Maestro
Maestro
~~~~
"With regards to the defendant, Yagamigawa Atsushi…"
"...Prior records of violent assault…"
"...So there was an incident like this, huh?"
"Hey, hey, this case is related to Kazmi Tazuru, you know? The whole subject about a Copycat murder's trial and stuff…"
"...Don't tell me you haven't paid any attention even though everyone's talking about it…"
I mean…
I couldn't tell him that I was a participating member in this case could I?
"I'm too busy paying attention to my younger sister."
My wallpaper was Fumi…
I'm shameless to admit that I am a full-fledged sis-con!
"I'm seriously worried you're gonna get arrested some day, dude…"
But, to hear this coming from a friend…
Her influence…
"But this Yagamigawa guy is seriously the worst. Things like beating up the elderly, road rage incidents, causing trouble in general, this guy has just about everything on his record."
"This time he stripped a corpse down, tore out the guts, and displayed them on a wall. But he keeps claiming innocence. He kept making appeals until he was finally sentenced today."
Seriously… While I'm eating too…
"I think everyone was starting to get pissed."
"..."
…I definitely feel bad for the victim, and I get why people are getting angry…
But…
Who exactly… is everybody?
Bzzzzz!
*
*
*
Tap…
Tap…
Tap…
Why wait?
A question popped into my mind.
Why should I wait?
I'm sure if I wanted to I could in fact speed up 'their' plans.
They were just waiting for the right moment.
But… from the footage I have seen so far…
The police and others are so spread apart in keeping law and order trying to catch the Copycats that the security around 'Kazami Tazuru' is almost non-existent.
Of course there is some amount of security more than any death row inmate should get. But compared to the amount spread, it was non-existent.
Yup.
Let's speed it up.
.
.
.
♪Ring!♪
"...Hello there 'Sora'."
"Hmm? Just how many times will you guys change?"
"That is how we are as an organization. That is the basis for what we deem as a 'perfect pawn' for Kazami Tazuru-sama…"
"So… Just what do you want? The plan isn't in motion for another couple of weeks…"
"..."
"Let's speed up the plan…"
"You do realize that our men have tirelessly spent countless sleepless nights making this plan?"
"Haha! That's not gonna work on me you know? Besides… I'm sure you have noticed that with the increasing number of Copycats, the police and law department of Tokyo is getting thinner and thinner around your beloved Kazami-sama, you know?"
"...That is the basis of our plan, yes. But we would want the police a bit more thinner before we make our move. If not and we fail then all this work for the past two years would have been for naught."
"Hmm~♪"
"Haha! Don't you believe me?"
"It's not that we don't believe you, it's that we have a fully fool-proof plan to escort Kazami Tazuru-sama…"
"...I see…"
"Hmm… If a chance appears in order to get Kazami-san faster would you take it?"
"That would depend on many factors but my answer would be yes."
"...I will say this now. A chance is coming real soon you know? While the police are more wary of insiders and the amount of people around her would be more than usual… Would you take it?"
"..."
"I'm listening…"
"Good…"
*
*
*
"Urgh-!"
I looked into this case file.
The pictures…
Hahh…
It… No, 'she' was killed and hung… no… not 'hung' but more so her hands were nailed down on the side of an apartment building near the top… and her intestines were ripped out and each one was nailed to the ground… As if latching down at the world…
"The case this time is an incident that happened a year ago, when a woman was murdered and hung up on an apartment wall."
"The suspect is Yagamigawa Atsushi."
"The investigation at the time searched everything around him. Of course, This includes the apartment building in question and the surrounding neighborhood. He was the only person who had both a motive and lacked a clear alibi."
Wait… That name?
"...Huh? But wasn't this case the one that had a trial today?"
"Ah. Kazami Tazuru suddenly said she would reveal some information to us."
"What kind of information?"
"...She mocked us with this sort of timing, which is certainly just like her, but…"
"It's information about the 'real culprit'."
"...Eh?"
So… that guy wasn't guilty?
