You're Under Arrest Fan Fiction / Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ An Enemy of Women is my Enemy ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter 3

 

 

<Flash back>


”Help me… please somebody help me,” pleaded a hoarse voice. A young policeman followed the direction of the cry until he came to an isolated area. There, he found a young woman. Tangled locks of navy blue hair tumbled about her battered face. Dirt and blood patterned themselves on the slightly tanned nude skin. The policeman stared in shock. Her figure was like a newly bosomed flower that was crushed and tore into shreds. Her purity withered away into shame and ignominy. The trembling flower lifted her head. Mortification was in her pale brown eyes

“Help me please…” she pleaded before passing out.

 

 

<Flash back>

 

In the hospital…

 

“Excuse me… hello… are you there? Hello?”

“Huh?” Aoi's eyes darted at the wavering hand. He looked up and saw a man dressed in slick purple shirt that deliberately revealed his bellybutton, leather pants and a branded pair of shoes. His wavy hair was blonde. Brown eyes hide behind a pair of dark sunglasses. He appeared to be very amused.

“Well… well… who would have thought that an extremely beautiful woman like you could turn out to be man? You really fool me back at the florist shop. Are you an actor or something?”

“Ah…” Aoi was confused. “ Who are you?”

“That really confirms that you are a man.” The stranger flipped his hair to one side. “Most ladies will not forget me even if they meet me once.” He held out his hand for a handshake. “My name is Yoji. I'm the florist who took your friend's video camera a few days ago. Remember?”

“Huh… ah.. umm…,” Aoi examined Yoji for a while. “Oh! Yes! I remember.” He shook Yoji's hand. “Sorry. I couldn't recognize you and…”

Yoji held up his hand to interrupt. “No problem. Tell me, are you an actor or something?”

“Actor? No… what? Huh? How did you know that I'm a man?”

With a smug, Yoji moved forward and placed his chest onto Aoi's chest. “Right now. You don't have what women have,” he said softly. Aoi felt the sudden warmth on his cheeks. He looked away.

“My goodness, you are blushing!” teased Yoji. “Come on, what is there to be shy about? I have what you have.”

“What are you doing here in the first place?” interrupted Aoi, his lips pouted like an annoyed schoolgirl.

“Who me?” He took a bouquet of pink roses from a table and waved it at her. “I'm here to deliver roses for a friend of mine. I was walking down the hallway that I saw you standing beside the windowsill, looking so dazed. You aren't on drugs, I hope. A actor's life may be stressful but you shouldn't…”

“I'm not an actor. I'm a policeman who went undercover to catch someone but I got shot…” He held his hands to his mouth, like a child who got caught for stealing cookies from the cookie jar. Yoji stood there, his hands in the back pockets, nodded his head a few times, looked at him and said.

“Go on.”

“What?”

“Continue your story. I'm listening.”

“But…”

“Since you just spilled the beans, might as well continue spilling.”

Having not much of a choice, Aoi unwillingly told the whole story to Yoji. From the crime scene to what had happened at the pub to the present.

“Satisfied now?”

“Very satisfied indeed.” He folded his arms. “Though you have the evidence to prove that he was the murderer, he'll still get away.”

“What do you mean by that? He confessed it himself.”

“But he's dead. Does it matter what he said. It's case closed.”

“You still haven't answer my question.”

“He's an important man, rich, powerful and influential. With these elements, they can get away with anything.”

“How would you know?”

Yoji pushed up his sunglasses, the ceiling light reflecting upon it “Because…”

“You were once a detective, except that you worked as a private eye.” Boomed a gangster-like voice.

“Takahashi!”

“In the flesh, Aoi. Seems like you found the man that we have been looking for.” Takahashi moved away from the door that he was leaning against. “Yoji Kudou. You worked as private eye for wealthy people a couple of years ago. Then you disappeared for a while before resurfacing as a florist. I wonder why… but that's not the reason why I'm here.”

“And your reason is…” Yoji nonchalantly sat beside Aoi.

“You know what I mean, flower boy.” Takahashi tossed a photo at Yoji, who caught it with his slender fingers and indifferently returned to Takahashi without saying a word.

