Is it Really Wrong to Think About the Victim's Mom?

“They’re alive,” Hazama sighed. “Most likely.”

Hazama fired a scan spell the moment she stepped out of Ishigami’s car. The spell had a different feeling from what Black had used on him. That prickling sensation on his skin was less noticeable, but the bluish pulse of mana that engulfed the four-story apartment building in front of them was more evident—probably even to the naked eye.

Ishigami chuckled as several homes turned on their lights in response.

Hoshino said nothing as he followed the both of them out of the car. A part of him wanted to ask if Hazama knew what she was doing. But of course she would—she was Hazama. Two things stopped him. The first was the look on Hazama’s face; the glare of her glasses was dead serious, like she was begging for a fight. The second was that Hoshino might or might not have slipped up about Satoru calling her a bitch and a failure on their way here, after they had finished discussing the weather... all the way through next week.

“Hoshino and I will check Shiba Miyako’s room. Ishigami, please stand guard.” Hazama fixed her glasses as she picked up her pace. “Those two-bit terrorists may have finally improved and found a way to beat a basic scan spell. Though if they decide they want to be personally congratulated by us, please save some of them for me.”

Ishigami nodded and walked forward, pulling away the guard who was about to approach them. The way was cleared. Without commotion. Somewhat. Hazama kept marching, her face determined and true, with a firm wand at the ready. Hoshino matched Hazama’s pace, looking around for potential blind spots—just in case. He caught Ishigami showing the guard his badge out of the corner of his eye. He looked away when the guard seemed like he was demanding some kind of clearance or explanation. Hoshino didn’t want to witness another Jerome incident.

Clearing the first two floors was rather easy. Well, they did just walk up the stairs. Hoshino liked to believe that this case was different; this place wasn't crawling with enemies. If there were... they would be fighting either Hazama or Ishigami. He calmed his breathing, convincing himself that he shouldn’t feel bad about the level of difference between him and his coworkers.

There was something they could do, and there were things that Hoshino could do—which involved calming down the grandpas and grandmas woken by Hazama’s spell, as well as the younger people who liked the thought of a beautiful man in a suit pushing them back into their homes with a playful smile and a finger to his lips, telling them to shhhhut the fuck up. The most important part was that there were no enemies so far, and Hoshino hoped that would be the case for the third floor, too.

“So, the Butterflies…” Hoshino started as they took the stairs to the third floor.

“Some of them were our coworkers before they... joined the dark side, for lack of a more lighthearted term.” Hazama glanced at him. “Wait, is this the part where one would throw in a joke or two to lighten the mood?”

“No, but…” Hoshino tilted his head. “Yes, technically. But that might cause both of us to lose focus, and next thing you know they’re shooting at us and we’re scrambling…”

“Correct, Hoshino-san,” Hazama replied. “It’s a good thing you believe they pose a danger to us.”

What?

“But yes… we worked with some of them before. In fact, I worked with Satoru and Ishigami before. Before Satoru left the force. Before Ishigami got demoted again… and before I got transferred to Kanzakichō—”

Hazama marched onward, cutting herself off. Room 35. The second part of their trip toward Shiba Miyako’s room was a slow, silent one. Thankfully, they didn’t have to deal with civilians, but the air felt heavy. Even without the thought of someone opening a door and asking what the fuck they were doing, the weight and tension the wind refused to carry away made it feel like Hoshino was walking through a swamp filled with monkeys. The imagery didn’t make sense. But goddamn that was scary.

Hazama took her time, but her poise and pace made it look like she was walking a runway in her breezy, stylish clothes. Her backdrop was either a stretch of monotone walls on the right and occasional doors or the grand view of the bustling Kanzakicho business district on the left, which glowed and glimmered brighter than the full moon. Her catwalk ended when Hoshino moved ahead and reached the door, only to realize they didn’t have a key.

That wasn’t a problem, apparently. Just as Hoshino was about to offer to jump down the building to get the keys from the guard held up by Ishigami, Hazama cast a silence spell, pressed her wand against the doorknob, and bolted it out of place.

Then, Hazama nodded at Hoshino and let herself into the room. Hoshino did a final pass of their surroundings before following her and closing the door behind him. At first glance, they seemed more like thieves than exorcists—or even investigators—but he doubted anyone would say that to their faces with Hazama there.

The Shiba household was a standard two-bedroom apartment. The cheerful smell of flowers welcomed them into the living room, which was occupied by stacks of paper. Printed on each one was the man of the hour—Shiba Kakeru. The photo looked quite outdated, appearing to have been taken when the boy graduated from middle school or started high school.

The photos on the fridge showed Shiba Miyako and Shiba Kakeru when he was young. The boy’s father wasn’t present in these photos. Still, it seemed he and his mom had plenty of photos together. That wasn’t wholesome enough, however. Hoshino’s heart churned even more. The latest photo in this small collection was the same one used for Shiba Kakeru’s missing person posters.

