Tokyo, the shady intelligence of private detectives

In 1992 Tokyo, there were no longer any legal "brothels," but there were a large number of illegal underground entertainment venues that skirted the law.

Pink Salon is one such place, with private rooms and a focus on relaxation.

Masahiro Hanyu frowned. "President, we're partners, but you don't understand me yet, I..."

"Hanyu-kun, we're just partners, don't overthink it. At the Twin Star Ballroom, I cooperated with you... just to fulfill my request," Yui Satsuki hurriedly explained.

Yuzuru drank the sacred tea to fulfill his request, so it's understandable that he felt unwell. However, she absolutely cannot grant him any other requests.

She remembered that kiss in the tea room—why couldn't she forget it? A strange restlessness stirred within her. If Yuzuru suddenly forced himself on her again, would she reluctantly accept it...?

"President Satsuki, what do you mean? I just want to go to the restroom." Masahiro Hanyu said seriously.

Yui Satsuki's face flushed instantly; she felt as if she had been preventing him from making himself clear.

"I... I meant I was looking for the restroom!"

At the Nishi-Arai Police Station, the two met Officer Yamamoto, who had come specifically for them, at around 10 p.m.

After clarifying the situation, Officer Yamamoto reviewed the video footage and listened to the recording, and he appeared somewhat agitated.

Although the evidence is currently indirect, it already meets the conditions for transferring this case to the SIT (Special Offenders Investigation Unit).

How SIT investigates this case from now on is up to them.

This is exactly what Officer Yamamoto hoped for. He has put in a lot of effort and has a lot of information at his disposal. He believes that when SIT conducts its investigation, he will be involved, and perhaps he will have the opportunity to rejoin SIT.

Officer Yamamoto sincerely thanked Masahiro Hanyu, saying that in order to thoroughly investigate the Fusheng Association, it might be necessary to cooperate more closely with Hanyu.

On the way home, Yui Satsuki said that she would definitely keep her promise and that they would discuss it further when they went to the detective agency the next day.

As he turned the corner, Masahiro Hanyu suddenly saw two hunched figures.

As the car headlights flashed by, the two figures naturally hid behind the ginkgo tree at the end of the street. Although their faces were not clearly seen, it was certain that they were two elderly women.

A thought struck him: these were the "them" that Izayoi Akira had mentioned. Why were they appearing again so late? Had they discovered Izayoi's location?

Yui Satsuki glanced in the rearview mirror and suddenly slammed on the brakes. "Hanyu-kun, did you notice? There were two old ladies who were just on the sidewalk, and then they suddenly disappeared."

As expected of an elite detective in the investigation department, he noticed the special details even in a casual manner.

Masahiro Hanyu didn't want to talk about Akizo Izayoi. Looking back at the back of the car, he said, "Oh, I didn't notice!"

There weren't many pedestrians or vehicles on the road. Yui Satsuki observed carefully for half a minute before continuing to drive.

"Hanyu-kun, the Fusheng Society is a dangerous cult. You must be careful. I will arrange new accommodations for you tomorrow. Be careful tonight."

It was rare to see Yui Satsuki so alert and concerned about him.

"Thank you, President Satsuki. I'll be careful."

As he approached the apartment building, Masahiro Hanyu spotted a Yamaha SR400 parked under a streetlamp in the distance.

Hashimoto Reia, with her red hair, sat on a tree, fiddling with a folding knife in her hand.

This time of day should be when motorcycle racing teams are making a ruckus in the streets, so Hashimoto Reia must be waiting for him here.

However, the two of them had exchanged pagers, and they should have paged each other in advance if anything happened.

Masahiro Hanyu asked Yui Satsuki to park the car on the spot, explaining that it would attract the attention of the neighbors if they went to the apartment building.

Before getting off the bus, Yui Satsuki reminded him again to be careful and to prioritize safety.

Yuzuru Masahiro watched the Crown sedan drive away, then looked around. He couldn't find the two hunched old women anywhere.

He arrived at the apartment building and walked towards Hashimoto Reia. "Miss Reia, it's so late, were you waiting for me?"

Underneath Hashimoto Reia's loose black special attack uniform was a tight white T-shirt, making her large breasts stand out prominently.

"Yes, otherwise who else would I be waiting for here! I've accepted a request for Mr. Yuzuru. Shall we talk about it here or in your room?"

"That one in your room..."

"Let's go upstairs and talk!" Masahiro Yuzuru waved his hand, stopping Reia Hashimoto. He was worried that the two mysterious old women might overhear what Izayoi was doing in the room.

"Okay!" Hashimoto Reia turned and walked into the apartment building.

Upon entering room 502, Masahiro Hanyu saw no one inside. He leaned down to look under the bed, but it was empty; no one was there.

The bathroom door was open, but no one was there. Izayoi was gone; she had left.

Hashimoto Reia looked around. "That beauty left without informing Mr. Yuzuru."

"Forget it, stop looking. Out with the old, in with the new."

Masahiro Hanyu invited Rea Hashimoto to sit down and poured her a glass of water. "Ms. Rea, please tell me your story in detail."

Hashimoto Reia looked smug. "The commission I got for you is very high. You'll definitely be satisfied."

"It's... 2000 million yen, you wouldn't believe it!"

Masahiro Hanyu was genuinely surprised; a commission of 2000 million yen was indeed very high. In all his time at the Xinyi Detective Agency, he had never heard of a commission with such a high fee.

Reia Hashimoto was pleased by Masahiro Hanyu's surprise.

"According to the agreement we discussed before, after receiving the commission, 1000 million yen will be used to pay off part of your debt, and the remaining 1000 million yen will be split equally, 500 million yen each."

Masahiro Hanyu hesitated, "Such a high commission is indeed unexpected, but it must not be easy to complete the commission."

"Of course, if it were easy, would the commission be so high?" Hashimoto Reiya took out a neatly folded letter of authorization from the pocket of her special-issue clothes and handed it over.

Masahiro Hanyu took the commission letter and opened it. It read:

Date of Commission: September 8, 1992

Client: Hirano Shōaki

Address: Not convenient to disclose

Commission details: Investigate the identity of the recently emerged assassin. Last sighting: September 2nd.

Assassin's physical characteristics: black suit, wearing a hood.

Commission period: Urgent

Compensation: A deposit of 100 million yen, with an additional 1900 million yen to be paid after the matter is clarified.

Special Note: The assassin is extremely dangerous. Once the commission is confirmed, the results should only be disclosed to the commissioner in person.

Signature of the principal: Hirano Shōmei

Trustees: Reia Hashimoto, Masahiro Hanyu

Handprint

The signature at the end of the power of attorney was clearly signed by Hashimoto Rea on her behalf.

A commission to find a hitman—that's a dangerous job, no wonder the commission is so high.

Hirano Hiroaki—this name sounded familiar to Yuzuru Masahiro. He suddenly remembered it and looked up at Hashimoto Reia.

"Hirano Yoshiaki, the second-in-command/executive of the East Asia Association?"

Hashimoto Reia nodded. "Yes, Mr. Yuzuru is indeed very knowledgeable."

Masahiro Hanyu slammed the commission form on the table. "Are you kidding me? Investigating the person who assassinated Hirano Hiroaki? Don't you want to live?"