“You were at the business function on the 14th of March, between eleven p.m. to three am. That's around the time when Nanaho Ishimaru murdered Kumiko Akimoto. His friends and colleagues all claimed that he was there at all the time. Everyone except you, flower boy.”

Yoji remained composed. “I was at the florist shop doing some late night shift work. It was a last minute change of delivery. Check the records if you like.”

“Yeah, I checked it alright.” Cut Takahashi, his face expressionless. “It's strange that you could be at two places at one time.”

“Yes, why would a nobody be in a place jam-packed with filthy rich businessmen?” continued Yoji, flippancy. “Well, guess he could be seducing a rich widow into marrying him so that he could live comfortably for the rest of his life since he has no interests in stock or shares.”

“Guess so. But you have a way of blending in.”

“Only with ladies.”

“With rich people.” corrected Takahashi.

“And why would they want to talk with someone with a low status?”

“It's the way one talks rather than his financial background.”

Yoji whistled. “Financial. Oh please detective. That hurts.”

“It will hurt more if you don't tell me what I want to know.”

“And that is…”

“DAMN IT flower boy!” Takahashi lost his cool. “That photo shows you attending the same business function as Ishimaru. I want to know if it is really Ishimaru that you have seen!”

“He is dead. Detective Takahashi. ” Yoji stood up. “And I should be going. My customer won't be happy if I'm late.”

Coolly, he walked past Takahashi, though the opened door, turned left and he was gone. Takahashi shrugged his shoulders and gave a heavy sigh.

“He's right, you know. With Ishimaru dead, there are no more leads left. Even if he's alive, flower boy's words won't stand a chance against his alibis. It's strange that he shows up here.”

“But I thought that you have another suspect.”

“Yes, we do,” Takahashi closed his door. “His name is Tsutomu Koiwai, friend of Ishimaru. I believe that he is an accomplice of Ishimaru. Like Ishimaru, he has witnesses to prove that he was present at a business party when the murder took place.”

“Then…”

“No, I'm changing my tactics. This time, Toukairin, Natsumi, Miyuki and I will be attending a business party tonight. Your chief has agreed to work with us. And hopefully, that the Koiwai that everybody is seeing is nothing but a decoy.”

“A decoy?”

“Yes, probably he paid some actor to act as him while he runs off and have his fun. You see the place of the business party and the place where he meets his victims has about three hours of distance traveling. It'll be impossible for him to sneak off when everybody is watching him. Therefore, he would need a decoy to do so. And that is what we are going to prove. Meanwhile, we have policemen stationed at all the possible pubs that he could pick up his victims. Thankfully, he often goes to the same area so that narrows down the scope.”

“Then, what shall I do?”

“Do? Stay in bed, of course.”

 

 

At a prestigious hotel...


Inside the most luxurious hotel of Tokyo, where the rich gorged themselves on food they never tasted and drank on the wine that never ran out all night long, Toukairin, Natsumi and Takahashi kept a look out for Koiwai. Natsumi wore a bareback baby pink grown, white arm-length gloves and a pair of crystal-studded earrings with a fragile gold necklace around her neck. Both Toukairin and Takahashi wore in the typical black satin suits except that Takahashi had his hair gelled and combed backwards.

“Just try to blend in, you two, while I check out the place,” instructed Takahashi, observing the entire ballroom. On the right, the curtains covered the window screens. At the back and the left, the clothed tables filled with all sorts of delicacies that would last a lifetime of memory. As he feared, Natsumi was joyfully filling her glass with champagne. Perhaps, it was a mistake to bring her along but then again she and Toukarin would make a more convincing couple than Miyuki and her beau, whatever his name was. For everybody's sake, she better not get drunk!

Walking out, he saw the restroom on the left, right at the end. Too many people, Koiwai won't risk it. He continued to walk down the hallway before making a left turn at the corridor, turn right at another corridor and down towards the lift. Entering the lift, he pressed the 20th floor button. Tapping his feet impatiently, the lift went up in a dull tone. At the 20th level, the lift gave a ring. He stepped out and continue to walk down the lengthy hallway, turned right, avoiding all the attendants as much as possible and stopped in front of a room, its number 2023. Takahashi checked for any passers-by while sliding his credit card though the lock. He slipped in quietly and switched on the lights. His brows rose at the sight of the blandly decorated room. Not what he expected from the uppity class. Plain marble tiles and turquoise cushion chairs and tables for the living room. The bedroom had a king-sized bed with chalky sheets, blue covers, fluffy pillows and a boring bathroom. The windows were closed and the gray curtains drawn.

