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and this marks the end of the third chapter. /o/ more plot? yes, more plot.

the rest of what I have translated so far still needs editing, and I really really need to work on NaNo, so I'll probably move over to mainly GakuPuri for a while (as I have a ton of that done). so yeah. I'll try to do more Naoto but it won't be for a while, since I need to finish editing in time to make the CreateSpace deadline. then I'm possibly doing Camp next month soooo. anyway, just fyi, most of my translations are moving over here for better organization and stuff! so yeah. I'll still put stuff here for the next couple months though.


Persona x Detective Naoto
White and Black
cont.

<span id="test34399731">. . .</span><br/><div id="post34399731" style="display:none; margin-right:75px;">
April 1 Yagokoro Suburbs Iwato Apartments

After the phone call from Touko-san, I rode atop Sousei-san, who had transformed into a bike, to the apartment building where Miyuki Midorikawa’s body had been found.

It took twenty minutes to reach the suburbs from the station. We left the back roads where the foliage grew thickly and ran at full speed along the country roads, and our destination was built fruitlessly in the middle of an empty lot scattered sparsely with private houses.

It may have been because there was no artificial light in the surroundings. The stars shone dazzlingly bright in the night sky, and the large, round moon was so pale it was unsettling.

An abandoned building – that was my first impression of Iwato Apartments.

It was an apartment building with five floors, deserted with no sign of being lived in, and it seemed there was no electricity and no outside lighting. If it weren’t for the headlights of the police vehicles and the balloon lights of the on-site investigators, it would have been completely dark.

I proceeded by taking careful steps among the freely growing weeds, and we silently faced the eroded concrete outer walls and exposed, rusted iron bars peeking through here and there. The entire building was eerie and could only be likened to a giant corpse.

This was something I heard from the young uniformed policeman near the entrance to the scene, but it seemed the reason for the destruction in the neighborhood of the Iwato Apartments was because of a setback in the plans to construct a new town. It seemed that, as a result of the bankruptcy of the big construction company that had been endorsing and pushing the plan forward, Iwato Apartments had been left halfway demolished for a long time.

This place was relatively well-known among the Yagokoro townspeople as a “test of courage spot”, and when summer came around, it seemed a fair number of young people came here. Right now it was out of season, but in the end the first to find the body of “Miyuki Midorikawa” was a couple that had come for the test of courage rather than an investigation.

Touko-san was absent. That was because the Yagokoro police had been called out for the incident in the pleasure district behind the Yagokoro train station.

Just as Touko-san had said before, when I gave her name: “Oh, from Yagokoro. I heard about you,” and the detective from the Ashihara police led me to the place where the body had been found.

The body had been found inside the first floor entrance. At the place of its discovery, a forensics investigation had already begun, and they strongly emphasized, “Don’t disturb the scene.”

It was not my first time at the scene of a murder. However, when there was a corpse in front of me, words still failed me. At most, I was a detective. It was not my intention to be able to protect everything in the world. Be that as it may, I was a detective. Even so, I would not say that I wasn’t tormented by my powerlessness, wondering if there was no way I could have protected her.

When I asked the nearest young, male detective, it seemed from the type of clothing, the type of body, and the personal belongings that there was no doubt the corpse was that of “Miyuki Midorikawa”.

It seemed she had been dead for nearly two weeks. The cause of death was blood loss from a bullet wound from a handgun. She had been shot a total of eight times. One particular shot to the neck had been the fatal wound. The shadows around the body were the traces of the pool of blood. During those two weeks, the blood had dried, dyed the concrete, and changed to black dust.

“...So that’s how it was.”

At the words “for two weeks”, I procured one piece of supporting evidence. The truth was that the period in which Kyouhei Hioka went missing, the period in which Miyuki Midorikawa went missing, and the body’s time of death were all incidents that had occurred about two weeks ago, and that could not be simple coincidence.

“Do you know the type of handgun that was used?”

I asked that quietly, and the expressions of the head forensics investigator and the nearby detectives all clouded simultaneously. That was a clear answer.

“It was a Sig Sauer P230, wasn’t it?”

“...Yeah.” An aged detective nodded gloomily.

From the circumstantial evidence, the scene was filled with the atmosphere of “The suspect may have been Kyouhei Hioka.”

In my mind’s eye appeared Kyouhei Hioka’s charming smile, childlike for his age, that I had seen just before coming to the scene. I could easily imagine that the adoration his colleagues felt for him went beyond just a senpai-kouhai relationship.