"The possibility that Yagamigawa is innocent has just emerged."
.
.
.
"Yagamigawa Atsushi is not the culprit."
Ha… ha…
"...And exactly how am I supposed to believe that?"
"It's certainly true that I'm only telling you to believe this information. There's another method of confirming it, but… Since it would cause Nomura-san a great deal of trouble, I won't say it just yet."
"..?"
Snap!
"Well, setting that aside shall we get started?"
"We'll do another lateral thinking game this time. I will answer with either 'yes' or 'no' exclusively."
"The information I'm providing is the 'identity of the true culprit'."
…
"Well… Is there really a 'true culprit'?"
"Yes, that's why you've been called here."
"Even though the police investigation showed that Yagamigawa had both a motive and the time to do it?"
"Yes, it isn't him~"
Hmm…
"Is the culprit someone living inside the apartment?"
"No. They are not from inside the apartment."
A crime from outside… In one swoop the possibilities have expanded…
Something that could be a clue to the culprit other than the location…
Could it be?
"The female victim… Did the real culprit have some sort of relationship with her?"
"Yes, there was a relationship. They had some connection."
"Hm? Hold on a second."
"I heard that the police investigated all parties related to this case. Is the real culprit among them?"
"Yes, good observation~!"
"As a reward, let me tell you about a trap that the police fell into this time."
"That is… preconceptions…"
"Preconceptions?"
"When an incident occurs the police begin by investigating the things close to the victim. More precisely… They look for people who can be seen as a 'victimized party' at first glance."
Wait… So the police begin their investigation with a victimized party. However, they've somehow overlooked the real culprit…
In other words…
"Is the real culprit someone who could be viewed as a victim?"
"Yes."
"Is the culprit someone in the victim's family?"
"No"
"The victim had lost her family already."
"She had moved to Tokyo by herself and worked diligently as a part of society."
"..."
'I think everyone was starting to get pissed'
…I wonder if this background was part of the reason Yagamigawa was suspected and sentenced to prison. That an innocent woman was unjustly killed by the evilest scum on earth.
And this was the result.
…But Kazami Tazuru is saying that it's not that simple…
"One final hint… Aside from any relatives in this incident."
"Who was the one that suffered the most damage, hmm?"
"..."
No way…
"...The landlord?"
"Spot on~"
But…
"!@$!!$%"
I could hear the amount of commotion this new piece of information has caused.
"Someone like the landlord should already have been investigated. Where's the evidence that they're the culprit?"
"Certainly since it's a case from last year, any physical evidence should have been disposed of already."
"However, I have just one method to prove that the landlord is the real culprit."
"..."
"...It will work as long as I can meet the landlord directly and speak to him."
Silence. Utter silence.
"...Huh?"
"...Therefore…"
"Could I be let outside~?"
Wha-!?
.
.
.
Several days later the case resumed.
"I couldn't believe we were actually going to let Kazami Tazuru go outside…"
"But the only thing we're letting outside is her 'vision'."
I heard Asagao-san mumble something about how tiring it was to get the permission?
"We'll only connect to her via camera once we make contact with the landlord."
"...But still I spoke with the landlord countless times during the investigation… I'm finding it difficult to believe that he's the culprit… Or rather… It shouldn't even be physically possible…"
"What kind of person is he?"
"...He's an old man with lower body paralysis."
"His name is Igarashi Souji. He used to be the conductor of an orchestra. But after an accident, he was placed in a wheelchair. He then barely made a living by collecting rent. Then, due to the murder incident last year. He even had to let go of the apartment. He currently lives a modest life with his wife."
"...So that means an old man with lower body paralysis managed to commit murder. Not only that, but for him to also hang a corpse up on an apartment is just…"
It's unbelievable. How did someone as old as him do all that?
"But that's what Kazami Tazuru is saying. When providing the information to us, she had already been prepared for that."
"?"
"Up until now, she didn't have any obvious weaknesses to speak of, but now she does."
"...It's you. You are her weakness."
I am?