Takahashi checked every inch of the rooms, optimistic to find anything that could be vital evidence but it was in vain. So far, it seemed queer that a filthy rich man like Koiwai would lead a life like an average person yet have a venomous desire to kill young woman as a form of entertaining. He heard the door clicked. He jumped up and stood next to the door, his gun by his hand. The door opened, a blonde-man dressed in a suit came in. Takahashi instantly pressed the gun on the back of the intruder.

“I knew that you would come, flower boy. What are you doing here?”

“The same thing as you are doing, Takahashi,” replied Yoji, standing causally. “But I won't get into trouble if I'm caught.”

Takahashi pressed his lips tightly while he placed the gun into the inner pocket of his jacket. “Look. I don't want to waste time with you. But if you are doing what I think you are doing, then you and I should work together.”

“Fine with me. On the condition that you'll not ask any questions on why I'm here.”

“Agreed. Just as long you don't hide anything from me.”

“Agreed. If you are trying to prove that the Koiwai here tonight is a decoy, well, forget it, the real Koiwai is here.”

“WHAT? That's impossible.”

“Think about it. His partner was killed. He won't dare to strike until the whole thing blows off. You are moving too fast.”

“Maybe, even if it risks my job, I'll do it to bring him to justice.”

“Justice?” Yoji mocked. “Give me a break. You could have brought Ishimaru to justice with the DNA sample that you found on his victims. But you didn't, why is that?”

“Somebody tampered with the DNA evidence,” Takahashi tried not to lose his temper. “An insider is what I thought of but I can't trace the culprit. So, I used Aoi as bait to draw him out but I didn't expect him to be killed. The only reasonable reason I could come up with is that Koiwai and Ishimaru are in this together and for some reason, Koiwai hired an assassin to kill Ishimaru. Not only will Ishimaru's death will save his skin but also gain quite a lion's share in the business market.”

“Business market?”

“Guess you couldn't bother to read the papers but Koiwai and Ishimaru appeared to be long-term rivalries.”

“Yet they share the same hobby.”

“Hobby is not the word to use, Yoji,” glared Takahashi. “It's a sick thing that only such people would do to get some pleasure.”

“You shouldn't take in every word I say. Come on, let's go,” replied Yoji, opening the door. “The worst thing is getting caught when you don't take an invitation card.”

“You don't have one.”

“Wrong, Detective. I do,” Yoji flashed out a white lavender card from his sleeve. “You don't.”

“You forged it,” accused Takahashi.

“Wrong again, it's genuine as the dollar bills you have in your wallet.” He winked. “I'll see you soon.”

“Matte! I'm not done yet with you,” Takahashi chased after him. At the turn, he found the hallway empty. There was no one else except him.

“That son of a …”

 

<Flash back>

A young man, dressed in plain casual clothes, walked down the hallway. He was deep in thoughts until he heard a scream. It came from a room just a few meters away from him. He quickly ran forward and into the room where the scream came from. At the window, a lady was kneeling down on the floor, pressing her hands onto her ears. Tears wet the surrounding floor. The flower was shaking continuously. The young man silently knelt down beside her.

“Please don't cry…”

The flower lifted her head at the sound of the gentle voice. Tearful eyes took a long time staring at him. Then the flower changed into a frightened animal, she pushed him away. “GET AWAY!!!” she shrieked, grabbing the blanket that lay beside her feet and wrapping it tightly around her shoulder. “GET AWAY!!!”

“No… wait… you are making a mistake. I'm not who you think I am. I'm the policeman who found you, remember?”

“HELP!!!” The frightened animal threw a pillow at him. He dodged.

 

“WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?” boomed a middle-aged lady, walking over to the frightened girl. “There, there. It's all right now. You are safe here in this hospital. Nobody is going to hurt you” She cradled the girl in her arms. “Nurse Miki is here to protect you. Nobody is going to hurt you. You are safe. You are safe…”

The young man stared bluntly at them, not knowing what to do. Nurse Miki immediately gave him the you-better-get-moving look. He bowed politely and left.

