The New Year's Eve atmosphere was truly intense. You could tell just from the traffic on the streets.
With dinnertime approaching, the roads were already packed during rush hour become even more congested. Ritsu was starting to regret leaving home just to buy a cake. He might as well have stayed in and watched the Kōhaku Uta Gassen.
After finally arriving at a popular cake shop in Beika Town's 3-Chome district, he discovered that a long line had formed outside.
After a brief internal struggle, Ritsu ultimately adopted the mindset of "I've already come all this way; going back now would be a complete loss." He joined the end of the line and began browsing his phone to pass the time.
"Sir, you're next. What kind of cake would you like?"
After half an hour of waiting, it was finally his turn. Without hesitation, Ritsu replied, "A Shine Muscat cream cake, six inches. Thank you."
The moment he finished speaking, before the clerk could answer, the phone in his hand began ringing.
Lowering his gaze, he saw that it was Hayasaka calling.
A bad feeling immediately surfaced.
After all, Hayasaka was on duty at the MPD today. Surely there wasn't another case, right?
As it turned out, his intuition was correct.
The moment he answered, Hayasaka's somewhat helpless voice came through.
"Onizawa, are you available to come to the MPD right now?"
"I am. Is there a case that can't be solved without me being present?"
"No, it's not that. There's a boy from Ibaraki Prefecture who's insisting on seeing you. He refuses to leave otherwise."
Glancing toward the boy sitting inside the large office, Hayasaka lowered her voice.
"It looked really bad having him standing at the front entrance, so I let him wait inside the office."
"He didn't explain why?"
Ritsu sighed. "All right. I'll come over."
After hanging up, he met the female clerk's gaze and clasped his hands apologetically.
"Sorry, something urgent came up. I won't be taking the cake."
"Of course, sir. Have a nice evening."
He never expected that a sudden impulse to buy himself a birthday cake would be interrupted by an unexpected incident.
And it happened right when it was finally his turn.
His good mood vanished instantly.
...
After jogging back to the parking lot and retrieving his car, Ritsu drove toward the MPD.
He had no idea who wanted to see him, but he had a feeling it wasn't something simple.
After parking and making his way to the large office on the ninth floor, he pushed open the door. Immediately, he was met by the hopeful gaze of a young boy.
The boy was still wearing a black middle school uniform. A school bag lay toppled beside him, and a Japanese language textbook peeked out from inside.
Then, in the very next second, the boy suddenly charged toward him. Even Ritsu instinctively stepped back, assuming the boy intended to attack him.
Instead, the boy dropped into a perfectly executed dogeza.
A full prostration.
"...?"
Receiving such a grand gesture on his birthday felt a little inappropriate.
"Officer Onizawa, please help investigate my sister's case! I'm begging you!"
The surrounding officers were stunned.
And after hearing what the boy said, they immediately realized the seriousness of the situation.
For a boy from Ibaraki Prefecture to travel all the way to Tokyo alone seeking help from the police...
What did that mean?
It meant the Ibaraki police had failed to act and had no intention of properly handling the case he was requesting about.
Seeing that the boy was becoming emotional, Ritsu quickly bent down and forcibly helped him to his feet.
"Let's talk properly. There's no need to do something like this."
The boy seemed incapable of hearing him. He frantically dug into his pocket and pulled out several crumpled banknotes.
His movements were so vigorous that a handful of coins fell from his pocket and scattered across the floor.
Anxiously, he said, "T-This is all the money I have! Officer Onizawa, can you please help me find the person who killed my sister?
She was my only family! I don't want her death to remain a mystery and I don't want those bastards slandering and spreading lies about her!"
"Calm down. You're here asking for help, not persecuting me." Ritsu gently smoothed out the wrinkled bills and handed them back.
As he crouched down to collect the fallen coins, he casually asked, "You haven't eaten dinner yet, have you?"
The boy blinked in confusion. He couldn't understand why Ritsu was asking such an irrelevant question.
Still, he honestly shook his head.
"...No."
After a pause, he quietly added, "I haven't eaten for two days."
Dark circles ringed his eyes. His frame was noticeably thin. Several fingers were wrapped in bandages, and two fingers bore obvious scabbed-over wounds.
Although the bills were crumpled, they were relatively new.
