On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

Reiji watched in silence as the man in front of him inspected the slightly decaying human hand. Damn, I wish I had a smoke right about now. This is the part of the job that is absolutely the worst. I hope you are paying attention, Officer Usui. This is what you signed up for. It’s too late to quit now.

“I… I…” the man, who was a face most people would at least recognise, even if they weren’t able to put a name to said face, was struggling for words. He was clearly trying to stay composed, but holding the severed hand of what was likely his dead daughter was too much for him. Hell, it should be too much for anyone.

The silver watch that gleamed around the severed wrist was engraved, a custom piece, and on seeing it, all hope had fled from his face. Poor bastard. First you lose your wife to a tragic accident, and now your daughter killed by a maniac pervert. I guess even power doesn’t protect from misfortune.

“it’s… it’s my daughter.” He finally managed to choke out. “I had this watch made for her twentieth birthday. My… my Haru. She was so happy to receive it.”

Suzuki Akimitsu, the man sitting in front of them, clutched the dead hand to his bosom, as if it was his living daughter. All around his office in the Ministry of Finance, there were pictures, mostly of him with a lively-looking young girl, around the same age as Reiji’s own daughters, or a few years older. Damn, seeing that, it really hits home doesn’t it? It makes me appreciate my own daughters, even if they are constantly nagging me about something or other. Maybe I should bring them home a treat tonight, show them I care.

“I thought that would be the case. You have my deepest condolences.” Reiji bowed deeply, and beside him Officer Usui did the same, for once acting the part of a proper officer. Still, if she wasn’t able to perform now, she wasn’t fit for the job.

“It was after the party that she went missing.” Suzuki-san sighed, getting his voice under a semblance of control. “The party I forced her to go to. I wanted her to go out, meet some old acquaintances. She had been ill. I… I wanted her to feel better, go back to her old self.”

“I see.” Reiji said softly. In times of tragedy like this it was best just to let them speak, to get all the painful emotions out.

“She said she could hear people’s voices, feel their thoughts, ever since a strange dream she had. Honestly, she must have had some sort of psychotic break, probably due to the pressures of trying to make her way into politics. But..” his breath caught in a sob. “… nothing worked. Not counselling, or medication. I know it has only been a bit over a month, and all the doctors and psychiatrists said… it would take time. But she was getting worse, she wouldn’t leave … leave her room, unless pushed. So I thought… getting out would help her.” He wiped at his running nose and eyes, not even caring about smearing his expensive suit. “I thought she’d committed suicide. It was what I had feared. But… but this… is far worse. Oh my poor baby girl…” the floodgates burst, and the man started to cry, huge gasping sobs that wracked his whole body.

Officer Usui stepped back, looking overwhelmed, but unfortunately this was not Reiji’s first time consoling the relatives of a victim. He produced an almost clean handkerchief and handed it over. Suzuki-san took it and cried himself out. When he was done, he looked a little stronger, though Reiji knew it was just a front.

“So, tell me what happened to my poor girl. I… I need to know.”

“We aren’t supposed to talk about it…” Reiji began, but at the look of protest on officer Usui’s face, he relented, as he was always going to anyway. “… but you have to know when to bend the rules a little.” I’ve lectured her on following the rules often enough, but if she is going to be anything more than a rote officer, just doing her job and achieving nothing, she needs to realise we follow the rules so that we know when and why we need to break them. Otherwise there is just anarchy. “It seems that our perpetrator Kondou Kazuo saw her at this party, and when she left alone he attacked her opportunistically. She was… abused… before her death, according to his confession.”

“But why is there only her… her hand left?” Suzuki-san asked, swallowing painfully, eyes filling with tears once more. “Is it some kind of sick trophy?”

“That’s the real puzzler. Officer Usui, if you would fill him in?”

