Chapter 65 Honeymoon Period 4
Kogoro Mouri's reply came more than ten minutes later. By then, the group had already left the underground training ground and sat around a low table in Urahara's shop, drinking tea and eating dumplings - except for Kenji Hagiwara, who was now in soul state and unable to eat.
The email from Detective Mori had an address marked on it, along with a simple map. After receiving the email, he called Kurosaki Utsuki and asked if she needed any further assistance. She replied that this was all she needed.
"I'm not the type of detective who draws inferences and profiles based on evidence and the circumstances of the scene. I'm a psychic detective who visits the dead."
The man on the other end of the line had heard her say this before, but considering the relaxed atmosphere at the time, it seemed more like a characterization of a chuunibyou. But now, even if he didn't believe in gods, ghosts, or monsters, he didn't really think she was joking or trying to liven things up.
Of course she meant it.
The clue has been obtained, and it's time to take action. Kurosaki Utsuki stood up, hesitated for a second, and picked up the last bunch of dumplings on the plate.
"Ichimaru, the driving task is left to you."
She lowered her eyes and looked at Ichimaru Gin who was enjoying his tea peacefully, and suddenly paused.
"Remember to keep your eyes open when you're on the road. I don't want to be delayed by being stopped by the traffic police."
The corners of Ichimaru Gin's mouth twitched slightly, and then he spread his hands helplessly.
"I'll try my best."
On the other side, Urahara Kisuke also stood up and prepared to see the guest off, his eyes full of teasing: "Ah~ Am I lucky enough to see the decryption video of "JK Detective Hagiwara Kaki" on TV again?"
"The video probably won't be available anymore." Kurosaki Utaha waved her hand. "I need to go to the press conference."
"—After a long time, as the Psychic Detective Hagiwara Kaki."
Thursday, November 10
After five and a half years, the "JK Detective" who had disappeared for a while reappeared.
Moreover, they no longer investigated past unsolved cases to find out the truth and then recorded a video to inform the police and TV stations. Instead, they found the criminal before the police in the evening of the day when the case occurred and reported the case to the police openly at the criminal's doorstep.
When the prisoner rushed towards her and tried to take her hostage, she threw him over her shoulder and sent him to the hospital.
Three days later, "Kaki Hagiwara" finally appeared on TV again. This time, she was no longer wearing a mask to hide her face in the video. Instead, she appeared in the live broadcast of the police press conference on the bombing as a police assistant, with her true face undisguised.
In the safe house, Fūya Rei, who had become a "non-existent person", sat in front of the TV and was not at all surprised to see his friends on the screen.
"If Hiro or I died, you would stand up for us, right, Kurosaki?"
He muttered to himself, turning up the volume on the TV a little.
The press conference for this case took place much earlier than for other cases. This was not only because of the extremely serious nature of the case and the police officer who died in the line of duty, but also because the criminals were found very quickly. The other party did not have time to destroy the evidence and their psychological defenses were very weak. Within two days, everything from the chain of evidence to the confession was complete, and even the materials for inspection were submitted.
This is of course thanks to the "Hagiwara Persimmon".
During the media question-and-answer session, when asked why he suddenly returned and why he chose to take action since this case was not an unsolved case, the former unsolved case expert put on a completely keep-away-from-you look.
“Is this kind of question worth worrying about?”
The young woman, who appeared in front of the media for the first time, had no expression on her face and her tone was much colder than in previous videos.
"One of the officers who died in the line of duty was named Hagiwara. I also officially changed my last name to Hagiwara not long ago." She lowered her eyes to glance at the "Hagiwara Persimmon" nameplate in front of her, and the corners of her lips twitched. "Is it hard to understand that she's seeking revenge for her husband who missed her wedding ceremony?"
The atmosphere in the venue froze for a few seconds. Behind the media crowd, Jinpei Matsuda, who had come all the way to watch the live broadcast, crossed his arms and shook his head, sighing, "There's so much resentment."
Someone who has a deep understanding of this said: “Indeed.”
But Utsuki-chan like this... is also very cute.
Hagiwara Kenji, who had been wandering around as a ghost for three days, stared at his wife and spoke again after a long while.
