Case One: the one who fell from the heavens

  Chapter Four: return to tokyo

  It was the last day of the field trip for Yamato High. All the students were gathered in the hotel lobby with their suitcases. Orion checked his phone for any new messages and at the fifth check, there was a new text message from Erika Fujioka.

  “There’s been another murder. Call me when you’re able.”

  Orion’s eyes widened. He quickly dialled Fujioka’s number as he stepped away from the group. The group turned to look at Orion who had walked away with his phone in hand. After a few rings, Erika Fujioka picked up.

  “That you, Orion?” Fujioka asked.

  “Yes. We’re about to leave right now but what’s going on?”

  “Ah. As I messaged you, there’s been a second victim. Name’s Yuzu Hashimoto aged twenty-nine. She was definitely drowned. But we don’t have any suspects for this case.”

  “But you suspect it may be Kagome, right?” Orion inquired. “Did you try investigating if Kagome is related to this case?”

  “We’re doing that right now, I just wanted to let you know about this new case first,” Fujioka stated.

  “Well, we’re coming back to Tokyo today so let me know any updates when we return,” Orion said.

  “Got it. Stay safe, Orion.”

  Orion hung up and walked back to the group. He stretched his arms, with an enthusiastic look on his face. “Another case came in. Drowning.”

  “Two already? Are they related?” Satoru inquired.

  “They’re not sure, but I have an inkling they are…” Orion trailed off.

  “We’re returning now so it should be fine!” Mari said merrily.

  “You’re suddenly happier now,” Orion observed. “And it’s too early to be so optimistic.”

  “I just trust your ability,” Mari smiled.

  It was evident to Amane that being reassured she would eventually gain Orion’s affections helped her feel much better. Unbeknownst to Mari, Amane felt happy to have conversed with Orion for the duration of the trip. She felt like there was a connection with Orion but never dared to voice that out lest Mari fell back into her depression.

  “Hey Amane,” Orion started. “We should stay in contact even after this trip. Let’s exchange numbers.”

  “A-ah…” Amane hesitated, looking at Mari from the corner of her eye. “Um, sure!” She noticed Mari’s mood started to drop and a frown forming on her face, but Amane couldn’t help herself.

  “Don’t be so stiff,” Orion said carefully.

  “Aha, sorry about that,” Amane laughed. “You just caught me off guard.”

  “It’s fine,” Orion replied. Then with a concerned expression, he asked, “Are you okay?”

  “U-Um… yes,” Amane said uncertainly. “Don’t worry about me! I’ll be glad to stay in contact.” She said with a genuine but shy smile. The two returned to discussing as a group while waiting for the teachers to arrive.

  Thankfully, they didn’t have to wait long as the teachers finally showed up and directed the students onto the travel buses to transport them to the airport. When they arrived, all the students gathered around the boarding gate as they had no designated groups for the return trip. The students waited around the gate until it was time to embark and return to Tokyo Narita Airport. Everyone went to board the plane and soon after they all seated, with Amane sitting next to Orion. Amane sat next to Orion while Satoru was seated beside Mari, much to Mari’s chagrin. However, due to exhaustion from the field trip, everyone ended up taking a short nap on the flight home.

  It was 4:25 PM when the plane landed. The students dispersed to their families picking them up; Orion was tagging along with Mari’s family since they were neighbors. Satoru got picked up by his father and left first. Amane was picked up by her chauffeur in a small limousine who waved goodbye to Mari and Orion.

  “I’ll text you soon,” Orion waved.

  “I’ll be waiting,” Amane smiled, waving through the window as the car drove away.

  Mari clenched her fists as she overheard the short dialogue exchange between Orion and Amane. It triggered her jealousies so hard she found it difficult to breathe.

  Mari’s parents soon arrived, and Orion and Mari boarded the SUV and the two were driven back home. They stopped at the house in between Orion’s and Mari’s, to release Orion as well as leave the car themselves. When everyone was out of the vehicle, Mari’s father approached Orion.

  “Would you like dinner with us?” Mari’s father inquired.

  “Thanks, but no thanks, I have a few things to take care of. I’ll take care of dinner eventually,” Orion nodded.

  “Come on, Orion, come join us,” Mari said encouragingly.

  “I really have to take care of some personal things,” Orion replied.

  “Mari, don’t pressure the boy,” Mari’s father chided the girl. “Anyway, just don’t starve yourself because you’re alone,” Mari’s father said caringly.

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  “Got it, don’t worry,” Orion smiled.

  Orion walked up to his house and unlocked the door. Closing the door behind him, he exhaled deeply before turning on the lights. Removing his shoes, Orion walked deeper into his house and dropped his suitcase on the settee. Stretching a little, he reached for the birdcage and unlocked the door to let Kiyo fly around.

