with my brother.
I don’t know if Hagiwara has changed to another store to work part-time... Although it has nothing to do with her, it should be unrelated, right?
As far as the eye can see, someone is gradually approaching the abandoned gathering place of wild cats.
It was a young woman. Kurosaki Utsuki still remembered her. She was a person related to the case who came here with a bouquet of flowers to pay tribute to her best friend not long ago. Her name seemed to be "Meihui".
As a Shinigami proxy who had communicated with her best friend, the earthbound spirit "Miho", Kurosaki Utsuki happened to have something to convey to her, so she immediately stood up and jumped off the windowsill. After taking two steps, she remembered that she was only a soul now and the other party could not see her, so she had to speed up and sprint home using instant step.
When she went home and put on the clothes and ran over, Meihui had not left yet, but there was a young man beside her.
The Death God agent in the white dress paused, still hesitating whether to go forward, when the boy waved at her: "Kurosaki-chan~"
It’s Kenji Hagihara.
Having been called by name and forced to approach, Kurosaki Utsuki heard the second half of Miho's emotional outpouring: "--What would Miho think? As for me, I was the one who should have died with her but had a lucky escape. After hearing the news of her murder, I didn't even rush back immediately."
If she had not been in a foreign country where she was difficult to contact during the investigation, the police might have learned during the investigation and evidence collection that she had called an ambulance, and the truth of the case would not have been revealed until ten years later.
The young woman looked towards the abandoned apartment building, her gaze settling on the rooftop where Miho had once stayed. Although she had no spiritual power and couldn't possibly see spirits, she seemed to be able to sense the presence of the former earthbound spirit.
"She's no longer there." Kurosaki Utsuki suddenly spoke.
Hagiwara Kenji's eyes widened in surprise. He knew that Kurosaki Utsuki had fought with Miho before, and they must have exchanged some experiences. But he had known Kurosaki Utsuki for so long, and she had always wanted to hide her specialness, but now she said something like this -
"Before she passed away, she told me that she hoped you would be happy more than the truth."
"Kurosaki-chan..."
The orange-haired girl shrugged and finished her words: "But I didn't do what she expected."
So she hoped that at least that person's wish could be fulfilled.
The young woman stared blankly at Kurosaki Utsuki for a moment before she spoke tentatively, "You...are you Detective Hagiwara Kaki?" Then she gave a wry smile, "Even if you said so..."
"When you graduated from high school, you exchanged time capsules," Kurosaki Utsuki interrupted again. "Her portion was buried in the garden next to your elementary school, behind the bench where you often played ball together."
“Eh…eh?”
The woman held her breath, her eyes suddenly burning.
"That's a secret between Miho and me. How did you know—did you really meet Miho?!"
"She's let go of her obsession and entered the world of the dead." Kurosaki Utsuki shook her head and quickly concluded the conversation. "Don't let her down. You will meet again in decades. Until then, you must hold all the happy memories firmly in your heart until the day comes when you can share them with her."
Her pretentiously mature words did comfort the young woman opposite her. After she left, probably to look for the time capsule, Hagiwara Kenji, who had been standing aside like a background board, spoke with the same gentle voice and expression.
"Is Kurosaki-chan also waiting for that day with the same feeling?"
Kurosaki Utsuki was stunned for a moment, knowing that he was talking about her deceased mother. She thought that she was also living hard for the day when she would reunite with her mother, and not missing any happiness around her, but the answer was no.
"No," she responded bluntly, "My mother was killed by a Hollow, or should I say eaten? There's no chance of seeing her again."
The boy's expression froze instantly: "Kurosaki-chan..."
Ah...it wasn't like she meant to kill the conversation.
"But her heart is with me." The orange-haired girl tucked the hair on one side of her cheek behind her ear, her eyes gentle but firm, "I will avenge her."
Although she didn't know if she would still have the strength when that time came, nor did she know if she could accomplish it before her father who also wanted to avenge his mother...but as long as there was such a possibility, she would risk her life for it.
"Kurosaki-chan, I'm sorry..."
"You don't have anything to apologize to me for, right?" Kurosaki Utsuki sighed inwardly, finally mustering up the courage at this moment and reaching into the pocket of her skirt. "Are you free next Sunday?"
"Is this an event of the Spiritual Research Society?"
"No, it's a part-time job." She pulled out a piece of paper folded into a small square from her pocket and handed it forward. "It's some simple cleaning work for unused houses. Just some casual work."
The teenager, who currently had a lot of free time on the weekend, immediately agreed: "I'm willing to participate, but can we not leave the cleaning work to the professionals?"
Kurosaki Utsuki shook her head: "That's another house owned by my landlord, Dean Ishida. He doesn't want strangers to enter casually."
"Eh? But I'm not a stranger, am I?"
"The work has been given to me, so I'll make the arrangements—so are you going or not?"
"Of course." The boy blinked, looked at her, and suddenly changed the subject, "Kurosaki-chan, is 'Hagiwara Kaki' still investigating the unsolved case in Beika City?"
Breathing stagnated——
"Of course, Hagiwara Kaki is a detective."
The other party's joy was beyond words: "So, I'll soon be able to become your personal photographer again and record Persimmon Jam's brilliant reasoning?"
My heartbeat suddenly quickened.
“…I’ll take the photo after I finish cleaning.”
Persimmon jam.
Really...that kind of intimate address, Hagiwara is really very outgoing.
But... she didn't feel offended or disgusted.
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