<Flash back>

 

 

 

At Bokuto Police Station…

At Bokuto Station, Takahashi sighed heavily as he sorted out the messy pile of papers on his desk. Things were not looking good for him. Koiwai was at the party no doubt about that. Yoji was right after all. He slammed his fist on the wall in frustration. He was absolutely getting nowhere. That bothered him greatly. He had this sinking feeling that the case was at brink of closing down. That would be his first unsolved case. The first unsolved case in his six years of being a detective.

Then, he heard a man clearing his throat He looked up. There was a middle- aged man standing at the doorway, his rough face produced a grin.

“Tokuno-senpai?”

“Takahashi-kun, heard that you went undercover last night.”

“Huh? How did you…?”

“Aoi told me about it yesterday. I went to pick him up at the hospital. Just doing a flavour for Miyuki. Takahashi, either you are insane or stupid. You dared to sneak in even though you don't have an invitation card. What were you thinking? Let's hope that no one recognized you. Otherwise, your life will be in jeopardy.”

“But Tokuno-senpai…”

“I know. You want to solve this case as soon as possible. But these things need time for the evidence to reveal themselves.”

Takahashi looked at him in bewilderment for a moment before giving a sigh of submitting.

“Then, I guess that I should get an early leave. I haven't spent much time with my family lately.”

“ That's right, Takahashi. Get some rest and don't be bothered by the case for a couple of days. And who knows? Your brain might think of something you haven't thought of earlier.”

 

Somewhere in the neighhourhood streets…

While patrolling around the neighbourhood under the late afternoon sun, Aoi leaned his arm on the car window with total boredom. Yoriko eyed on him in concern. Aoi was not himself lately. For the few days, he was easily distracted from his work and aloof himself from the others all the time. Lately, he spent his time at the office, staring into space for a long time. A very long time.

“It's a pity that Koiwai was at the party last night.” He spoke.

“Hmm…” Yoriko nodded.

“If he was there, the case would have solved already.”

“Guess so…”

“Natsumi can be so careless at the wrong time. Anyway, she shouldn't have worn high-heel shoes in the first place. How in the world could she trip and fall right on top of a rather important guest? It's an amazing that she didn't blow her cover. I suppose that her cleavage saved her.”

“Ah…”

“And she had to wipe his face to make that his face is real! It's obvious when one's wearing a mask. Just look at the amount of makeup one had to use. Men don't put on makeup!”

“But you do,” squeaked Yoriko softly.

“That's an exception for me...”

A car hooted from behind, causing them to turn around. Inside the green sport car, a blonde-haired man with sunglasses waved at them while he rode his car along beside them. He winked at them cheekily. Yoriko looked hard at him before she yelled.

“You are the florist who took my video camera!!!!”

“Thanks to you, I get to view my girls every night before I go to sleep.”

“You disgusting pervert!!!” Losing her grip on the steering wheel, the police car began to sway and slightly knocked into Yoji's car.

“Keep your hands on the steering wheel,” yelled back Yoji. “Do you want to cause an accident?

“You distract me, idiot!”

“SHUT THE HELL UP YOU TWO!” Aoi bellowed. “Let's pull over somewhere and then you two can argue your hearts out.”

“Yesh, what's his problem?” muttered Yoji.

The two cars parked at the nearest car park that they could find. Instantly, Yoriko attacked Yoji with her tongue.

“Give me back my video camera or I'll arrest you for stealing!”

“Based on what? You gave it to me!”

“I beg your pardon! I did not!”

“Fine, whatever. Hey, what's wrong with Aoi? He seems to be in a bad mood.”

“He is ever since he's involved in the case. Ah le? How do you know that Aoi is a man?”

“I've been with women for years, my dear. Therefore, I'm an expertise when it comes in determining the gender of cross-dressing people.”

“Liar!” She narrowed her eyes in mischief. “Ne, How would you rate Aoi if he's really a woman?”

“From the scale from 1 - 10, I would give 9. He has a woman's curves… or maybe 7, considering that I haven't seen him in a swimsuit yet. Humm,” He rubbed his chin, “Can't imagine how he would look like…”

“Believe me, you wouldn't want to know…” Yoriko smirked.