"Kazami Tazuru despises the idea of 'becoming unable to meet you'. If there's even a single lie in the information she provided, she'll lose the chance to meet with you. She should be aware of this fact."
"..."
.
.
.
"Heya~!"
"Stop trying to chatter."
I don't think that's going to work, Asagao-san…
"Isn't it fine Nomura-san? It's my long awaited outside time, you know~?"
"Thank you for preparing the various places and negotiating for me. I appreciate the exceptional treatment towards a death row inmate."
I think this is the first time she is being so polite…
"Thanks for coming along as well. Otohito-kun~"
"Uu…"
"...Well? Can you really get a confession out of Igarashi-san?"
"Of course~ After, he is my Copycat (fan)."
"Um…? Who might you people be?"
I saw an elderly couple. A woman pushing a wheelchair with a elderly man sitting on it. Igarashi-san, huh? He looks… dead?
"I apologize for appearing so suddenly. As part of our investigation, we would like to speak with your husband, Igarashi Souji."
"Actually there is someone who wishes to meet with you."
Asagao-san pointed the laptop towards him.
"...It's been a long time."
"As promised I've come to meet with you, Maestro."
"A long time? As promised? What are you saying?"
I was even confused. What is Kazami Tazuru talking about?
"Igarashi-san, I'd like to hear an answer directly from you."
"The one who cut open a woman's stomach."
"Hung her corpse from atop the apartment."
"Dragged out the intestines."
"And nailed them to the ground."
"...Was it you?"
"..."
"...Yes. I did it."
"...!!"
"Where's the proof?! Isn't this just some nonsense?! Are you being black-mail—"
"-ed…"
How?
I thought he was paralyzed? So how did he…
"D-Dear…"
Igarashi-san's wife fell to the ground. The shock was too big…
"I'm sorry, Shouko. I've been lying to you."
"Asagao-san, I've been in your care over the investigation up until now. And I apologize for deceiving you."
"I've been able to walk since four years ago."
"I AM THE ONE WHO MURDERED THE WOMAN AT THE APARTMENT."
Igarashi-san started walking towards us…
"The knife I used is buried in the flowerbed in the garden. It's hidden inside an aluminum can…"
He knelt down.
"Kazami-san, it's a great honor to be able to meet you again…"
He cried. He cried like he was meeting a god. A higher existence than himself…
"I was born with the sole purpose of meeting with you…"
Why?
Why would he do that?
"But why would you do something like that…"
"WHY?"
"When a human is conceived, which organ do you think they develop first?"
"It is neither the brain nor the heart…"
"IT'S THE INTESTINES"
"THE REASON WHY I CONNECTED THE INTESTINES AND THE GROUND WAS BECAUSE I WANTED TO SYMBOLIZE HUMANS, WHO ARE PARASITES TO THE EARTH."
"WE ARE DEVOURING THE EARTH EVERY SINGLE DAY."
"AND YET, IF GLOBAL WARMING AND CLIMATE CHANGE DISRUPTS OUR DAILY LIVES WE ACT AS IF WE ARE THE VICTIMS."
"Foolish… Truly Foolish…"
"And that's because…"
"EVERYTHING EVERYTHING EVERYTHING EVERYTHING EVERY-..."
"...EVERYTHING HAS BEEN BORN OUT OF OUR ACTIONS."
"We have no right to lament in the first place…"
"Kazmi-san, is this enough!? Would you grant me your permission!?"
"..."
"...Yes, go right ahead."
"Thank you for everything, farewell."
?
"Huh? What are you-"
"Eh?"
.
WA-!!
Igaragi-san pulled out a knife.
SHI-!
PUSHI-!!!
Unlike what I thought was going to happen… He didn't harm any of us…
He stabbed himself.
.
.
.
In the end all that was left was a blood street…
With intestines sprawled across the floor hanging out from an aged man's body…
He suffered major blood loss… and died just. like. that.
For me?
That was the first time in my life… I ever witnessed a man dying…
…
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Huh!?