Chapter 22: Decision
After parting ways with Suzuki KĹŤji, Kishida Masayoshi returned home. Due to work, he currently lived alone in a rented apartment. The small space was somewhat messy, so he took the opportunity to tidy up a bit while it was still early. His gaze then fell on the whiteboard in the corner.
At the top of the whiteboard were nine photos of young girls, each with a brief description underneath. Below the photos was a map of the city, marked with red dots indicating the locations where the bodies had been found.
After staring at it for a while, Kishida picked up a marker and added three names to the board. At the top was Kagehara Tetsuya, followed by two downward arrows pointing to Yomikawa Tsuko and Hasebe Koichi.
Next, he drew another arrow from Hasebe Koichi pointing to the Makeup Hunter, jotting down some clues along the arrow and marking it with a question mark. After some thought, he erased the question mark.
Aside from this reasoning, he couldn’t think of any other motive for Kagehara Tetsuya to help Hasebe Koichi. Suzuki had mentioned that Tetsuya was a successful psychopath with minimal interpersonal needs and that his relationships were usually driven by strong ulterior motives. This seemed to align perfectly with the information Yomikawa Tsuko had provided.
The only thing that still nagged at Kishida was Suzuki’s assertion that Tetsuya was unlikely to seek revenge against the Makeup Hunter for his father’s death. This matched Tetsuya’s refusal to accept the suicide note, but it raised another question: If he wasn’t seeking revenge, why was he investigating the Makeup Hunter?
“Either Suzuki’s judgment is wrong,” Kishida muttered to himself, “or there’s more to this case than meets the eye.”
“And that ‘more’ might be something Yomikawa Tsuko knows.”
He was almost certain that the information he’d gotten from the girl today was just the tip of the iceberg. Thinking about her condition—her demand to be involved in the investigation—gave him a headache.
The problem was, she had become a key link between the two cases. Solving the case might indeed require her help. People driven by emotions were the most stubborn; right and wrong, morality—none of that mattered to them. Kishida was almost certain that if he didn’t agree to Yomikawa’s condition, she would stop providing information.
What should he do?
He had considered consulting his colleagues or Suzuki for advice but ultimately decided against it. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust them—quite the opposite. It was precisely because he trusted them that he couldn’t say anything. If they accidentally leaked the information, it could put them in danger.
However, after hearing Suzuki’s analysis of Kagehara Tetsuya’s personality, Kishida had already begun to lean toward a decision.
When he first heard Yomikawa’s condition, he had been wary. Allowing her to participate in the investigation or directly interact with witnesses would inevitably expose her to confidential information. It was possible that she wanted this information to pass it on to Tetsuya, helping him evade the police.
At the time, although he hadn’t outright refused, he had already made up his mind to reject her request.
But now, it seemed more likely that Yomikawa’s actions were being manipulated by Tetsuya. This made the situation even more dangerous. On one hand, even if he refused her condition, she might act on her own, possibly irrationally. On the other hand, if Yomikawa couldn’t participate in the case, she would lose her value to Tetsuya. And since she knew so many secrets, Tetsuya might decide to silence her permanently.
Kishida frowned. Although this was just speculation, even a one percent chance was enough to warrant caution.
“Once Kagehara Tetsuya starts committing crimes, he’ll be another Makeup Hunter—or even more dangerous.”
Suzuki’s warning echoed in his mind. Kishida even considered whether he should inform Yomikawa’s parents about the potential danger. But doing so would mean losing a valuable source of information.
“Perhaps I should agree to Yomikawa’s condition and protect her in the process. If I can gain information, that’s a bonus. If not, at least I can keep an eye on her and prevent her from going down a criminal path.”
“If I can reason with her and help her see the right path, that would be ideal. It doesn’t seem impossible. From our interaction today, she’s a very intelligent and rational girl. Maybe she can figure out what’s right.”
Kishida circled Yomikawa Tsuko’s name on the whiteboard and marked it with a star.
“However, I can’t let her access key witnesses or information just yet. Over the next two days, I’ll focus on the critical investigations, and then I’ll take her to meet ĹŚshima Mana.”
The critical investigations he had in mind revolved around the clues Hasebe Koichi had about the Makeup Hunter. Over the past ten years, nine young girls had been killed. By investigating the connections between these victims and Hasebe Koichi, he might find a breakthrough.
There was no reason why Kagehara Tetsuya could uncover something that he couldn’t.
Revisiting the families of the nine victims would have to be done within two days. Additionally, he needed to investigate Hasebe Koichi’s possible hideouts. As a former bosozoku (biker gang member), Hasebe would have some known hangouts. This task could be delegated to Matsushita Makoto and others, but the results couldn’t be shared with Yomikawa Tsuko.
……
The next day, school resumed.
Suzaku High School wasn’t far from the villa, so there was no need to take the train. On the way, Tetsuya, disguised as Yomikawa Tsuko, ran into senpai’s classmate and close friend— Nakamura Manatsu .
Nakamura Manatsu was a quiet-looking girl with a rare braided hairstyle. She carried a few books and wore thick glasses. When she saw Tetsuya, who was disguised as her “friend,” she happily ran over to greet him. “Tsuko, good morning!”
The previous afternoon, Tetsuya had gone through Yomikawa’s LINE chat history with Nakamura. They had discussed music, books, and some interpersonal relationships. From the content, it seemed Yomikawa was the more dominant one in their friendship, with Nakamura often agreeing with her opinions and rarely directly contradicting her, even when she had differing views.
“This girl probably isn’t senpai’s accomplice,” Tetsuya thought, responding to Nakamura with a smile. “Good morning, Manatsu .”
“Huh? Tsuko, your outfit is different today,” Nakamura said, looking surprised as she approached. She glanced at Tetsuya’s legs, noticing that the usual black knee-high socks had been replaced with tights. “But it still looks really pretty.”
Of course, Tetsuya couldn’t wear knee-high socks. The gap between the top of the socks and the skirt would expose part of his thighs, which would raise suspicions. “Thank you. By the way, Manatsu, did you see the news yesterday?”
“I did. Another murder… It’s so scary. And wasn’t that inn the place where your club had the outdoor activity?” Nakamura looked visibly shaken.
“Yeah, and one of the underclassmen went missing during it. The two-day, one-night trip was cut short that same night. It’s such a shame,” Tetsuya sighed, though inwardly he was thinking of a way to get Nakamura to leave.
At school, they needed to change into indoor shoes, but Tetsuya had no idea where Yomikawa’s shoe locker was. He would have to search for it, and if someone who knew Yomikawa well saw him, it would be impossible to explain. Additionally, he didn’t know Yomikawa’s seat in the classroom. His plan was to delay entering the classroom as long as possible, so the last remaining seat would undoubtedly be his.
But if Nakamura stayed by his side, the plan would fall apart.
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