Akiyama Suzuki I

"Please stay calm, sir. Now slowly walk me through it." The female's stern voice commanded before she started to vigorously take notes.

"Yes… Yes… Are you sure?" The officer continued to talk on her phone as tension hung in the air around her, whatever they discussed on that call, it wouldn't be delightful news.

The female officer appeared to be in her mid-20s, her presence commanding yet undeniably captivating. Her athletic physique was a testament to her discipline, with curves that many would envy — particularly her peach-shaped bottom, which was both striking and elegant. Her dark, glossy hair framed her face perfectly, complementing her deep, equally dark eyes that held a quiet intensity. Unaware of her own allure, she absentmindedly twirled a strand of her healthy black hair between her fingers, a small, endearing habit that softened her otherwise poised demeanour.

"We'll send someone down immediately, please do not touch the crime scene or let anyone near it." Her authoritative voice instructed sternly then she hung up the phone and strutted gracefully toward a senior officer Nagoya, informing him of the recent report. 

"Well, that someone is you, Akiyama-san," Nagoya suggested to her flatly and then he smirked briefly. The lady understood the assignment immediately, she saluted to her senior before heading out the exit in a rush yet cool manner.

"Hey! Akiyama-san. Don't forget your officer's cap!" Nagoya, the thin, pale man in his 40s, reminded her, raising his voice. 

"Oh! Sorry about that. I'll get it right away. Thanks for the reminder," She said, her voice crisp and precise, each word delivered with the discipline of a seasoned ground infantry officer. With that, she turned on her heel, her movements sharp and purposeful, and headed back to retrieve her cap. A moment later, she strode confidently through the precinct's double-door entrance, ready to embark on her new assignment with an air of unwavering determination.

***

The female cop hopped on a police car and took a minute to put on her officer's cap. She gently adjusted the rearview mirror so that she could properly see her own reflection. 

The beautiful but fatigued lady in the reflection stared back at her. She had an oval face, slightly long indicating that her womanhood had reached maturity. Her fair skin was immaculate but slightly pale. Akiyama Suzuki had a prominent nose bridge and a small flaring, which was considered desirable in a modern beauty standard. Her lips were plump and alluring but her lack of care caused them to be dry.

"An officer shall maintain the perfect appearance when on duty." She recited the codes she learnt when she was in the police academy. Suzuki applied a rose red lipstick hoping it would hide her imperfect skin. 

"Now don't forget the cap." Her mumbling reminded herself. The elegant police officer placed a blue cap on her fluffy black hair a few times. She seemed dissatisfied with the shape of her hair, so she loosened it up, letting the hair curl down her shoulders, tailing slightly beneath her plump bosoms. 

"Now, now! Let's try it again."

Suzuki had a habit of repeating herself quietly. The pretty lady retied her hair into a flat-head ponytail style. The volume of the hair and fluffiness created an elegant round head shape. She seemed pleased with the current set-up. 

"The cap!" She put on her cap and locked it in place with a couple of hairpins. 

"Final check." The gorgeous and energetic young female officer smiled warmly, her unique double-fanged canine teeth gleaming against her bright white smile. Every aspect of her appearance made Akiyama Suzuki the perfect representation of a charming female officer in a TV drama.

***

Suzuki arrived at Kagehiro-jinja temple at 08:36 hours in the morning. The aftermath of the fire festival still remained to be seen, the temporary shops and stalls were still there, along with bags of trash and garbage from the visitors. It was a messy side that most visitors had never seen. Suzuki did not attend the Fire Festival the day before due to her overpacked schedule. She decided to stay late at the police precinct to finish the paperwork. 

The officer strutted toward the main aisle and met with a few shopowners and workers who were demolishing and then demobilising their stalls out of the temple grounds.

Suzuki waved at them briefly but maintained her course toward the main objective, a gigantic statue that could be seen from the distance. 

"Huh? There's a curious crowd gathering around it..." Suzuki talked to herself as she approached the base of the goddess statue and unsettling chatters got louder and louder.

"This is Officer Akiyama, batch number 077." She loudly announced herself to the crowd, their gossip halted immediately as they directed their attention to her. An old man, who made the phone call, stepped out to greet her.

"G~Good morning, officer... Um, th~thanks for coming." The petrified old man struggled to put out words, his eyes distracted and all over the place.

"Calm down, sir. Did you make the phone call earlier?" She asked.

"Yes! I did." He answered anxiously, his fingers clawing at a bald spot on his head.

"Did you tell people not to disturb the scene?" The officer asked, keeping her tone stiff.

"Ye~yeah, I told them... This way, please. Officer Akiyama." He led her to piles of ashes beneath the statue and what remained of last night's bonfire. Suzuki quickly inspected the crime scene, pulling her latex gloves and sliding her fingers with fluid motions. 

"Dark grey skeletons, resembling human remains..." She mumbled, her voice barely audible as she dug through the ashes with her gloved hands. The brittle fragments crumbled under her touch, but soon, long, shadowed bones emerged, hidden beneath the ashen debris.

"There were 4 of them…" The old man told her seriously as he pointed at other piles. The terrified townspeople began to gossip and speculate, and their deafening noises resumed.

"What a mess..." Suzuki circled around the scene and her hands started to poke around the ashes on the opposite.

"No freaking way… A human skull?" This confirmed her prior assumptions. 4 corpses were being burned to the bone in the ritualistic fire ceremony last night, she noted in her mind. The speculating crowds gasped as they saw Suzuki's hand pick up a human skull, horror stuck in their eyes. 

"Alright, everyone. I need to call for backup — this is a serious crime scene," Suzuki announced, her voice firm and authoritative as she turned toward the old man and the gathering crowd.

"Are they really human skeletons?"

"So they were murdered before burning? That's awful..."

"Officer Akiyama, who would have done things like this during the Fire Festival?" 

The crowd was surrounding Akiyama Suzuki and bombarding questions at her. She was taken aback, overwhelmed by their inquirues but quickly gathered herself up.

"I can't answer those at this time. As a police representative, we need to further investigate this case. Shortly, the forensic team will arrive. Please do not obstruct the officer's work." Suzuki spoke with a loud and reassuring voice. As soon as she finished, she yanked latex gloves off her fingers.

"This couldn't be the worse timing, as if we haven't had enough on our plates," Suzuki whined inwardly and began to bite her nails to ease her anxiety.