Location: Old Town - Kyuutou Bokushu
Phase: Day 1/3
Time: 08:47
Day: January 13th
"A sword can either destroy or protect, Kirame-dono," Saishuki said, glancing at the weapon resting against the boy's chair. "That is more than most other things. And if there is a resolute, just mind behind that sword, then we can trust that sword to do the right thing. Thus, there is no shame in the life of a sword. It can accomplish much more than a simple person."Originally Posted by Kirame
Having finished, Saishuki made a strange gesture to Bandaifueki. The blue-haired girl looked a bit disappointed, but eventually recovered and nodded. After blowing a kiss to Kirame, she headed to the back of the bar, closing the door behind her. Looking at the way her underling acted with a confused expression, Saishuki then turned back towards Kirame. The old man sitting behind them continued to cackle, almost choking on his sake as he did. Well, at least someone was having fun.
"There is not much we can offer you at the moment, other than information. In our struggle to release the island of Tengetsu from the shackles of its colonialist past, we've come to notice that information is often more valuable than gold," Saishuki spoke, nodding towards the newspaper she had just been reading. "Take, for example, today's newspaper. While it informs us that a young woman named Asuka Ayumu was murdered via dismemberment the previous night, it fails to reveal some very interesting details."
"Such as that the poor lass didn't meet just one killer, but two," Old Man commented from the sidelines, staring at his alcohol with a grim expression. "That ain't no way fer anyone to die, less a bright kid like her. 'Em sickos should target old farts like me, instead of young'ins..."
Saishuki gave him an understanding nod before turning towards Kirame again.
"Jii-san was among the first people to find her," she said with a quiet voice. "Thanks to his... background, he was able to discern that the wounds in his body were made with clearly two bladed instruments. Most likely a sword and a polearm of some sort, perhaps a naginata. The latter had been used to chop the girl's head off."
While the two of them were talking, Bandaifueki finally returned from her trip to the back of the bar. She walked over to the counter and draped herself over it, leaning towards Kirame with a sultry smile. For some reason, there was a piece of paper sticking out from between her breasts. It was that very piece of paper that she now seemed to be offering to Kirame, clearly knowing the effect she had on the young man.
"Well then, Kirame-kun~," Bandaifueki purred. "Eat up~"
"... Bandaifueki?" Saishuki asked, eyebrows knitted due to confusion. "What are you doing? I asked you to simply get the page of the book we found."
"It's just a little service~," the blue-haired woman giggled. "Don't mind, Saishuki-chan."
Acquired Clue!
Location: The Outskirts
Phase: Day 1/3
Time: 10:27
Day: January 13th
"She's got snow in her brains, that's what," Gregor growled and swatted the girl at the back of her head. Misora let out a yelp. "This idiot's an occult fan and thinks all the talk about Tengetsu's spirits are true. So don't break your brains over thinking about it, bumpkin. I bet you have more important things to do, like planting turnips of whatever."Originally Posted by Xander
Looking like he was ready to leave, Gregor tried to drag Misora with him. The blonde girl showed a surprising streak of stubbornness and dug her heels into the snow. Thus began a short game of cat and mouse, which ended up in Misora's victory, and Gregore meeting the snowbank with his face at quite the high speeds. Apparently the guy was something of a pushover when it came to physical strength. That, or Misora had more muscle than her tiny frame let on.
"How rude! My eyes are perfectly fine! And you know I've been trained for this!" Misora pouted. "And it's not just occult mania! There are spirits everywhere in here! I can just about see their presences. I mean, some of them show up super vividly! It's like there's a gathering of spiritual energy here or something. Weird, huh? I mean, this is just a simple island out of the ways, so why would all the spirits gather here?"
"You're supposed to keep that stuff secret, you idiot...!" Gregore groaned, his voice muffled by the snow.
"Ah!" Realizing that she had just gone on again and blabbed her secrets, Misora hurried to cover her mouth. After realizing it was no use, she shot a sheepish grin at Xander. "Umm... can you forget about that? Atlasia will penalize me again if she knows what I did..."
Location: Old Industrial District - Tengetsu Police Station
Phase: Day 1/3
Time: 07:42
Day: January 13th
Seeing Astrid nod, Meiji then proceeded to walk over to the coroner's table. He took the time to wrap a protective cloth around the front of his body, as well as taking care to put surgical gloves on. Then, after inviting both Astrid and Sayo closer with a quiet nod, he proceeded to open the up the body bag waiting for them. The unzipping of the bag felt almost like it was taking too much time, that single sound filling the otherwise silent room completely. Eventually the zip came to an end, revealing what awaited beneath it.
-------- There was really no way to prepare for what waited in the body bag.
For a moment, a human eye did not even register what was there as a body. Instead, it seemed like a piece of meat you'd see in a grocery store, waiting for someone to buy it, cook it and eat it. Then, a second or two afterwards, you begun to make out the familiar shapes you were used to. Hips. Breasts. Shoulders. Waist. Navel. Neck. Once you had started to put the pieces together, the whole completed form unraveled before your eyes, and you were left with a lump in your stomach, now understanding what was there before you.
A deathly pale torso of a young woman, without limbs or a head.
"God dammit..." Meiji muttered. "No matter how many times I see, I..."
The reaction from the police chief was understandable. After all, not many were the times you had to witness something like this... unless you were a magus. Still, the creeping understanding that this body before them wasn't even that of an adult, but of a young girl not even 18 years old... it was unsettling. Few strands of red hair still clung to her skin near her shoulders, where the hair would have normally fallen at... if her head was still there. Indeed, perhaps the most disturbing thing about the corpse was the fact that other than missing its limbs, it seemed almost too normal. Too perfect. Like the victim would not have struggled at all during the cutting of her own limbs.
Or perhaps it was...
"------------!"
Before either Sayo or Astrid could stop him, Meiji had turned right around and rushed out of the autopsy room. He slammed the doors open and immediately began yelling and up and down the corridor, demanding Officer Farfield to get her ass to here immediately. For a moment, this sudden change in demeanor seemed downright crazy.
That was until the two girls noticed what Meiji had noticed earlier.
There, written with beautiful calligraphy skills and using a very grandiose flourish of kanji... was a message carved into the stomach of the body.
You may forgive, but God does not.
Mystery Found!