And just below it was a note from the boy himself: “I did something terrible. Some of my friends know it already. Some people are following me around. I’m sorry. I cannot drag you into this, Mom. I’ll be gone for a while, but I’ll be back. Love you.”

What a sweet kid. Anyway, Hoshino had to slink into the restroom to pee while Hazama signaled that she would be checking Shiba Miyako and Kakeru’s room. He had to relieve the pressure. Though if he had to admit it to himself, he wasn’t afraid of the Butterflies anymore—he was more scared of what Hazama would do. He had seen Ishigami fight, and it wasn’t like Hazama would make Ishigami fold, but the way Ishigami moved around her—

A bang. The sound of a bolt being cast and shattering against a shield. Hoshino finished his ritual, didn't wash his hands, and dashed back to Shiba Miyako’s room. There, he found Hazama with another person—possibly a Butterfly—on the floor. In Hazama’s hand was an old ID of Shiba Miyako’s from her time as a marketer for Hino Industries. Hot. Hazama told them that she was recently promoted, too.

Hoshino moved his gaze from the body to Hazama. “Should we let Ishigami know?”

“No.” Hazama nudged the man's head with her foot to make sure he was really down—and alive. Hoshino hoped the man was alive. “It’ll be a pleasant surprise. But if there’s someone here, that means they’re expecting someone to return home. I thought that the note was fake, but I guess Shiba Kakeru wasn’t really kidnapped. Satoru wouldn’t order someone to attack anyone entering Shiba Miyako’s room, too.”

“Then…”

“I found him,” Hazama replied, nudging the Butterfly again. “The entire apartment smelled of lilac or lavender. I’m not sure which. Anyway… I assumed Shiba Miyako would likely use the same smell in her room. To my surprise, this room smelled of sweat. You know… the kind of ‘I didn’t shower for two days’ kind of smell? When I realized that, I just had to do it.”

Hoshino chuckled, making Hazama smile just a bit. “That’s… a terrible way to tell me that you let your intrusive thoughts win, Hazama-san.”

“What? I’m smart and cute; people will call me sophisticated, eccentric at worst. Of course, a simple hypothesis—I would call it. And as such… it needed to be tested.”

Hoshino couldn’t tell if Hazama was joking.

The walls didn’t have bolt holes (Hoshino wanted to laugh at the thought). Hoshino kept his grin. This could be the work of a very potent scan spell; Hoshino wasn’t entirely sure, too. He had been able to bypass Black’s scan spell by not casting magic—

“Relax. I used a silence spell so as not to alert the neighbors. Then, I fired about four bolts and kept bouncing them around the room. It was bound to hit someone. But fair… one probably got out of range. I never really thought it would work but—bingo. This guy had to pull up a shield to block one of my bolts, and it turned into a fight.”

Hoshino nodded. Another reminder for him to be thankful that Hazama was on their side.

“But this puts us at a dead end. I can have Ishigami wake this guy up, but I doubt he’ll talk. We could make him, but he’s just going to drag us down.” Hazama tucked some strands of stray hair behind her ear. “I really hoped they left a note or something. You know, like villains do? Shiba Kakeru’s room was empty as well. What do you think, Hoshino?”

Hoshino paused. He let a moment pass. Otherwise, he would scream like a small happy monkey. It wasn’t that he doubted her, but he gave Hazama a moment to correct herself. She didn't. She meant it. Hoshino beamed at the thought, making it hard for him to contain his stupid smile; he had to remind himself he was at work. He had to think. So he stepped back and cupped his chin, his fingers tracing the scar on his mouth.

Shiba Kakeru. Hoshino juggled through a number of thoughts—about 67000 of them. The wolves inside him wanted to chuckle at the thought, but not now. Hazama. Yes, Hazama. He had to look cool in front of Hazama. AND YES… Shiba Kakeru had gone missing before the three were murdered. Being connected to Amamiya Takenju and Nagamori Arisa made him a prime suspect.

Hoshino tilted his head, fighting the urge to grit his teeth. The motive wasn’t the issue. Based on the photos on the fridge and the generous amount of recordings they confiscated from the Amamiya household, this had been going on for a while.

It wasn’t just that the boy couldn't ask for help. Hoshino understood all too well the fear and the threat that sex videos and such inflicted upon a person. That explained why Shiba Kakeru didn't go to the authorities. But still. There must have been a trigger. It pissed him off to remember, but he knew that victims of these cases tend to be more passive, slowly losing more and more ground until they got lucky enough for an adult to intervene. Or in certain cases, the situation got bad enough. A thought came to mind. But now, Hoshino had to assume the worst part of the case, another part he didn’t want to and had been avoiding to admit.

Shiba Kakeru really murdered the three with the help of Nagamori Arisa’s malevolent spirit, and he wasn’t finished. Hino Sumire was still alive.

“Hazama-san…” Hoshino faced her with a grim smile. “I also have a hypothesis.”