Chapter 70 Five-pointed Star Five
It's raining.
Before visiting hours at the hospital ended, Kurosaki Utsuki finally met Miyano Shiho. An FBI agent, disguised as a family member, was guarding the door. Akai Shuichi wasn't there, but he must have spoken to a colleague and greeted her before she entered the ward.
The girl on the hospital bed was reading a novel and looked quite energetic. When she saw that it was her, her eyes suddenly brightened up: "Sister Ge Xi!"
"You're truly adventurous," Kurosaki Utsuki said coldly. She placed the flowers she brought on the bedside table and rested her hand on the girl's head. "I didn't notice you had grown so big."
"On the contrary, Sister Gexi has hardly changed at all. She still looks like a high school student."
Kurosaki Utsuki shrugged and said politely, "Not really. She looks more like a college student."
Although her soul has been shaped into the appearance of a high school student, her body can still grow, just slower than that of an ordinary person.
The girl opposite started laughing: "I heard that it was Sister Ge Xi who saved me."
"After all, your cousin has come to me and begged me, how can I refuse?"
"Is that so? I really want to see it," she responded cooperatively. "I also want to thank Brother Ling and Brother Jing for their help. Although I think that even if there were more people guarding me, it would be just as easy for Sister Gexi."
Kurosaki Utsuki nodded in agreement: "After all, the opponent is just an ordinary human, and my most impressive skill is my fighting ability."
After chatting for a while longer, and informing the other party that they would pick her up the next day, Kurosaki Utsuki left the ward, preparing to return to the hotel to rest. Who knew she would have to go to the police station again tomorrow? Just as she was about to close the door, she stopped dead in her tracks when someone came into her sight.
"Kudo and Hattori...why are you in the hospital? Who's injured?"
As she spoke, she walked towards the elevator with the two young detectives - but visiting hours were almost over.
"Uncle Maori has a sprained back," Kudo replied. He glanced at Miyano Shiho's ward and said, "What kind of troublesome case have you gotten yourself into? The person who walked into that ward couldn't be an ordinary patient's family member, could he?"
Kurosaki Utsuki raised an eyebrow: "Why do you say that?"
"I overheard him addressing his companions on the phone," Hattori Heiji replied, "'Agent'. If I'm not mistaken, is he from the FBI?"
...How careless of you, Akai Shuichi's colleague.
"That was a kidnapping case that was successfully solved." Kurosaki Utsuki nodded and started making up a story. "The case was international and quite complicated, so FBI agents were assigned to protect the victim."
Hearing her say that the case was solved, the two detectives lost half their interest, but it was clear that there was more to them than just this one thing—
"The arrested arms dealers and related persons are not the criminals in yesterday's case." Kudo Shinichi said.
This is the premise background.
"We checked the surveillance footage from today's street," he said, his voice full of meaning, "but even in slow motion, it's impossible to tell how you could have appeared from the right side of the road in an instant outside the left door of the car."
And the car was traveling at high speed.
Kurosaki Utsuki said seriously: "The surveillance video may have dropped frames."
"Frame drops? Seriously?"
"I'm not a surveillance camera, how do I know if it's serious?"
Alas, she actually went to look through the video... She didn't want to work overtime, but she was already numb.
Fortunately, a young man with pigtails, whose face bore a striking resemblance to Kudo Shinichi, suddenly caught her eye. She had seen his picture online before. Okita Souji, coincidentally sharing the same name as the local resident Shinigami, was a rising star in the world of kendo.
After a brief hesitation, before the boy who seemed to be familiar with the two young detectives could speak, Kurosaki Utsuki called out his name first.
"Kaito Kidd?"
The young detectives weren't surprised by the appearance of a criminal. Instead, the boy with pigtails looked very interested. "How did you find out?"
He acknowledged his true identity.
Kurosaki Utsuki simply asked back: "Do you still remember that I had another name besides JK Detective?"
The young detectives on the side looked at each other and said, "Psychic detective?"
"That's right, so I can see through disguises to see the true nature - and what I'm best at is getting clues from the souls of the deceased. Unfortunately, the deceased and the soul in the case yesterday morning have passed away."
Facing the boys' suspicious gazes, Kurosaki Utsuki continued to earnestly tell the truth that was hard to believe.
"And there aren't any earthbound spirits near the crime scene, so... wait a minute, I'll take a call."
As they were talking, they had already reached the hospital entrance. It was raining heavily outside. Kurosaki Utsuki stopped by the steps and took out her cell phone. It seemed that the number was most likely a public phone, so the person on the other end was most likely——
"Ge Xi, long time no see."
These are the hidden lights.
Kurosaki Utsuki couldn't judge the other person's current situation by his voice, so for safety's sake, she didn't directly acknowledge the affectionate address, but responded with a slightly indifferent tone: "Which one?"
The other party also understood that this was just her coping strategy, so she continued: "Can we meet tomorrow night at 8 o'clock on the rooftop of Shiho's apartment?"
Kurosaki Utsuki was silent for a moment.
In front of her were three teenagers bickering with each other. The atmosphere didn't seem like that of a detective and a thief, but more like a group of classmates who were familiar with each other, knew each other's pain points and minefields, and seemed to have no scruples when complaining about each other, but in fact, they never crossed the line or stepped on minefields. Seeing this, she just felt that their relationship was really good - and it also reminded her of her own adventures in junior high and high school.
"Of course," she replied briskly, her eyes curled up. "I'll go alone."
Monday, April 17
That night, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse.
