❗Mention of swearing, shooting, blood and gore❗

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笑いの行進の下に、沈黙の悲しみが隠され、言葉にならない現実がある。

(Beneath the parade of laughter, silent sorrows lie concealed, an unspoken reality.)

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"The answer. It was here all from the start."

Matsuda raised his hands in front of him, indicating Yūki to hand the proof, which she did without any protest at all. Taking the paper, he carefully opened & straightened it to read the content.

"Kill Emi Tanaka before 6:30AM and get your money after that."  Matsuda spoke out loudly so that everyone could hear him. He looked at Yūki with a frown and asked her, "You do know that this is not enough proof to convict the murderer?"

But to his surprise, she smirked and took the paper back. "I know that, Matsuda-san. But don't worry. I already knew it would happen. According to this note, it's clear that it was given to the killer, Koji, but somehow Emi-chan found this."

Yūki then turned to look at terrified Koji with a smirk and looked at him from up and down. "Seeing those clothes, I assume you belong to quite some rich family...Don't you? Koji Makomoto."

"O-OF COURSE! SO WHAT?!" Despite Yūki being polite with Koji, he was panicking asf right now.

"Makomoto industries, famous for it's steel production. The income rate is pretty high and good. As being a very unique steel production company, it has its own design and its mark. " She muttered to herself and then turned back to look again at the Emi's body. She crouched down and within few seconds, she took out the knife from the body, making Matsuda caught off guard and Atsushi yelp in surprise.

"KAMAGUCHI-SAN! You cant do tha-"

But she didn't pay attention to what they were saying. Instead she looked at the designs of the knife handle, and smirking to herself. She got up and twirled the knife on her hand. With a mocking voice she spoke, "A knife with the exact same design as with the Makomoto industry. Quite fishy, don't you think? There u go with another proof."

But this time of stead of Matsuda, Koji stepped up in front of Yūki trying to intimate her, but with very little success.

"Sure. The knife is made of by the company, the killer must have bought it from them before the murder. How do u know it is me? Just because I am the son of the head of the company,  doesn't mean you can blame me-"

"Thanks for confirming that it was made in the company, Koji-kun" She tauntingly smiled at him, making Koji sweat drop at him. "Now then...Kill Emi Tanaka before 6:30AM and get your money after that, or so the paper said. Seeing Emi-chan was quite famous herself, the price for the murder must be a lot. And such transfer can't be done in person to person, but through only internet. If you really didn't do it, then there must have been no transaction between banks, right?

Koji's eyes widened at this while she leaned and whispered in his ears. "Right? Koji Makomoto."

Matsuda told Takahasi to go and check it, which she at once started doing.

"B-BUT-" Koji trued to find an excuse, but to his surprise, heard a chuckle coming from Yūki.

"Still trying to protect yourself?"

"I didn't do it!"

"Oh? Then how do u explain this?" She pointed at the small crimson stain in the collars of his shirt, making Koji clench his jaws.

"Being the son of the head of such a rich company....You must have been spoiled since childhood. Seeing that camera on your neck, I assume you're interested in photography, just where you met Emi. The camera is of the same model as of Emi-chan. So, you two were friends. But seeing someone better than you and not having what you want, it must made you mad. So the first thought that came into your head was to kill her. But you found someone with the same goal. And that person made YOU do it by offering you some money. As it was profitable to you in both ways, you killed her. Isn't that right?"

Koji remained silent at this, making Yūki's smirk widen.

"How pathetic~"

Just as he heard those words, his mind went blank as he only saw red. He quickly took hold of Yūki's collars and shouted on her face.

"YOU BITCH!" He threw a punch on her way, but she swiftly dodged that and kicked him on his sins, making him stumble and fall hard on his face. She stepped on his outstretched palm, and put pressure on it until she heard a crack come from his hand, making him scream in pain. Koji slowly looked up to only find her staring at him with her hands in her pockets, a face full of disgust evident on her face. As if she was seeing maggots gather on some shit.

"S-stop looking at me.....like that..." He muttered. But in response, she put more pressure in his hand, making him scream again.

"Fucking fine! I admit! I killed her! I killed....Emi Tanaka."

She removed her foot from his hands and walked few step back, just when Matsuda's stern voice was heard.