  “Hey, I’m back, Kiyo,” Orion smiled gently as he unlocked the parrot’s cage.

  Kiyo flew around Orion’s eye level before settling on his shoulder. She chirped a few times before nuzzling Orion’s face.

  “I missed you too, Kiyo,” Orion smiled as he moved around the living room. He settled on the settee and took out his phone. Orion sent a few texts, one to Fujioka, one to Satoru and lastly to Amane. Satoru had responded and said he made it home whole. Then he felt his phone vibrate again and checked it. It was Amane.

  Hey Orion. I’m still in the car but everything will be fine. I live kind of far from school… and especially the airport.

  Drive safe... Orion pressed the send button and leaned back on his settee, thinking back about the field trip. It was a rather pleasant one, surprisingly. Orion lived here because of a distant uncle after his parents died in an accident and there was a chance of being passed around foster homes, so this uncle took him in. However, this distant uncle was almost always overseas managing some business, so Orion was always alone. As a result, Orion got his parrot not too long after living with his uncle.

  The phone vibrated. It was Amane again. Thanks! I hope you’re resting well now.

  Yeah, I’m just chilling at home right now. Waiting for a text regarding the case we went briefly over.

  Just as Orion sent that, an incoming call came on, so Orion quickly took it. “Orion here.”

  “Are you back home now?” Fujioka’s voice came on.

  “Yeah, just got back home not long ago. What’s up?”

  “We got another murder. This time it’s drowning this time, too. It was at her home, and she was intoxicated.”

  “Another one already?!” Orion exclaimed, causing Kiyo to flap her wings once.

  “It seems this culprit has balls. He’s taking a victim once a day. We can’t afford to slow down, but we can barely tie them together.”

  Orion remained silent. He had an inkling it was Satoshi Kagome from the first case because he claimed to take the wrong flight. But then what was the connection between him and the second and third cases? There must be something. Orion was unable to connect the dots at this moment, so his mind started zoning out.

  “Orion?” Fujioka’s voice interrupted Orion’s thoughts.

  “Oh, sorry, I was just thinking,” Orion muttered over the phone. “I’m not sure how, but I’m sure the cases are all connected. They must be.”

  “How are you so certain?”

  “I just know it must be it! I don’t have a lick of evidence right now, but we must pursue Kagome.”

  “We can’t just arrest him without evidence. He’d just be let out right away if we did that. And it’ll make us look bad.”

  Orion grunted and punched the settee. “Damn it!”

  “I’ll keep trying to pursue Kagome. You just try to rest for now, okay?”

  Orion grunted again. “Fine. But I want any updates tomorrow.”

  “Got it.”

  Orion leaned back on the settee, closing his eyes. There were various things that could be checked about Kagome. One could be his history with all the victims. Orion got up from the settee and made a dash to his computer on the table in the dining room. He turned on the laptop and quickly typed up Satoshi Kagome before he stopped himself. Wait. I’m going to need Satoru for this, considering he’s the unknown hacker. I can’t just google this guy up.

  Taking out his phone, he texted Satoru. Satoru, I need a favor even though you just got home. I need you to look up Satoshi Kagome for me. And Yuzu Hashimoto. Text or call me if any difficulties come up.

  Resting in his chair, Orion sighed. He abhorred inaction and this was one of the times where he could do nothing but wait. It frustrated him, feeling helpless. Sighing, Orion got up from the chair and went to the kitchen to see what he could make for dinner. He wasn’t famished, but he figured he might as well feed himself, so he would have the energy for the investigation tomorrow. Checking the refrigerator, there were some salmon, tuna and ham inside. “Good enough for a sandwich,” Orion said to himself as he took out the ham and prepared a sandwich.

  Once Orion finished eating, he rechecked his phone. Satoru had messaged him while he was chowing. I’ll start working on it. Wait for me on the PhoneBox.

  Orion got up and returned to his laptop and logged onto the PhoneBox. He saw Satoru had logged in, but his status was on do not disturb so he didn’t risk interrupting Satoru. Twiddling his fingers, Orion leaned back on the chair and petted Kiyo, which was on his shoulder.

  As time passed, Orion almost dozed off a few times before he heard the ping. Sitting straight, he reached for the keyboard.

  NotANerd

  I think I got something, Orion

  Constellation

  What did you get?

  NotANerd

  This Satoshi Kagome was born on October 10. He was raised by his single mom but what happened was that his mom abused him all the time. Also, he was always bullied in school up until graduation. He’s working at Maneshiro Group, Inc. but it seems he’s always picked on for doing menial tasks after hours. Also, about this Yuzu Hashimoto…

  Constellation

  Yes?