“We can’t know yet without checking the rifling marks. It’s not like it’s absolutely sure that ‘Kyouhei’ did it...”

The aged detective immediately denied, but his words were weak. It was a shame, but my reasoning was slowly becoming more likely.

“Would any of you happen to know the reason for Kyouhei Hioka’s disappearance?”

I posed a question that went even further, and:

“Sorry, Detective Prince. That incident is our problem. An outsider should refrain from sticking their neck into it any further.”

I was strongly refused. “...Please excuse me.” I bowed to the people around me and headed for Sousei-san, who was loitering near the wall, looking bored.

“That was over pretty fast, wasn’t it?”

“I understand how they feel.”

I wondered if it was because they had this so-called police dignity. It may also have been their frustration regarding one of their colleagues.

“It’s annoying just to look at. From where I stand, those ‘bonds’ humans have are a pain.”

“They aren’t my strong point either. I simply understand that society is an aggregation of people, and I also know that humans can by no means live alone.”

The connections between people were sometimes troublesome and it was much more comfortable to be alone. However, I knew through experience that things that were impossible alone became possible if one could join hands with someone.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say,” Sousei-san said in a teasing tone, and, “You know too, don’t you, Sousei-san? With my Persona, you were able to do things you couldn’t manage alone,” I answered with a wry smile.

“Speaking of which, it’s our turn. There is undoubtedly treasure sleeping in this place.”

“Treasure, huh. That treasure’s gotta be rusted iron. I like it better sparkling, you know?”

“For that reason. When we’ve solved everything about the case, the dazzling treasure of truth will be in our hands.”

“Fine. Feels like I’m being tricked, but it’s not like I’ve got any other choice, so I’ll go along with you.”

That I deliberately cracked jokes was because I could not help but feel that we were about to do an unsavory deed, similar to digging up a grave.

“Okay. Let’s try it out. Naoto, power up my Tsukuyomi well.”

“That goes without saying.”

However, I knew very well that this was something only we could do. We removed ourselves to the shadow of a pillar several meters away from crime scene investigators so that our Personas would not be seen.

In that way, at the murder scene – we came to detect the conversation Miyuki Midorikawa had in the moments just before her death.


“...Haa... Haa... P-please... I won’t run away anymore, so... I’ll tell you... The things I was hiding... I’ll tell you everything, so... Please... D-don’t shoot me... Please...”

“...Just like you said, I’m... “Uzume”... Kaoru Hioka... san... The one who wrote those things on the Midnight Site about her was also me...”

“B-but, I didn’t think she would die! That girl... K-Kaoru-san was... She was getting along well with Shirou, and I absolutely couldn’t forgive that... So I thought, I would her a hard time, a little... I didn’t really mean it... So I put a bunch of half-truths...”

“I-It’s not my fault! That’s right! I only wrote those things! After that I only watched! They were manipulated by lies! The ones who drove her into a corner! That was everyone else!”

“H-hey! I talked, right! Put that down! Are you listening to me? Say something! Why me! Why do you have to make me suffer! It’s the Midnight Site’s fault that girl died! And anyway she was hit by a train! She shouldn’t have just gone and fallen from the platform! You reap what you sow! Ah–––––––”


“–Well, that’s all,” Sousei-san gazed at the electric marquee on which the words had paused and muttered.

A deep sigh escaped me. The situation at that time had been picked up and conveyed through the sense of realism in the lines left behind. It weighed heavily in my heart.

My eyelids fell closed and I leaned my back against the concrete wall. From the contents of the conversation, I could put the events in order.

Miyuki Midorikawa had been running from someone. The mysterious person possessed a gun and had cornered her in the entrance hall. In the end, eight bullets had been fired at her.

“So, was there some valuable treasure buried in there?”

“...Yes. The tip of a crown is poking out of the earth.”

I was quietly excited that we had found a clue to the disappearance case.

“From the handgun that was used and the number of shots in the body, and the circumstantial evidence of two weeks having passed since death, along with Miyuki Midorikawa’s past conversation, the one who killed her – there is a high probability that it was the one who disappeared those two weeks ago, Kyouhei Hioka.”

After stroking his chin once, Sousei-san muttered.

“...I see, hm – so that’s how it is. The next important thing becomes Kyouhei Hioka’s motive for murdering Miyuki Midorikawa, right?”

“Of course, the answer as to his motive is recorded in the past conversation.”