“Ja, then let me talk to him, ok?”

“What about my video camera??” demanded Yoriko.

“Later, what's the rush? I haven't finishing watching some of the girls that I taped down last night. Beside, he's the one that I want to see.”

“AH???” Yoriko's eyes were as big as saucers. “You want to see him?” Pointing her finger at Yoji and Aoi repeatedly. “Does it mean that you and him are…?”

“What the heck are you talking about? We are just,” he grinned and pushed up his sunglasses. It gleamed in an ominous manner. “Friends.” He turned around, walked over to Aoi, slipped his arm around his waist and led him away,

“No way….” Yoriko stammered helplessly. “Aoi …”

Yoji led Aoi down to a little pathway beside a child playground, to the bench sheltered by a Sakura tree. He flopped down onto the bench, his brown eyes looked at Aoi.

“Please don't look like that. It will spoil your pretty face.” He patted his hand on the bench. “You don't have to stand, you know, have a seat.”

Aoi reluctantly sat beside him. He took a deep breath and blew. The Sakura flowers rustled gently along with his breath. Yoji silently took out a cigarette and lit it. He sucked in the smoke before puffing it into lavender blue wisps. After a while of savoring the cigarette, Yoji removed the cigarette from his mouth and said.

“Can I ask you a personal question, Aoi?”

“I guess so…”

“Why do you dress up as a woman? No offense, but…”

“It's okay. I am used to questions like that. Besides,” he tried to smile. “It's a promise that I made to someone a long time ago.” Sadness weighed heavily on his face. “She was a special person to me though she never knew me.”

”I was just a rookie back then, doing one of my regular patrols around the neighbourhood when I heard a cry of help. It wasn't very loud but just enough to be heard. So I followed the cry to an isolated area. I found a woman. Her blue hair was tangled. Some of which had been pulled out. She was bleeding and there were bruises on her arms and legs. The sight appalled me. Then, she opened her eyes and looked at me. I will never the look of her eyes. It was beyond any description. The humiliation, the affliction, the disgrace, the ordeal of dishonouring her purity shook me. She pleaded for help before she fainted. Somehow, my body was able to move and get help.”

 

“She was taken to the hospital while I stayed behind for questioning. All the time, I was thinking of her. Praying for her recovery from the nightmare she had been through. Praying that she would just wake up the next day without any memories of it. But her destiny wouldn't allow it. From the people in charge of her case, I was told that her suffering didn't stop there. She couldn't sleep or eat. She was terrified to be alone especially in the dark. She wouldn't let any man to be near her. I tried to visit her a few times but my presence frightened her so much that the nurses chased me out. Everyday, the demons watching her tormented her mind time to time, not allowing her a moment of peace. Soon, she fell into insanity, to point where no one could take her hand and pulled her out to safety. Nobody noticed the state that she was in. Everybody failed to see this, including me.”

“In late summer, I decided to visit her one more time. So I went to her home where her parents greeted me graciously. Her mum went to her room and called her. But she didn't answered. Her mum panicked and her dad and I immediately broke down the door. It was already too late. When we knocked the door down, we found her lying on the floor. She was dressed in a white kimono, blue hair neatly tied behind. In her blood stained hand was a Japanese dagger… In a white envelope was a letter written in prefect handwriting.”

 

“To my family,

Do not mourn for me

For I'm not worthy be your daughter

By my death, may the honour of Yumi be regained.

By my death, Yumi may regain respect in society…”

“Two weeks later, I attended her funeral. I felt very depressed at that time. Wouldn't it be better that I have never found her at all? Maybe, I should have ignored her cry and walked away, leaving her to die in the cold. But as a policeman, could I turn down the oath of protecting the public that I have sworn to do so? Then again, maybe death was the best way out for her. The never-ending pain of being a “second-hand woman” ultimately destroyed her.”

“Still, it wasn't your fault,” said Yoji. “You did what you had to do.”

“I know, but…” Aoi's fist tightened. “I should have done something to help her get on with her life…”

“Sometimes, we can't do what we should have done. So, was he caught?”

“It doesn't matter now. Justice is served but it won't bring her back to life.”

“But at least her soul will be able to rest in peace.” Yoji blew out another wisp of smoke. “What made you decide to dress up as a woman?”