"Xiao Zhenping, my little Gexi is really amazing."
"……ha?"
What nonsense are you talking about? How can your current strength be compared to what you had in the underground training ground?
·
Two minutes after the press conference ended, Kurosaki Utsuki bypassed many media outlets that wanted to interview her at a speed far beyond human speed and got into Matsuda Jinpei's car.
When she noticed the figure of Maori Kogoro, who had come to follow the case, she immediately got out of the car to greet him. Although the other party complained that she must have made it difficult for the detective writing the investigation report, his face was full of joy.
Before they could even start chatting, a ten-year-old boy with an apple-haired head suddenly ran over from a short distance, closely followed by a girl of the same age. The boy looked up and called out "Uncle," then looked at Kurosaki Utsuki, his face full of excitement.
"Kaki Hagiwara! I'm Kudo Shinichi, and I'll definitely become a more famous detective than you!"
Oh? You're quite ambitious.
She shook her head at Detective Maori who was trying to explain the situation, and smiled at the boy.
"Then do your best, young man," she said, "but I think that protecting the people around you is more important than becoming famous."
Tuesday, November 22
It's a cloudy day perfect for lying in bed doing nothing.
To ordinary people, it seemed like the bride was the only one attending the wedding—especially for the reporters who had been waiting outside the wedding venue in advance because they were curious about the private life of "Kaki Hagiwara," who had just revealed her identity.
But they did not receive an invitation and could not enter the wedding venue, so they had no way of knowing that the wedding was actually not as lonely and sad as they had imagined.
Although the originally scheduled guests had all attended the recent funeral instead, the crowd was small, consisting solely of the couple's closest family and friends. Missing from their five academy classmates were Rei Furuya and Kagemitsu Morobushi, but squad leader Kou Date had brought his blonde, mixed-race girlfriend, and Takaaki Morobushi was also among the guests.
However, Kisuke Urahara, who was acting as the priest this time, provided a few people without spiritual powers with special glasses that could see ghosts, and presented the ghost groom of this wedding in front of them in a form similar to 3D projection.
Not only that, Urahara Kisuke also worked overtime to urgently develop a wedding dress that can be worn by souls that have not been soul-buried, making this wedding more like a wedding.
In short, although the style of painting was a bit strange and they were forced to skip the ring exchange part due to the nature of the soul, the overall process of the wedding went smoothly. Kurosaki Utsuki, who became a widower after six months of marriage, was also quite satisfied. The two had agreed before the wedding that they would hold another wedding when she died in the real world and officially went to Soul Society.
After the wedding, there was a long farewell party. Kurosaki Utsuki, who hadn't changed out of her wedding dress, sent most of the guests away and sat next to her brother, watching from afar as her late husband apologized and thanked her parents and sister.
When he came back to her, only the two newcomers and Matsuda Jinpei were left in the venue.
"Matsuda, I'll leave my body to you." Kurosaki Utsuki nodded to the curly-haired young man beside her, and her body in a gorgeous wedding dress fell backwards into the arms of the young policeman, while the soul of the deputy Shinigami wearing a Shinigami uniform broke away and held his Zanpakuto for the first time in a long time.
Looking at the girl's hand gripping the hilt of the katana, Hagiwara Kenji gave a wry smile: "Can't I just stay with Utahiki-chan for a hundred years in this world?"
"Of course not," Kurosaki Utsuki retorted after her proposal was immediately rejected. "No matter how talented you are, I will do my best to protect you from Hollow attacks, but souls that haven't been Soul Buried are always at risk of corruption. What if you become a Hollow in the future? Do you want me to kill you?"
The smile of the person opposite him became even more bitter.
Kurosaki Utsuki sighed in her heart. She didn't want to end up in a cross-border, long-distance relationship like Ichimaru Gin. She even seriously considered the possibility of dying and starting a new life in Soul Society.
But with her husband's encouragement, she decided to complete her life as a human being.
"If Kaoru-chan has regrets in her short life that she can only experience once because of me, I will definitely feel guilty every day for the next thousand years," he said at the time.
