Detective Yamamoto and the Oni Part 1

THURSDAY

"Reports persist of what eyewitnesses have described as an oni in one local neighborhood." said the news anchor. Once again, Detective Yamamoto used the news for background noise and paid it little attention. Satoshi, however, was dumbfounded that any news station, even a local station known for its casual relationship with the truth, would ever stoop to broadcasting about an oni sighting as though oni were real. He very nearly started paying attention to the television, thus taking his attention away from writing, when there was a knock at the door.

Standing in the entrance was a woman, who Satoshi wasted no time in inviting inside. Satoshi could plainly tell that she wasn't having a very good day. She looked disheveled and fatigued.

"Good morning," said Satoshi, doing his best to appear as cheerful and reassuring as he could manage. "How can we help you today?"

"There's a monster," the woman said simply. Immediately, Satoshi has an idea of what this simple sentence might portend.

"A monster?" he asked. He made a deliberate effort not to sound incredulous. The woman nodded, but didn't immediately elaborate. "Well, the detective is more used to finding lost pets and missing things, but I'm sure she'll take your case," said Satoshi. He led the woman into Detective Yamamoto's office, where the detective sat behind her desk in her usual state of undress. Satoshi walked over to stand beside her desk and briefly informed her of the client's problem. As Satoshi expected she would, Detective Yamamoto was none too thrilled about the mention of a monster as evidenced by a stiffening of her posture.

"I'm at my wit's end," said the woman. "Please, Detective Yamamoto, you have to help me." In truth, Satoshi wasn't sure what precisely the detective could do. If what little the woman had told him was to be believed, then there was a monster out and about, and the detective hesitated to get involved if there was so much as a rumor of a ghost.

"What do you think I can do?" the detective asked. In contrast to her usually laid back manner, the detective posed her question tersely. She didn't mean to be rude, or at least Satoshi hoped that this was the case. Rather, the detective was gripped by fear, as was her habit when anything supernatural happened or was hinted at.

"Anything, please," the woman plead. She seemed to be truly desperate. Satoshi supposed she had good reason to feel the way she did.

"Tell us more about the monster," said Satoshi. He figured he might have to take the lead on this case, and he had a sneaking suspicion of what the woman might tell them. The woman sighed and took a deep breath.

"It's an oni."

"An oni?" Satoshi asked. The woman nodded affirmatively.

"I've seen it with my own eyes. It was tall and broad with dark blue skin, and it carried a massive club."

"That certainly sounds like an oni," Satoshi conceded.

As Satoshi expected, the woman's description of the monster had scared the detective rigid. Satoshi sighed to himself. He felt he couldn't turn down this woman in good conscience, but he knew all too well that he would be fighting an uphill battle by contending with Detective Yamamoto's extreme fear of the supernatural.

"So you'll help me?" asked the woman. There was a note of hope in her voice.

"Well, what exactly is the problem?" Satoshi asked. "I'm sure we could help once we know a bit more."

"The oni has been terrorizing my neighborhood. Usually it just prowls, but lately it's been destroying things. Trees, mailboxes, small things. All of my neighbors have packed up and sold their property."

"How do you expect us to handle an oni?" Detective Yamamoto cut in. "I'm sure it can smash us as easily as any mailbox." The woman didn't have a response for this. Naturally, if there truly was an oni prowling around it was as likely to eat them as it was to club them to death. Satoshi didn't like their chances if it came down to a confrontation. Of course, Officer Ishioka remained nominally in the detective's debt, although Satoshi's intuition informed him that the diminuitive police officer would take a dim view of the supernatural and would not deign to help.

"I don't know," the woman admitted. "I heard you were a detective that could solve any case. I thought maybe you could help." Satoshi and Detective Yamamoto exchanged glances. They seemed to have a conversation conducted entirely without words.

I don't think we can help this woman, Detective Yamamoto frowned.

We can't just turn her away, replied Satoshi, raising his eyebrows and giving her a reproving look.

There's nothing we can do against a real oni, the detective pouted.

We don't know yet that the oni is real. It could be a hoax, Satohi retorted. Detective Yamamoto's mind, addled as it was by fear, was fenced in by Satoshi's impenetrable logic. In all likelihood, the oni didn't truly exist and there was some other explanation. She groaned out loud in exasperation.