  Satoru was typing...

  NotANerd

  Okay, Yuzu was in the same high school as Satoshi. She was in the cheerleading squad and I dug up information that says she was one of the primary people bullying Satoshi

  Constellation

  Bingo. Thanks, Satoru. Will need your assistance again when Fujioka gives me the other victims’ names.

  NotANerd

  No problem. Just let me know :)

  Orion took out his phone and dialled Fujioka’s number. As soon as she picked up, Orion said: “I found the link with Kagome and the second victim.”

  “That was quick. Didn’t I tell you to rest?” Fujioka said sternly.

  “I can’t relax knowing there’s a serial murderer out there.”

  Fujioka sighed over the phone. “Lay it on me.”

  “Satoru helped me find out that Kagome has always been abused and bullied, and it’s still happening now. Hashimoto was in the same high school as Kagome and was one of the prime people bullying him. Who are the other victims?”

  “The first victim was Mayura Akiyama, and the third victim was Sakura Ito.”

  “I’ll get back to you again!”

  Orion hung up the call and reached out for his computer before typing a message for Satoru.

  Constellation

  Yo Satoru. The vics are Mayura Akiyama and Sakura Ito.

  NotANerd

  Got it. Give me a few moments.

  Orion leaned back in his seat as he waited for Satoru to return. Petting Kiyo, Orion checked his phone for Amane’s response: there were two new texts from her.

  I’m home now. I feel really wiped now that I have time to settle down.

  Are you holding up fine?

  Orion blinked before responding: I’m fine. You should take a good rest.

  Another text came in from Amane: I’m fine! Anything you need help with? :)

  Satoru’s doing the work right now so no, not right now. He’s the…hacker.

  You guys are so close! Oh, but I must go help out around the house right now. I’ll talk to you later, Orion. <3

  The heart startled Orion for a moment before he composed himself. He wasn’t sure what that was for, as no one else used that with him. He shook his head rapidly to shake off his feelings. This wasn’t the time to get lost in thought. That was when Satoru responded.

  NotANerd

  Got it, Orion

  Constellation

  Lay it on me.

  NotANerd

  Okay. So, first Mayura Akiyama. She lives alone but she has a boyfriend she often has fights with. They don’t live together though. She’s accused of cheating and… that may be true. She… was most likely cheating with that Kagome guy. You know, the one you had me look up

  Constellation

  Really? Holy crap.

  NotANerd

  Anyway, the next victim Sakura Ito. She was from the same high school as Kagome too. Looks like she and Yuzu were friends and both bullied Kagome

  Constellation:

  Bingo. Thanks, Satoru.

  NotANerd

  Take care man

  With that, the two friends logged off and Orion turned off his laptop. Reaching for his phone, he automatically redialled Erika Fujioka’s number.

  “What did you find out now?” Erika asked.

  “Mayura Akiyama was most likely cheating on her boyfriend with Kagome. Sakura Ito was the same as Hashimoto and both bullied Kagome.”

  “We found that out just now,” Erika commented.

  “Oh. Did you arrest Kagome then?”

  “No, not yet. We need concrete evidence before we can take him in. We only just got their connections, but I know, we don’t have much time left if he’s going to keep his MO as one a day.”

  “We really don’t have much time…” Orion trailed off.

  “We’ll be working on this, so you take it easy. You got school,” Erika advised.

  “We actually have tomorrow off, so let me tag along,” Orion pleaded.

  “Get some rest first,” Erika said firmly.

  “All right, all right,” Orion sighed.

  “I’ll contact you tomorrow,” Erika said before hanging up.

  Orion yawned and checked the time on his laptop. It was 11:45 PM. It got late before he knew it. Orion turned off his computer and headed upstairs to his room with Kiyo still perched on his shoulder. He changed into a tee and sweats, then got into bed while Kiyo perched on the lamp.

  “Good night, Kiyo,” Orion murmured as he reached out and turned off the lamp.

  In another part of the city, Satoshi stood in his bedroom stark naked. He ran his hand along his torso before jerking it away from his body. Staring down at his hand, Satoshi thought about Miki. If he got through this ordeal, he’d like to ask Miki out.

  Satoshi kicked a container nearby and immediately regret it; the pain flared up his foot to his brain. Immediately grabbing his foot reflexively, he lost balance as Satoshi was not used to standing on one leg. On the floor, Satoshi thought about stopping the killings, before the police caught onto him, then he still had a chance with Miki. He released his grip on his foot, Satoshi laid back on the floor and stared at the ceiling.

  He decided on it. He wasn’t going to kill anymore. And ask Miki to be his girlfriend. Satoshi will do it; he swore on his mother’s grave that he will.