She will continue to work hard on her own, so he must also work hard on his own next.
"The world of spirits is more dangerous than the human world. Without strength, you can't protect yourself." She looked into Hagiwara Kenji's eyes, her eyes reddening. "You must let go of your obsession and go to Soul Society. Go to the Shinō Spiritual Academy and learn the ability to protect yourself. Then join the 13th Division, Captain Ukitake's division. When you're strong enough to stand on your own, apply to become the garrisoned Shinigami of Beika City, and then come back here."
"After that, I will be your Death Agent."
Although the current atmosphere did not allow for interruption, Matsuda Jinpei, upon hearing the unfamiliar term, could not help but ask, "Mao Spiritual Arts Academy?"
Kurosaki Utsuki responded and explained for him, "It's a six-year school in Soul Society that specializes in training Shinigami."
Here, Hagiwara Kenji said aggrievedly: "But I just graduated..."
After graduating from college, I went to police school. It has only been less than two months since I graduated, and I have to go back to school again?
"So?" Kurosaki Utsuki raised an eyebrow. "Mao is the path most souls must take to become Shinigami. If you can't become a Shinigami, you can't come to the living world through legitimate means—and illegitimate means are quite dangerous. There's a powerful noble patriarch in Soul Society who's been trying to get me to serve under him. If he catches you, he might use it to threaten me into submission."
…Although she didn’t think Gojo Satoru was such a bad person, it was always better to be cautious.
Then she offered some comfort: "Although it's a six-year program, if you work hard enough and are talented enough, you can graduate early. By the way, Ichimaru is a genius who graduated in just one year."
Encouraged by the promise of "graduating in one year", Hagiwara Kenji finally cheered up: "I don't know if I have the talent, but I will work hard to become a Shinigami so that I can see Utahiki again soon."
"The time we'll meet again is determined by my free time." Kurosaki Utsuki pulled a black and white cardboard from her bosom and waved it in front of him. "I have a 'Soul Communication Talisman' that allows me to travel freely between Soul Society and the living world. I can visit you anytime I have the time."
Jinpei Matsuda beside him chuckled softly.
"Lian Yue" left her body, and the end of the handle of the knife left the mark of "life and death" on her forehead. The ghost in wedding attire gradually turned into a spirit and disappeared under her gentle gaze. The last words she left for him were a very light "You know, I'm very good at finding people."
The soul burial was completed, and Kurosaki Utsuki injected spiritual power into the "Soul Communication Talisman". As the gate to the world opened, she also waved goodbye to Matsuda Jinpei.
"Help me hand over my body to my brother—I'll use some connections to get you admitted to the second-year graduate program."
·
"Be full, Lianyue."
This is the first release after five years.
The blades turned into spots of light, crimson mixed with purple, spreading out in all directions with the orange-haired girl as the center.
The Hogyoku responded to her wish, allowing these spirit particles to continue to spread to distances that they might not have been able to reach in the past. Just the initial release almost covered the entire western area of Rukongai.
After a short wait, she retracted her Shikai, used instant step, and headed towards the south area.
·
Kenji Hagiwara opened his eyes on the streets of Rukongai.
Before he had time to carefully observe this world he had visited several times as a guest and respond to the friendly greetings of the enthusiastic locals to him as a new resident, he suddenly noticed a crimson light floating before his eyes.
He held the ball of light and also held the girl's hand.
It seemed no different from the fireworks display seven years ago. With the low Edo-style buildings as the background, the girl, whose spirit particle had once collapsed and whose soul remained at the age of fifteen and could no longer grow up, was pulled here by an invisible red thread and ran straight into his arms.
"This isn't your first time in Soul Society, so I don't think I need to introduce the world to you again, right?"
The petite Death Girl took a step back and reached out to him, but suddenly changed her mind and took a step forward, wrapping her arms around his waist before lifting him up horizontally.
"It's been a long time since I last had a princess hug. It turns out that I feel much lighter after becoming a soul."
She lowered her head and kissed the forehead of the man who had not yet fully adapted to the environment and the sudden princess hug.
"Kenji-kun, you absolutely cannot die again this time."
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