Tokyo Detective Chronicles

Chapter 72 The Zhang Family

5:53 AM

Tokyo in the present day, Special Affairs Department Building

While Fushimi Iori was being interrogated, in another interrogation room...

Rina Hoshizaki sat in a chair, her hands neatly placed on her knees, a polite but awkward smile on her face.

She was also being questioned by two staff members from the information department.

For departments in charge of information and public opinion, as well as intelligence gathering, aside from some more specific targets, the information department is also responsible for preliminary interrogation and information gathering.

Then the compiled parts are submitted to the decision-making department.

However, this differs from the attitude towards Fushimi.

Across from Hoshizaki Rina's table, a male and a female staff member were cheerfully explaining the benefits of the Special Affairs Section to her, especially the Information Department.

"Hoshizaki-san, are you really not going to reconsider?"

The female clerk leaned forward, forcing what she thought was a friendly smile onto her sallow face, which was tanned from staying up all night.

They described the work environment and benefits in glowing terms, but the dark circles under their eyes and their consumptive, near-death appearances told a completely different story...

"It's just answering phones, organizing documents, and occasionally working overtime... well, not much overtime."

Their eyelids twitched as they said this.

Rina Hoshizaki's eye twitched as well.

"Heh...hehe, well, you two, I'll think about it carefully..."

Rina Hoshizaki's eyes twitched, and she chuckled twice.

"After all, I'm still a high school student..."

"High school students are fine too! We even have middle school students in our Special Affairs Division!"

The female clerk grabbed her hand, her bloodshot eyes flashing with an eerie light.

"You can come here part-time! The hourly wage is much higher than working at a convenience store or something!"

When Hoshizaki Rina had her hand grabbed, she felt as if she were being targeted by some terrifying beast.

What she didn't know was that the Special Affairs Section was indeed being driven crazy recently.

The boundary between the mortal world and the underworld is becoming increasingly blurred, the predicted time for the next Night Parade of One Hundred Demons is drawing ever closer, and the number of psychic events is growing exponentially.

Due to its unique nature, the Special Affairs Section cannot recruit on a large scale from the general public.

Due to the high level of confidentiality and seriousness of their work, many of the original staff members were unable to withstand the intense work pressure and resigned.

NGOs are offering even higher salaries to poach talent.

As one of the departments with the highest workload, the Information Department is facing such a large staff shortage that it is almost affecting its normal operation.

Therefore, ordinary people like Hoshizaki Rina, who are unintentionally drawn into psychic incidents, become the best targets for the Special Affairs Division to recruit.

It can solve the confidentiality problem while also alleviating the problem of personnel shortage.

Moreover, they had just received a report.

Rina Hoshizaki was actually a newly awakened psychic... The light in their eyes shone even brighter.

"Ha... haha, you two, um... where's my friend?"

"Hoshizaki-san..."

"Rina Hoshizaki, you can leave now."

The door was pushed open.

A clerk in uniform stood at the door, looking inside expressionlessly.

The two information department staff members clicked their tongues in unison, then got up to see him off, their faces still bearing reluctant smiles.

"Hoshizaki-san, please think it over carefully!"

"The doors of our information department are always open for you!"

Rina Hoshizaki stood up and bowed to them.

"Thank you both... I'll consider it... I really will..."

Then she practically fled the interrogation room.

……

At the entrance of the Special Affairs Department building.

Fushimi Iori stood on the steps, her hands in her pockets, watching the first light of dawn on the horizon.

Based on the information Fushimi currently possesses, it's obvious without a doubt that the person who betrayed the Creation Cult and exposed the coordinates to the Special Affairs Division is most likely Dr. Hoshino.

So, will she be the one who sets up the curtain and attacks the Fushimi family tonight while Fushimi is away?

The investigation that Fushimi had previously commissioned on the black market has also yielded results.

After 24-hour surveillance, it was confirmed that Dr. Hoshino had indeed been attending a medical conference in Kyoto during this time and had not exhibited any unusual behavior.

Even the electronic devices they used were monitored by hackers, but nothing was found.

However, this does not completely rule out suspicion, since it cannot be determined whether there are accomplices.