Sousei-san stared into my eyes suspiciously. “Then let’s review the past conversation once again.” I had Sousei-san return the past conversation to the beginning and began to clarify.

“To avoid confusion, we’ll put aside the latter half of the conversation, but we can deduce from the first half that the other was her social superior, because Miyuki Midorikawa put in great effort to use a more polite speech style. In addition, the fact that Miyuki Midorikawa panicked when it came to Kaoru Hioka and added ‘san’ to her name also becomes a crucial factor.”

The part where she had started by saying “that girl” and corrected it to “Kaoru-san” carried the same kind of meaning.

“In other words, wouldn’t that be because the person who possessed the gun was – a close relative of Kaoru Hioka?”

“...You mean Kyouhei Hioka?”

“Yes. Kyouhei Hioka’s greatest motive to murder Miyuki Midorikawa was his younger sister, Kaoru Hioka.”

My gaze naturally drifted to where the police and inspectors were investigating the scene. The conclusion I had derived was cruel when I considered their feelings.

“I think this is ‘Kyouhei Hioka’s revenge tragedy’.”

From his appearance in the photo, I could not see him as a person who would do this cold-hearted deed, but from the circumstances, I could only think that this was Kyouhei Hioka’s crime.

“...Hoh. So you’re saying that Kyouhei Hioka taking a handgun and time bombs and disappearing, it was all so he could kill Miyuki Midorikawa?”

“To put it bluntly.”

I nodded slightly.

“Now, please remember one thing from Kaoru Hioka’s lingering conversation on the school rooftop. She was worried about slander on the Internet, wasn’t she? At that time, the ‘Midnight Site’ she mentioned was already the main culprit dragging her down to Hell.”

“...Midnight Site?”

I explained the matter of the Midnight Site that I had investigated on the computer at the station to Sousei-san.

“...Huh? What’s that about? I mean, those Togakushi and those guys who use the site, are they okay in the head?”

Sousei-san spat out as if amazed.

“So that gloomy site is popular on the Internet... You humans’ society is focused on death. Is it the stress? It’s the stress, right? You know, it’s better if you guys lived by being more carefree.”

I allowed myself a wry smile. I didn’t dare say, “It would be better if you lived by fussing a bit more, Sousei-san.” The world was not as simple as Sousei-san thought, but I also believed people should be able to live as he said.

“In any case, the name of the Midnight Site also appeared in Miyuki Midorikawa’s past conversation. And also, that name ‘Uzume’. That name is consistent with of one of the members of the ‘Five Togakushi Judges’.”

From the past conversation, it became clear that Miyuki Midorikawa was one of the members whose age and gender and everything else was unknown. It could be said that this was a groundbreaking development.

“Miyuki Midorikawa’s past conversation also verified that the slander concerning Kaoru Hioka consisted of ‘unfounded rumors’.”

“What kind of slander was it exactly?”

Kaoru Hioka’s type of sin, her supposed relationships with men, was written on the Midnight Site. If one swallowed what had been written, Kaoru Hioka was made out to be an extraordinarily “delinquent and degenerate woman”.

“...I’m reluctant to say it. If you would like to know the details, please take a quick look at the Midnight Site yourself. But do so at your own risk.”

I shook my head, trying to clear it of the depressing memories I had suddenly recalled.

“From seeing your reaction, Naoto, it looks like I’d be better off not knowing.” Sousei-san gave a snort of laughter.

“A wise decision.”

I ducked my head just once, recovered my composure, and continued.

“Here is a rough chronological sketch of what happened concerning Kaoru Hioka’s death. Kaoru Hioka was exposed to unfounded slander, both on the Internet and at school. The cause was that her name had appeared on the ‘Midnight Site’. Finally, she died in a train accident.”

As he stroked his chin with his fingertips, Sousei-san nodded repeatedly, as if he was digesting the information.

“In truth, it’s uncertain whether it was an accident or suicide, but it’s undeniable that Kaoru Hioka was emotionally driven into a corner by the slander that originated on the ‘Midnight Site’.”

“So you mean because Kyouhei Hioka knows the truth, he’s carrying out a revenge tragedy?”

“...Yes. What you should take notice of is the number, ‘eight times’, that the victim was shot. It’s true that the Sig Sauer P230 has low lethality, but as you can imagine, there would have been no need for eight shots. Eight shots is the same as the Sig Sauer P230’s maximum number of rounds...”