There was also a faint fishy smell lingering on his school uniform.
Ritsu quickly pieced things together.
After learning of his sister's death and witnessing the police close the case carelessly, the boy had probably taken part-time work handling fish in order to save enough money to travel to Tokyo for help.
As for why he'd come looking specifically for him...
That was probably thanks to Yomiuri Television, which had effectively turned him into the "face" of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.
"Hayasaka, could you buy two meals from somewhere nearby and bring them to the break room, preferably something soft?"
"Yes, Inspector!"
Turning toward the door, Ritsu noticed that the boy was still frozen in place. Raising an eyebrow, he asked,
"You want me to investigate the case, right? Then at the very least, I need to know the details. Why are you still standing there? Come on."
The boy stared at him in disbelief.
"Y-You're really willing to help me? You haven't even taken my money."
Hearing those words caused the members of First Investigation Division, Third Unit to frown.
"Of course I'll help you."
Ritsu stepped forward and lightly patted the boy's head.
"As for the money..."
He smiled.
"Your big brother here is very rich."
As Ritsu led the boy away, Miwako spoke with obvious displeasure.
"What are the Ibaraki police even doing? Are they charging victims' families to investigate cases now? Isn't that damaging the reputation of all police officers?"
"Yeah, but investigating this case could be complicated."
Takagi looked worried. "Would our superiors even allow us to go investigate in Ibaraki?"
Megure coughed twice and glanced at the clock. "It's almost quitting time. Anyone without work should head home and get some rest."
He paused.
"There are no cases that require attention tonight. Dismissed."
The implication was clear,
"Pretend you didn't hear any of this. Let Onizawa assist with the investigation privately."
Understanding immediately, everyone began packing up.
After exchanging glances, Takagi and Miwako decided to head toward the break room to hear the details for themselves.
Inside the break room, the boy finally began explaining his situation.
His name was Eita Kosaka.
He was thirteen years old and a first-year student at a middle school in Ibaraki.
On October 31st, his older sister had been stabbed multiple times in broad daylight by an unidentified man while on her way to work.
She died before an ambulance could arrive.
However, under the handling of the Ibaraki Prefectural Police, the case had ultimately been closed as a random murder committed by a mentally ill individual.
The alleged culprit publicly identified by police was a well-known homeless man from Mito City.
Because the man had an intellectual disability, it was impossible for him to have planned such a crime in advance.
What Eita found most unacceptable was something else.
Because the murder occurred in the city center, many reporters had arrived at the scene. The police had therefore held a press conference.
During that conference, the officer speaking to the media had worn a smug grin. He claimed that although the victim came from a poor family, she owned numerous luxury-brand items.
The implication was obvious.
He was encouraging reporters to portray the recently deceased victim as a girl engaged in compensated dating.
It was the greatest possible insult to the victim.
And public opinion online quickly turned against her, with many claiming she had deserved what happened to her.
"Officer Onizawa, I know you're amazing!"
Eita's eyes shone with desperate hope. "You can definitely find the real killer who murdered my sister, right?!"
Meeting that hopeful gaze felt like looking into his own past.
Back then, after mustering the courage to help someone in trouble, he had been beaten nearly to death.
In those moments, he had looked hopefully toward the woman he had protected.
What he received in return wasn't gratitude.
It was despair.
One of the very hands that pushed him into the abyss.
"...Yeah."
Ritsu nodded. "I'll definitely find the truth."
Then he glanced toward the doorway where two people were obviously eavesdropping. Smiling, he said,
"But before that, you're going to eat a proper meal."
His smile widened.
"And then the two enthusiastic citizens outside the door are going to drive us to Ibaraki."
"Huh?"
Caught red-handed, MIwako and Takagi awkwardly pushed open the door and entered.
Miwako puffed out her chest confidently and declared, "Leave it to me and Takagi!"
"And the food's here too!"
Hayasaka rushed into the break room carrying several takeout bags and set them on the table. Smiling brightly, she said,
"Since I didn't know what you liked, I bought the top three dishes most loved by middle school boys!"
"...Where did you get that information?"
"Yahoo, of course."
The corner of Ritsu's mouth twitched.
'Seriously? Yahoo?'
----
bonus chap every 20 PS
read ahead on p4tr3on.com / Siamus404