Having gone through this ordeal, he absolutely needed to see Hayakawa Chiho and her mother again.

Fushimi checked the time; it was already past six in the morning…

Just then, hurried footsteps came from behind.

Then a pair of hands reached out from behind.

"Hey--!"

Rina Hoshizaki pounced on him from behind, wrapped her arms around his neck, and clung to him.

Fushimi was knocked forward and staggered half a step.

"Hehe!" Hoshizaki rested her chin on his shoulder, her face very close. "Have you been waiting long?"

Fushimi remained silent.

He just turned his head and glanced at her.

The face was so close, with a smile in its eyes and a slightly red nose.

"Let's go home."

"Okay!"

Hoshizaki let go of his hand and stood beside him.

Obviously, there wouldn't be a special vehicle from the Special Affairs Division to pick them up and take them back.

The two walked down the steps.

The streets were empty. At six in the morning in Tokyo, there weren't too many people. Occasionally, a taxi would drive by, but all of them had their "carrying passengers" lights on.

They just kept walking.

However, Fushimi noticed that Hoshizaki had injured his right leg due to a previous incident, and his walking was slightly awkward.

"What happened to your leg?"

"Huh? It's nothing..." Hoshizaki Rina waved her hand and smiled.

Hoshizaki recounted how the two men had tried to win her over and asked for Fushimi's opinion. After all, the two had talked themselves hoarse and made all sorts of effusive claims, so it couldn't have been completely useless.

The girl was genuinely tempted. Who wouldn't want a higher-paying part-time job?

Listen to her muttering to herself.

Fushimi then recalled his return to the mortal world... how his home had been attacked to such an extent, yet Hoshizaki Rina had managed to protect a single Destiny Candle, allowing him to return safely...

Then she thought of lending herself 70% of her power, and then falling into a deep sleep from exhaustion once again.

At that moment, Hoshizaki Rina turned to look at him: "Do you think I should go?"

Fushimi did not answer her question, but simply looked at her.

Looking at her right leg trembling slightly as she walked, her forced relaxed smile, and her hair ruffled by the night wind.

"Thank you for yesterday, Rina."

Rina Hoshizaki stopped in her tracks.

She stood still.

Looking down at my toes, I don't know why... tears suddenly welled up in my eyes.

Disobediently, large tears rolled down from their eye sockets.

She wiped it with the back of her hand, and more water gushed out.

I wiped it again, but it still gushed out.

She remembered what happened last night.

After the ordeal of Fushimi's return and the questioning by the Special Affairs Division, her emotions, which she had managed to suppress, resurfaced uncontrollably.

The monster she faced last night, and the fear and anxiety she experienced, were things this ordinary girl had never imagined...

Even Hoshizaki Rina herself couldn't explain why she had the courage to snatch that candle yesterday, or where she got the courage to raise her bow and face that monster that she should have fainted from fear at just a glance...

Even though she had already done that.

But the fear and grievance I feel at this moment are so real.

Now, Hoshizaki Rina wants to hear what Fushimi Iori has to say... anything at all...

But Fushimi continued walking forward.

Hoshizaki stood there, watching that figure from behind, and suddenly felt a void in his heart... An unspeakable grievance filled his heart.

The tears flowed even more fiercely.

He... is still the same, always walking forward on his own.

They're all unwilling to wait for themselves.

Clearly... something like this just happened.

She wiped away her tears forcefully.

Just as I was about to jog to catch up...

But when she looked up, she saw Fushimi crouching down not far away, with his back to her.

Hoshizaki froze, tears still on her face, her hand still raised in mid-air.

She looked at the crouching figure from behind.

I stared at it for several seconds.

Then Fushimi's voice came.

"Let me carry you on my back."

Rina Hoshizaki watched his back as he half-squatted down.

She looked at the guy who never waited for her and always walked ahead alone.

Then she burst into laughter through her tears, ran over, and jumped onto his back.

"Heave-ho!"

Fushimi was thrown forward by her tackle and took a few steps before regaining his balance.

"You're really not being polite."

"Of course!"