The coldhearted scene played in my mind of Kyouhei Hioka silently and repeatedly pulling the trigger of the handgun aimed at Miyuki Midorikawa, who was groveling on the floor, until it reached its limit.

Most likely, even after the handgun had discharged eight shots and become empty, he had continued to pull the trigger obsessively. That man who had appeared good, Kyouhei Hioka, had gone that far. I could only think he had a deep grudge against his opponent.

“–Kyouhei Hioka reached the ‘Midnight Site’ that had driven his younger sister to die, and finally detained the perpetrator, Miyuki Midorikawa, and exacted his revenge on her.”

Sousei-san showed a complicated expression.

“...Even so, why is Kyouhei Hioka’s revenge tragedy now, when half a year’s passed since his sister Kaoru Hioka died? I kind of feel like that’s a pretty long gap there?”

“Even if there’s another side to the story, it’s an investigation he himself was conducting, so I believe timing and patience must have been necessary. Furthermore, he may have been stupefied by the shock of losing his sister...”

In cases I had come across as a detective, I had up until now come to see countless relatives of victims experience a great, crippling despondency at the loss of everyday life.

“In addition, I think ‘the peculiarities of net crimes’ also exist.”

“...Peculiarities, huh. You mean how you don’t know who wrote anything on the Internet because of widespread anonymity?”

“No. The ability to at least confirm the person who wrote it is has long been trivial for the police. When you compare the anti-cyber crime countermeasures of each prefecture’s police, led by the Toyko police, to how they were long ago, a surprising amount of progress has been made. Sousei-san, It’s likely that you have also seen incidents on the news involving the confirmation and apprehension of people who wrote advance notices of murder on anonymous bulletin boards with countless numbers of users.”

“...That’s true. Then what was the problem?”

“A problem of time. It’s different from people in town clamoring about someone killing someone else. Since the crime used the Internet as an intermediary, apprehending the criminal takes time no matter how you look at it. That would be the case even if he’s already established proof of the crime.”

More than a technical problem or anything else, the legal process would from then on be handled as a type of cyber crime.

“Naturally, the police have also marked the ‘Five Togakushi Judges’ as a dangerous group. However, they are not aware of the particulars of the people involved.”

“Oi oi, Naoto. Isn’t that a bit off-topic? Weren’t you just saying a second ago that ‘The ability to at least confirm the person who wrote it is has long been trivial for the police’?”

“Yes. I did say that. However, that is if the other is ‘a normal opponent’. Somehow it seems that a brilliant hacker is among the members of the ‘Five Togakushi Judges’, and even using the Tokyo police’s Anti-Cyber Crime Team, it seems they’re being pressured and fighting a difficult battle.”

Internationally, countries had openly declared war against individual skilled hackers and groups of hackers, who at present were hijacking corporate webpages, and were not suppressing the traces of cyber-terrorism. However, the situation was such that they could not control those thought of as hackers.

“What’s that about. It’s a miracle that Kyouhei Hioka managed to reach Miyuki Midorikawa with his own investigation without having special techniques like the Anti-Cyber Crime Team or special abilities like us... No, you could call it tenacity.”

“...Tenacity, huh. Well, there’s no way for us to know.”

Sousei-san muttered as he looked up at the heavens full of stars. It was a surprising reaction. I had thought he would simply dismiss it as worthless.

“Let’s be clear on what we’ll need to do starting tomorrow. First is a continuation of today’s work. Let’s put all our power into exhaustively going over the school, which we left unfinished, and detecting the past conversations. That’s because Miyuki Midorikawa’s past conversations will ‘definitely’ be there.”

Miyuki Midorikawa’s death was unfortunate, but with Sousei-san’s Persona, we would be able to shed some light on her past conversations that we could detect.

“Do we just leave aside Kyouhei Hioka? Since we’re going after the disappearance case, he’s someone we really can’t ignore, right?”

"It's true that we can’t ignore him; Kyouhei Hioka is an important person, though we’re putting him aside in our investigation for now."

The connection between Kyouhei Hioka and Miyuki Midorikawa had been verified. We would have to consider the relation with the other person who had disappeared, Shirou Konno.

“First of all, let’s prioritize the things that only we can do. The search for Kyouhei Hioka is their and Touko-san’s area.”

I looked on from afar as the detectives continued their investigation of the crime scene. From the behavior of the detective colleagues earlier, it would be better for us outsiders to restrain ourselves. It was just that I wanted to know in more detail about Kyouhei Hioka’s temperament.