“A month later, I applied for transfer to a crime investigation department that specialized in those sexual cases. I wanted to be the best, so I studied intensely anything that relates to women. Clothes, food, makeup, tea ceremony, handicraft… etc. Before I knew it, I became like a woman.” He smiled faintly. “I must be a weirdo or something.”

“Nope,” Yoji shook his head. “I think that you are someone who believe the same thing as me.”

“What would that be?”

“An enemy of women is an enemy of mine. Like you, I detest any men who cause harm to women.”

“I think so too. Then, what's your story?”

Yoji adjusted his position slightly and threw his cigarette butt into the rubbish bin.

“Like Takahashi said, I was a private detective. I had a partner, a beautiful woman. She had passion and such energy in her. My life with her was a movie. Nothing could stop us, well, that's what I think. Then one day, our employer betrayed us. We were caught and I was injured. She gave up her life to save me…”

“I'm sorry…” Aoi whispered.

“Don't be.” Yoji keeping his face as straight as possible. “Our lives are just chess pieces to the big guy above.”

“How did you become a florist?”

“Simple, I saw an ad in the newspapers, called up the people in charge and I got it.”

“Do you like your new job?”

“Well, it's not exciting but it's not bad to have the schoolgirls crowding over you like you're some idol to them but I'm doing fine.”

“Oh really.”

“What? You don't believe me?” Yoji grinned. “I supposed your pal, Takahashi, has to find new clues to crack the case.”

“He wouldn't have to,” Aoi grew serious. “If Ishimaru wasn't killed.”

“You don't seem to be happy that.”

“Even though he's a criminal, no one has the right to take his life.”

“Nor did he have the right to take the lives of his victims.”

“Still he shouldn't be killed.”

“Why? So that you could have get some information from him? Believe me, junior, he wouldn't say a word.

“He did! He confessed to it.”

“What use would that be to you now?”

Aoi gave no answer.

Yoji bit onto the end of a new cigarette. “Let me tell you something, handling cases like this is not as clear as black and white. Even if Ishimaru is caught and trial, he walked out of the court making a fool of you police. Whoever killed him is doing a big flavour.”

“And you are just satisfied with this,” said Aoi, feeling very annoyed with his words. “Whoever done this is not doing a flavour at all! Ishimaru confessed his crimes. It was recorded, every single word. We would use his words to our advantage like getting him to reveal people who are involved in this as well. We could have caught the whole gang in one big whoop!”

“Easier said than done.”

“Why are you so negative about this?”

“Because it is obvious. There's an insider. Someone is protecting your suspects.”

“What are you saying? An insider? Who?”

Yoji stood up, one hand in the back pocket, the other playing with the cigarette. “You don't know about such things, do you? I heard that you dealt with insiders about a carcase a few years back, maybe, because the evidence was clear and straight. This is a totally different case, Aoi. It's not as defined and crystal clear as the previous cases you dealt with. This involves politics and money, a very deadly combination. Takahashi knows this and he is treading very cautiously.”

“If there were an insider, how would he benefit from all of this? Money?”

“The number one thing that associate with murder. Say, you are free tonight?”

“I suppose so. Why?” He eyed on him suspiciously.

“Cuz' I want to ask you out for a date,” said Yoji causally.

“You're kidding…”

“Nope, I'm serious,” He went closer to him, “I'm beginning to like you…” His fingers touched the edge of Aoi's chin. “A lot…”

“Stop teasing.” Aoi stiffened even more as Yoji went awfully closer by the seconds. “It's not…”

“Hush…” Yoji pressed his finger on Aoi's lips. “… Don't say anything… just nod your head like a good little girl... there, that's it. Good girl..”

Aoi tensed up as Yoji pulled him closer to him, his lean and muscular arms wrapped around him. His breath, the smell of the HUGO perfume, his warmth… his lips almost coming into contact with his… then all of a sudden, Yoji stopped abruptly and released him.

“So, I'll see you tonight.” He turned around and walked away.

Aoi stared at him, speechless.

“Oh yeah,” Yoji turned around. “One more thing. Please dress up as a man and do something about that hair of yours. It's going to be in the way tonight.”

 

 

To be continued