Rina Hoshizaki wrapped her arms around his neck, buried her face in the crook of his shoulder, and spoke in a muffled voice, still nasal from crying.

"You were the one who said you'd carry me!"

He supported her legs with both hands, straightened up, lifted her up a bit, and then continued walking forward.

The streets were quiet in the early morning.

Occasionally, a few early birds chirp.

The early autumn wind blew by, carrying a slight chill.

Rina Hoshizaki lay on his back, feeling his body temperature through his clothes and smelling the faint scent of his shampoo.

Her tears hadn't dried yet, but she was already smiling.

She buried her face even deeper.

"Iori".

"Um?"

"You smell really good. You're not one of those guys who secretly uses cologne, are you?"

Fushimi ignored her.

Hoshizaki Rina secretly smiled.

She rested her chin on his shoulder and looked at his profile.

The morning light shone on his face, illuminating the tiny wounds clearly, some from the previous night, others from even earlier.

She reached out and gently touched a wound on his cheek with her fingertips.

"Does it hurt?"

"..."

Then she stopped talking.

I just lay on his back, looking at the long road.

After walking for a long time, they finally found an empty car not far from their home.

A taxi slowly drove up, the driver yawning, clearly having just started his shift.

Fushimi stopped in his tracks.

"The car is here."

Rina Hoshizaki didn't move.

"Come down."

Rina Hoshizaki didn't move, but she tightened her arms around herself a little.

Fushimi waited a few seconds, then sighed.

Keep going.

We passed by the taxi.

The driver leaned out, glanced at them, shook his head, and drove off.

Rina Hoshizaki laughed out loud on his back.

"Iori".

"Um?"

"It's so kind of you."

Fushimi didn't say anything, but the hand supporting her thigh tightened a little more.

Rina Hoshizaki closed her eyes and let him carry her on his back.

Walk and walk.

The sun finally rose.

Shops along the street gradually opened their doors.

The convenience store's roller shutter swung up with a clatter, and the aroma of freshly baked bread wafted from the bakery. Bicycles passed by, their bells jingling.

People jogging, walking their dogs, and catching the early bus began to appear on the streets.

Fushimi carried Hoshizaki on his back as they walked among these people.

Nobody gave them a second glance.

She remained lying down, looking up at the city that was slowly waking up.

The sun slowly rose.

The warm early autumn sun shone on the two of them, casting long shadows.

The shadows were pressed together, making it impossible to tell whose they were.

……

Meanwhile, somewhere unnoticed by the two.

A black luxury car slowly drove down the street.

Inside the car, Aoi Morikawa leaned against the window.

Today she was wearing a perfectly ironed school uniform: a black fitted pinafore dress, a white shirt, and a red tie.

White stockings that reach the knee.

Her hair was neatly combed and tied into two bunches with a red ribbon.

She looked up, gazing listlessly out the window.

As the student council president of the junior high school at St. Laurent Girls' Academy, I have to go to school for a meeting early in the morning.

This was the route she took every day, the only way from the Morikawa family home to the junior high school of St. Laurent Girls' Academy.

She gave a small yawn.

Then... she accidentally saw something.

"parking."

The sound was very soft.

Yui, who was acting as the driver, paused for a moment, but still slowly slowed down.

Aoi Morikawa pressed her face against the car window and looked closely.

On the sidewalk, it was indeed Iori's older brother... and a woman he didn't recognize...

The woman was clinging to his back, her arms wrapped around his neck, her face buried in his shoulder. From her profile, you could see that her eyes were crinkled with laughter.

The two walked slowly, the woman whispering intimately in Fushimi's ear.

"Yui...stop the car..."

Aoi Morikawa's cold voice rang out... Yui, the maid sitting in the driver's seat, turned around.

"No, you can't..."

Yui's voice was calm.

"Miss, your schedule at school is very full today. You don't have any extra time to do things like fighting over men."

Aoi Morikawa's face darkened... and then the girl was about to make a move...

Yui pressed a button.

"Click".

The car doors are locked.

Aoi Morikawa froze, and reached out to pull on the car door... but couldn't open it.

"Yui!"