When the news that the case and the code had been solved arrived, Kurosaki Utsuki was meeting with her childhood friends on the hotel rooftop. The three of them had noticed the commotion in the direction of Hakodate Mountain from afar, but that was not the event they should be paying attention to.
The call that informed the details was from Kudo Shinichi. He said that Heiji had something else to do, and his tone was very ambiguous. It was obvious that it was related to love.
Although she was full of complaints in her heart like "You guys skipped classes to solve the case. I don't know which university you'll get into in the future if this continues", Kurosaki Utsuki still praised the other party generously, "You are really better than me. I have to admit that you are better than me."
This last sentence would definitely sound sarcastic if it were said by a Kyoto person, but it made the corners of Fūtani Rei's mouth twitch when he heard it, while Morofushi Kagemitsu showed a soothing smile. For a moment, the atmosphere seemed to have returned to the old days when everyone was carefree.
"I'm telling the truth. My reasoning skills aren't as strong as theirs." Kurosaki Utsuki hung up the phone and returned to the previous topic. "Are you saying that Gin finally reported my existence to the organization? And your superiors in the organization have assigned you to investigate my information, and maybe even personally come to me in disguise?"
Although she said so, she actually felt that the latter point was unlikely - after all, there would not be any new people coming to her workplace. Apart from the familiar police officers and colleagues, there were also "guests" who were already out of breath.
"Yes," Furuya Rei confirmed, "Originally we didn't want you to be involved, but now it seems that perhaps we should have sought your help sooner."
His words were so sincere that Kurosaki Utsuki laughed silently.
"Remember what I told you when Shiho was kidnapped as a child?" She glared at the person opposite her, her eyes full of mockery. "Just shout 'Utahiki-sama, save me,' and I'll show up handsomely—making the most of everything I can. That's what an undercover agent does, right?"
Fūya Ling showed a helpless expression and stopped being polite with her, going straight to the arrangements: "I know, I know. Someone will contact you with the specific plan. Do you need our help to protect your family and friends?"
Shuichi Akai also asked her this question, and obviously this time, her answer would not be different.
"Of course not, there's no need for family members. And now that you mention it, I can't think of any friends I have." Kurosaki Utsuki shook his head and sighed.
"I remember when I was little, I had two childhood sweethearts. Later, they became police officers and went undercover, and we lost contact. Of the two close friends in high school, one married me and died in the line of duty, and the other is now working at the Metropolitan Police Department, so busy that he's practically 007. Apart from that, there seems to be no one else."
"Ever since I entered university, I've hardly socialized outside of academic activities. To sum up, I probably don't have any friends now."
Zhu Fujingguang listened and couldn't help but chuckle: "Ge Xi's work is really busy."
Kurosaki Utahi nodded indignantly: "Yeah, but this is the rare time to take a vacation and encounter something like this."
She hadn't had a good rest for even a single day - she might as well have accepted Detective Takagi's commission when she set out, and maybe she could have avoided the previous murder case.
It sounded like a complaint, but both people knew she didn't really have any objections. Furuya Rei then asked, "Utah, how are Shirley and Shiho doing?"
Shirley was Miyano Shiho's previous code name in the organization.
"She's in good spirits and uninjured. She can be discharged at any time and is currently under FBI protection. I've also arranged for someone to look after her parents and Akemi," Kurosaki Utsuki replied. "I've discussed this with the FBI, and I'll be taking her back to Tokyo tomorrow. With me by her side, your organization shouldn't dare act rashly."
Fūya Rei nodded, agreeing with her judgment. After all, she had already demonstrated catching bullets with her bare hands in front of Gin. "What happens next?"
"It depends on what Shiho thinks." Kurosaki Utsuki thought for a moment and continued, "If she doesn't mind hiding for a while, you can let her stay at Mr. Urahara's place for a while. Her safety is absolutely guaranteed."
"Otherwise, I can ask my brother to look after her and let her live in my house. Anyway, my brother has no plans to go on a business trip for the time being, so I can do the work from home, and there are rooms available at home."
But the latter suggestion made the two people on the opposite side hesitate: "That's too dangerous, both for Shiho and your brother's family."
"Well, my brother doesn't mind at all. He and his sister-in-law are very enthusiastic and strong enough to protect themselves."
She tilted her head and continued to explain, "And I have a friend here who can bring the dead back to life," specifically referring to her sister-in-law Orihime. "As long as her death isn't as publicized as Kenji's, it's totally fine."
When talking about the circumstances of her husband's death, Kurosaki Utsuki couldn't help but grit her teeth.
But her words did make people feel relieved. Zhu Fujingguang immediately smiled and asked: "Is Hagiwara okay over there?"
He had heard of the existence of Soul Society, and a few years ago, he also heard that his classmate Kenji Hagiwara was training hard, striving to graduate as soon as possible and return to the world as a Shinigami.
"Of course he's fine. He has me, 'one of Soul Society's only heroes, one who saved the world before he even died, a savior written into Mao's textbooks,' protecting him," Kurosaki Utsuki confirmed. "And he'll be back soon. The schedule has been set. He'll serve as a resident Shinigami for seventy years."
That's about the time she died as a human.
This was certainly surprising news. Zhu Fujingguang was shocked: "Eh hey hey? Really?"
"Yes, but it may not be that easy to meet."
Furuya Zero nodded: "After all, he has become a god of death, and gods of death shouldn't have anything to do with humans, right?"
"No, it's not what you think at all." Kurosaki Utsuki waved her hand, interrupting him. "It's simply because he's in charge of Rice Flower City, and the workload in Rice Flower City is so huge that you can't even imagine."
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