"Arrest him! NOW!" 

"Y-Yes sir!"

The other cops quickly went and handcuffed Koji, who didn't resist at all. Like he has given up. Atsushi walked up behind Yūki and gently tapped her shoulder. She turned and found a very.....inspired Atsushi staring at her with sparkly eyes.

"Too bright!" She mentally screamed.

"As expected from you, Kamaguchi-san! Solving the case so easily and quick!" He spoke happily as Yūki chuckled. 

"The case isn't solved yet."

"It's not solved yet?"

"Yeah. Koji said that there was another guy who wanted Emi-chan dead. Just when Koji thought of killing Emi, the next day, he found someone with the same goal like him. Strange, don't you think? The set-up seemed too organized for a single man to plan."

"So you mean to tell me!...."

"Yeah, there is a mastermind behind this. The culprit may be arrested, but the case is not over until we find the mastermind." She informed Atsushi, but her mind had their own thoughts. She was having a feeling that she knows the handwriting  of that paper very well. It's just that she can't remember whose handwriting it was. While looking at the dead body being taken away from the bench and Koji being taken by the police, her minds were filled with 'ifs' and other possibilities. Just then her took notice of a small logo on Emi's shirt which made her eyes narrow further.

"That brand...."

"That's quite some expensive shirt...." She spoke with a smirk plastered on her face, referring to Emi's pure white, which didn't look pure anymore with all the amount of blood staining it. "Income from a single job like photography won't be enough to afford such an expensive shirt....Unless money is being earned through other means."

""She had another job along with being a photographer." Takahasi suddenly walked behind Yūki and informed her.

"Another job? May I know what is was?" Yūki gave her best 'smile'.

"All I know is that she worked as the servant in some very rich family with good payment."

"And who's that family?"

"It's the famous ability user family, the Kuroishi family."

Those words in the soft & low voice of Koji made Yūki's blood run cold. The name alone was enough to send a shiver down her spine, a name that brought back memories she had desperately tried to bury. Her hands trembled as she clutched her bag. She felt a familiar dread twisting in her stomach, a sense of doom that she hadn't felt in years. The air seemed to grow heavier, pressing down on her chest, making it hard to breathe. Her mind raced back to those days filled with secrets and shadowy figures.

"Those bastards involved in this???! But most importantly, Are not dead?!" Thoughts after thoughts were running in her mind, as a bead of sweat dropped from her forehead, unnoticed by others. Then another realization clicked in her mind. "That handwriting.....IT WAS HIS! That asshole's!"

"A guy from that family gave me the money to kill her.....Hey, detective girl!" He looked at Yūki with a dead look.

"What?"

"What's ur name?"

".....It's Yūki-"

"No need, I already know that. After all, he told me that."

"Huh?"

"The one who never betrayed me. The one who understood me & never judged me no matter what. 'A detective named Yūki from the detective agency would come to investigate the case.' is what he said. He knew it & he was correct" Koji started laughing like a crazy, blinded by this 'he' guy. He slowly calmed down and looked at the bloodied bench, with no guilt at all. "He also told me to give you a message"

"What is it?" She stoically asked him

"Pawns are meant to be controlled & manipulated. Hide as much as you want. Your master will find you, pawn."

"Tsk." She loudly tsk-ed and clenched her fists, as her brows furrowed. She completely knew what 'he' actually meant by this.

"I'm not your pawn.....Nii-san...."

"Umm....If you don't mind me asking..." Atsushi asked Koji as looked between Yūki & Koji and nervously chuckled. "Who is this 'he' you are talking about."

"The god itself."

"What?" Atsushi raised his eyebrow in surprise.

"As I said kiddo, The god itself. He is-"

BANG!!!

Before he could finish, a sharp bang echoed through the air as a bullet tore through Koji's head with brutal efficiency, a spray of blood flying in the air. Time seemed to slow as Koji's body jerked violently, a red bloom staining his shirt. Yuki's eyes widened & Atsushi's heart seized in his chest as they watched him stumble backwards, his eyes wide with shock before gravity claimed him, sending him crashing to the ground, blood spraying out everywhere on the ground. His body crumpled to the ground in a motionless heap.

"What....the fuck."

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This pookie stole my motivation.👇