“Kyouhei Hioka hasn’t been caught even though that Touko’s chasing after him, so it’s gotta be a pretty big deal. I’m not being sarcastic, I really mean it.”

I felt the same way as Sousei-san. I also knew Touko-san’s capability well.

“It’s because Kyouhei Hioka is also a detective. It may be that he has the experience and skills to evade a net. He could be called a formidable opponent just from his knowledge of the internal affairs of the police.”

“Kyouhei Hioka wants to not get caught that much? He killed Miyuki Midorikawa and carried out his little sister’s revenge without any problems. Even though he would save us some time if he was satisfied and just let himself get caught by the police’s rope.”

Sousei-san commented in an unimpressed manner as he stared at the moon in the night sky with an unfocused gaze.

“...That is unlikely.” I shook my head immediately. “There must be a reason that he will not let himself be caught.”

“...Like what?”

“I think – it’s because Kyouhei Hioka’s revenge tragedy has only just begun.”

Sousei-san looked at me with round eyes.

“Right before he killed Miyuki Midorikawa, there was a turbulent moment when he received a confession from her that she was ‘Uzume’, one of the members of the ‘Five Togakushi Judges’. That Kyouhei Hioka still continues to flee may be because he intends to exact revenge on all five members of the ‘Five Togakushi Judges’.”

It was suffocating to imagine that the feelings of Kyouhei Hioka, a policeman, went so far that he was able to commit murder. Repentance, hatred, despair: whichever it was, there was clearly a dreadful resolve in Kyouhei Hioka’s actions.

“So? Is Kyouhei Hioka figuring out anyone who’s left from the other four of the ‘Five Togakushi Judges’?”

“...I don’t know that much. I simply think that Kyouhei Hioka has managed to get closer to the ‘Five Togakushi Judges’ than the police or us.”

“This has turned into a pretty gruesome story. Whether the police can catch him first or Kyouhei Hioka shoots and kills the other four first: this is really a survival game!”

The crime scene investigators turned cold eyes on Sousei-san, whose laughter was echoing in the entrance.

“You’re being indiscreet, Sousei-san.”

In an instant, I pulled Sousei-san’s clothing with my fingertips and gave a small bow to the faraway investigators.

“Huh? You’re saying I shouldn’t laugh here? Even if the ‘Five Togakushi Judges’ that’re being targeted all die without a single one left, I think they deserve it. I’m cheering on Kyouhei Hioka, you know?”

“That way of thinking is mistaken.”

I objected in a strong tone.

“Geez, I don’t get you! I’m asking you! Can you say that even when he’s after bastards who aren’t worth saving?”

I squarely met Sousei-san’s strong-willed gaze as he scowled.

“That’s a foolish question.”

I did not hesitate.

“What we should do is dispel the mysteries and expose the truth of the case. It is not our place to judge the assailant.”

Of course, if in the end I could be able to be of use to many people and save people’s lives, there would be nothing that would make me happier.

“I really don’t get you at all. It being our place or our duty, that stuff’s too complicated. I don’t understand the structure of human society. It’s ‘cause I’m a ‘robot’!”

I was taken aback by the word “robot” which flew out of Sousei-san’s mouth.

Yes, he was not human. I remembered that. Since the first time I had met and confronted the existence known as Sousei Kurogami, I had intentionally made an effort not to classify him as a robot or as a person.

As for the reason, it was because my current self could not possibly derive a precise answer for the “definition of a human”.

I, who thought that it was inefficient to devote time to things I did not understand, had immediately given up pursuing what he was. I needed to concentrate everything on the case in front of me and had come to the decision that his issue would be settled with time. I had lost sight of the fact that Sousei Kurogami, who expressed plenty of emotion and used words skillfully along with having a terribly human-like personality, was a robot.

I gazed at Sousei-san. For what reason was he born, what kind of moments had he gone through, with what goal did he live? In addition, the significance of his Persona he held...

“...What? Got any complaints?”

“...Ah, no.”

I shook my head. Once again, I had begun to feel anxious about the existence called Sousei Kurogami.

“...Don’t worry and let’s cooperate on the case investigation. I’m saying don’t care what I think. Anyway, once you and I wrap up this case, that’s the end of our relationship.”

“...Haa.” I gave a half-hearted reply.

As to why, he had the same brazen demeanor as always, but Sousei-san’s gaze seemed lonely as he looked up at the starry sky.</div>