She seemed surprised he asked her, but straightening up, she started speaking, as if she was reading from a teleprompter. “The perp, Kondou Kazuo, originally he would prey on backpackers and foreign tourists with no family who would not be missed. He would dispose of the bodies by various means since he had adequate space at his various hotels. However…” she gathered her thoughts. “… apparently recently he gained an accomplice. All he would tell us was she was a woman, and was easily able to dispose of corpses, leaving no trace. He wouldn’t tell us what happened to her, but I suspect she is dead. I believe Kondou killed her too, though it is odd he won’t confess to that, considering how forthcoming he has been on his other crimes.” She finished her long speech, looking to Reiji for approval, and he nodded. A concise summary, and said in a way as to not grieve the relative further.

“But then, why just a hand? The watch is nice, but not worth all the trouble. And if that was it, why retain the hand, instead of disposing of it after the watch was taken?” Suzuki-san asked, confused and angry.

“Kondou said he felt his accomplice was planning to sell him out, and that was her proof. I suspect he is right, hence why this mysterious accomplice is dead and gone now. But a kinder interpretation might be so at least you have something to remember her by, and some ashes for the family grave. Scant consolation, I know, but…” Reiji shrugged. “… sometimes all we have to cling to are the little things.”

“I see. So … there’s no question, that bastard who killed my little girl is going to die, right? No lawyers getting him off, or an insanity plea?” Suzuki-san’s expression was baleful, his eyes filled with hatred at the thought of Kondou getting away with murder.

“Not a chance. He’s confessed to everything, isn’t even asking for a lawyer, and is completely lucid. We’ve had a psychologist talk to him, and while there are some issues, he’s fit to stand trial. I’d say the death penalty is a foregone conclusion.” None of it makes sense though. His behaviour is completely at odds with the ruthless demeanour of his crimes, and even officer Usui noticed that it was strange how much he seemed to… well, resent… everything he was saying. It was as if he was compelled to do so, somehow. You know what, it reminds me of those thugs from that strange case before this… hell, even Usui picked up on that, and she thought we were wasting our time chasing those shadows…. And that all comes back to… yes, him.

“Thank the gods. It won’t bring her back, but… I hope her soul can rest peacefully in the next life when he’s paid with his. Now, if you don’t mind… I’d like to … be alone.”

“Of course. I understand. Come on, Officer Usui. We should go.”

“All right, Detective. I’m coming.” She nodded to the grieving father and followed Reiji out. As the door shut behind them, more heartrending wails and cries could be heard, Suzuki-san pouring out his grief like a tidal wave.

“Poor guy.” Usui observed. “What a way to find out your daughter is dead. A severed hand…” she shuddered.

“Well, violent crime in Japan is seriously low compared to most of the rest of the world.” Reiji pulled out his cigarette case and lit of a dirty roll-up, ignoring her protests that he should wait until he was outside. As they left the Ministry, he continued. “This Kondou bastard is the biggest serial killer since the war. In fact, he might even top the all-time charts. So, fortunately we don’t see this kind of heartbreak every day. You’ve done all right, Officer Usui. You kept it together well, and didn’t upset Suzuki-san.”

She seemed surprised by his compliment, but puffed up a little, pleased.

I’m not done though. Time to show if you have what it takes to make Detective. “Now that’s out of the way, what was the single most unusual crime that he confessed to?”

“Sending orders to the yakuza to attack a shrine. To attack Shirohebizumi shrine. It was wildly at odds with his other activities. That can’t be a co-incidence.”

“Of course not. As police, we are allowed to believe in coincidence, but only in the same way as we might in yokai. They might exist, but we’ve never seen them.” Taking a deep drag on his cigarette he regarded her. “So, tell me what you think. Then I’ll grade you.”

“Oh great, thanks.” She snarked, but even so, she gathered her thoughts, much more invested now that all the effort she had called pointless busywork and needless nit-picking was starting to fit together, like the pieces of an intricate puzzle.

“Well, since you are putting me on the spot, Inspector, let me see. Firstly, we can guess there is some sort of connection between that guy Oshiro who was pulled for fending off the yakuza. I was paying attention during our questioning of him, and he didn’t actually tell any direct lies it seems. But he definitely hid a lot of stuff from us.” At her hard tone, Reiji chuckled a little.