"I'll take you case," said the detective with some resignation. The woman was utterly relieved and made it quite clear by exclaiming it loudly.

~~~

After the woman had calmed down from her exhilaration at having her case accepted, she gave Satoshi and the detective the fine details. The oni had been terrorizing a small rural neighborhood and usually only did so at night or in the early hours of the morning. As a result, all of the woman's neighbors, near and far, had moved out. The woman could only move if she sold her land at a steep loss, which she couldn't afford to do. Naturally, it would behoove the detective and her assistant to arrive when the oni would likely be active. It was somewhat convenient that there was a decent drive between the detective's office and where the client lived.

"Assistant," slurred the detective. It was clear to Satoshi that, as she habitually did, the detective had taken to drinking to inure herself against the terror of the supernatural.

"Yes, detective?" Satoshi asked. Detective Yamamoto reached out and pressed her car keys into his hand. Satoshi's eyes widened. Truly, this indicated that Detective Yamamoto was either absolutely sloshed or terrified, and that Satoshi had earned the degree of trust that she deeemed worthy of driving her precious car. Precious, of course, was not a word Satoshi would use to describe her car, but she certainly valued it, however bizarre it might seem to him.

"Thank you, detective," said Satoshi, and he felt surprised at the degree of sincerity in his own voice as he responded.

Satoshi was by no means a good driver, but he was leaps and bounds better than the detective. As a result, Satoshi could afford to enjoy the drive and surroundings instead of fearing for his life. Of course, he took special care to ensure that nothing happened to the detective's car, but given that he didn't drive like a maniac and their destination lie down largely empty country roads, he had little to worry about.

~~~

The neighborhood appeared exactly as the client described it. It was rural, and the houses were spread quite far apart, with the nearest being maybe an acre away. Also true to what the client said, all but one house had been sold in the recent past, as evidenced by the signs they had passed along the way. The oldest sign Satoshi could find was a mere three weeks old.

"What do you make of this, detective?" Satoshi pointed out the various 'sold' signs. The sign he pointed to was particularly odious and gaudy. The bright text, no doubt intended to be eye-catching, instead bordered on painful to look at. Under the text was a picture of a rather sleazy looking gentleman, who Satoshi inferred was the realtor in question. Satoshi glanced around and as far as he could tell, all of the houses that had signs all had signs from the same realtor. Detective Yamamoto took a moment to look from sign to sign. She frowned and squinted as if she struggled to read the text on the signs. Satoshi coughed to clear his throat. "Well, let's go check in with the client. Maybe she'll have more information about where to look."

Detective Yamamoto nodded and the pair of them made for the address the woman had supplied them with. Satoshi took the initiative and knocked on the door. There was a pause and then the sound of heavy bolts being unlocked before the door creaked open. The woman from before quickly invited them inside and shut the door behind them, as if they might be followed.

"Good evening," said Satoshi. The woman returned his greeting, albeit sullenly. "So, where should we begin looking for the oni?" Both the woman and Detective Yamamoto flinched at the mention of the creature, but the woman recovered marginally faster.

"It should appear any time now. It usually comes from over the hill in that direction." The woman pointed towards the east-facing wall of her house.
"Then we had better go check it out. Are you ready detective?" asked Satoshi. Detective Yamamoto clutched her hand in front of her chest and shook her head 'no' desperately.

Fortunately, Satoshi thought to himself, I planned for this.

"Come on , detective. We need to go investigate the oni." Satoshi affected what he intended to be a nurturing tone of voice. Again, the detective remained recalcitrant and rooted to the spot.

"I can't do it. It's too scary." Detective Yamamoto whined. Satoshi turned and started rummaging through his backpack.

"Would you do it for a beer?" he asked. He produced a can that he had previously taken from the detective's refrigerator. He held it out invitingly, but just out of reach so that the detective would have to take a step closer to him, and subsequently to the oni to get it. Her expression wavered. She seemed tempted but not totally won over.

"N-no," replied the detective, but she sounded unsure. Satoshi turned again to his backpack.

"Would you do it for two beers?" He now held a can in each hand. Detective Yamamoto's eyes shifted between the two cans and the door behind Satoshi. After a tense few seconds as she struggled internally, she caved and stepped forward to take the two cans from Satoshi. Without hesitation, she cracked open the first can and gulped it greedily. She sighed in contentment after finishing the first can and sipped more sedately at the second.

"Ready?" Satoshi asked. Resigned to her fate, Detective Yamamoto nodded.

"Be careful!" said the woman as Satoshi opened the door.

"We will," said Satoshi, accompanying his words with a confident smile. In truth, he didn't feel nearly as confident as he was trying to project, but someone had to take the lead.

As a passing thought, Satoshi found it remarkable just how dark a rural neighborhood like this got at nighttime. If he hadn't planned ahead and brought a flashlight for both himself and the detective, he doubted he would be able to see his hand if it were right in front of his face.

"What do you say, detective: should we split up and look for clues?"

"Assistant!" Yamamoto screeched. She flailed her arms and, due to the flashlight she was holding, illuminated the clouds overhead. It was probably for the best that the darkness covered everything so totally, as Satoshi doubted he could prevent the trace of a smug grin from crossing his face.

 "Just joking, don't worry," he said, although he doubted it would actually mollify the detective. Satoshi started walking in the direction of the hill the client had mentioned, and to his complete lack of surprise Detective Yamamoto had practically glued herself to him. On more than one occasion the pair of them stumbled and nearly tripped over each other as the detective's eagerness not to be alone caused her to step on the backs of Satoshi's heels. As they approached the hill, Satoshi held out his arm to stop the detective. She bumped into his arm and gave a startled yelp.