“He definitely did. He was also very careful about how he said things. There was a definite implication that he was involved with the vigilantism incident, wasn’t there? And while he claimed he wasn’t a yakuza or involved in any criminality, he certainly knew Kondou, and that he was involved in sending the yakuza after him.”

“He also reacted to the picture of Suzuki Haru. Coincidence again. Such a rare creature, right Inspector?”

“Indeed, as rare as a compliment from my daughters.” He chuckled. “I must say, your intuition is starting to develop nicely. We might make a decent officer of you yet.”

“Well, gee, thanks.” Officer Usui groused, but she didn’t look displeased. It seems this puzzling case has finally caught her interest. I knew this was something big the moment I stumbled over it.

“I honestly don’t think he knew all the murder victims, but I get a feeling he has some idea about it. Not sure how that makes sense, but my intuition tells me so. Besides, he recognised Suzuki Haru. It bears saying again. A coincidence too far, right? He just happened to see her on the street, and then she ends up dead, the killer someone he was at serious odds with?”

“Yes, I agree. There’s too many threads connecting everything together. Well, I don’t think it has to do with the money, unlike what the Inspector from Organised Crime thinks. That seems to be clean, a lawyer attached to Midas Gold wouldn’t lie. But… a lawyer from Fujiwara house… he’s surprisingly well-connected, despite his background showing up as nothing special. Damn, I hate those uppity old families. If they get annoyed they pressure the top brass, and before you know it, bam, desk job for years. You want to stay off their radar, Officer Usui. Though you’ve spotted the key point. What are the chances of him just happening to spot a murder victim just before they were murdered by someone who then instigated a yakuza attack on him?”

“Thanks for the advice. So, you must have a plan, right? You aren’t going to let this drop, are you, Inspector? I’ll be honest, I don’t want to either. Seeing Suzuki-san so grief-stricken… it doesn’t sit right with me. There’s more to this than our perp confessing. I know it. Though I hope we can keep better hours. Mornings aren’t good for my complexion…”

“Sorry, but this job isn’t nine to five.” He pulled out another tatty cigarette. “So, there’s one other point that sticks out like a sore thumb that we can’t explain but ties everything together. You touched on it earlier.”

“Yeah, the abnormal behaviour of the perps in both cases. Kondou Kazuo was confessing despite clearly not wanting to, and the other bunch of small-time crooks were doing the same thing, albeit with more conviction. Neither would say why though, or finger our man Oshiro. Oh, and there are the strange injuries too. It could be some sort of odd new type of bladed weapon, but… the lab doesn’t think so.”

Reiji applauded. “Yeah, you got it. Well, we need to go pull some files and do some digging…” There’s something going on here that clearly doesn’t make sense, but I’m a Detective. I believe what I see and experience. And whatever is happening here is clearly possible, even if it defies understanding. On watching Usui’s face fall he smirked. “… don’t look so put out. Most of it I have already, we just need to cross-reference it. And then tomorrow… I think we need to pay Shirohebizumi shrine and our good friend Oshiro Moonstone Akio… hah, what a name, eh… a visit. We certainly have enough cause for a follow-up, we can use Suzuki Haru as the reason…”

“All right. But not too early, okay?” she insisted. “We’ve been working nights recently too, and I’m shattered.”

“Sure, sure.” Reiji agreed. “Just remember to tread carefully. He has powerful lawyers in his corner, so we need to gather information very carefully.”

I will get to the bottom of this. At first it was just curiosity and a hunch, but now… mysterious deaths, strange behaviours, a prolific, unheard-of serial killer… and a grieving father. Suzuki-san’s face came to mind again, anguished and tormented. I joined the Police to see justice done, and to make the streets safe for my family. And now more than ever, I’m convinced I need to do this, if I’m to stay true to what I believe in!