Shioko's Meeting with Michie

Commissioner Tokifusa was on the receiving end of a soft and cultured yet immensely punishing reaming from the Secretary of the PAP, Nobusawa Michie. After Watase Ichibei's ****, the PAP was quickly being reorganised under her leadership as the next party candidate, and while some would grumble at having to follow a woman, no one else in the party measured up to the charisma and talent Ichibei possessed.

And right now, Michie was making doubly sure Tokifusa understood the consequences of trying to meddle with the investigation.

"But you don't understand, this is much too sensitive of a case for ordinary police detectives to handle!" Tokifusa pleaded desperately, "And we've also seen an increased number of **** threats aimed at both our department and anyone else trying to investigate the matter! If something goes wrong, our heads are up for the firing squad!"

Tokifusa may be making hollow excuses, but he was no fool, having survived this long in the political games of the law enforcement. He was not wrong either; one wrong step, and not only would the reputation of the police department be tarnished, the PAP may also be labelled incompetent for failing to handle matters on their end. Worse, they could also be implicated for staging the ****, and when that happened, those involved would try to deflect responsibility and find scapegoats to pin the blame on.

"And that is exactly why we must show that we are dedicated to investigating this case, Tokifusa," Michie pointed out, "If they find out we're doing nothing because of political pressure, they'll see us as weak and incompetent, having bowed to pressure from unknown killers. That wouldn't reflect well on the TMPD, would it?"

Tokifusa bit his lip, reluctantly seeing his point.

"Even so..."

"It's not just my party pressuring us to solve this case, you know," Michie said, "Several other political parties both major and minor are demanding that the case be definitively solved, because otherwise their politicians will not dare campaign on fear of ****. If you want to convince them otherwise, be my guest."

And there was nothing Tokifusa could do; no one wanted this sort of case to go unsolved, and as a nation that prided itself on having a highly competent and diligent police ****, failure would make them the laughingstock of the world.

"So you understand me, Tokifusa?" Michie said softly, a polite and welcoming smile on her face, "If I find out that there is any meddling in the investigation again, you can be certain of the... consequences. And not just from my party, but others as well."

"I... understand..." Tokifusa said, voice hoarse and throaty like a pig's, "The Police Department will continue the investigation, and we will give the officers days off to be assigned on a by-need basis."

Michie smiled in approval, "Glad we understand each other. Now then, if you excuse me, I need to go for a meeting."

Tokifusa despised being ordered around by the likes of her, but she was highly connected and had significantly powerful allies in both the TMPD and in other government institutions, including the Ministry of Public Security and the Inspector-General of Tokyo, not to mention other allies in Interpol and among the rich elite families.

So long as she was in the picture, no one, not even Tokifusa's allies, could move a muscle, and they were **** to lie low.

Michie smirked at the hunched form of Tokifusa, paying the insignificant pig no heed as she dialed a new number.

"Oshima Shioko speaking," She heard on the phone.

"Michie here, I've just finished my meeting with the Commissioner of your department," She said, "Wait for me at the parking lot, we'll take my car."

"I'm on my way," Said Shioko.

And the line went dead.

Soon, Nobusawa Michie found Shioko waiting for her at the drop-off point of the front entrance, a black limousine pulling up and a crisp-dressed man stepping out and holding the door open.

"Madams," He gestured to the inside of the limousine.

"Come, Shioko," Michie said.

The two of them got into the limousine, and they went off to the whispers of on-duty officers.

Inside the limo, Shioko asked, "Thank you for arranging the car, Michie-san, but can I ask where we're going?"

"Nowhere in particular," Michie answered, "Rather, the limo is where we will discuss the investigation."

"Is it because of potential eavesdroppers?" Asked Shioko.

"That's right. Too many eyes and ears are on this investigation right now, and while I made sure to reign in Tokifusa, I can't say for sure if he won't try to retaliate or get his allies to interfere," Michie explained, "The car will give us the privacy we need."

"I see," Shioko nodded, "What of the people on your end, Michie-san?"

Michie exhaled heavily through his nose, "Aside from a few crooks trying to pressure me to drop the investigation, not much. We're fighting against well-entrenched and highly influential people who've more than a few reasons to see my mentor's investigation go cold."

Shioko slowly nodded, then said, "My people have been asking around the park, questioning if anyone's seen anything suspicious or had their uniforms switched out."

"And?" Asked Michie.

"Not much on my end, either," Shioko shook her head, "Although from the looks of it, no one was bribed; a few cleaner uniforms were stolen and found discarded, before being returned to the original owners. What's more, there was no weapon used at the scene, only a few hits that suggested strong punches or a boot slamming to his head, or both."

"So they used someone strong enough to kill without a weapon. Helps cover their tracks on a weapons search, too," Michie nodded, "Although I think they might have overplayed their hand a little."

"Oh? How so?" Questioned Shioko.

"You see, they might have managed to avoid a weapon's search, but I've managed to bribe a few parties interested in selling out our culprit," Michie smiled, "All I needed to do was convince them of the benefits of being on the righteous side."

Shioko felt a bead of sweat drop down her forehead.

"And who's the fish that took the bait, Michie-san?" She asked.

Michie smiled, "Tokifusa's elder brother, Tokihiro."

"What?" Shioko muttered in wide-eyed surprise, "The Commissioner's brother?"

"Yes, and it seems he has a bone to pick with whoever orchestrated my mentor's ****," Michie answered, "He is a senior-ranking member of the Liberal People's Party (LPP), and has readily agreed to cooperate with our investigation no matter the cost."

"No matter the cost?" Shioko inquired, "Does he have a personal stake in this matter?"

"You could say that," Michie nodded, her smile fading, "According to him, he believes the same people who had my mentor murdered had his only son murdered a few years back."

Shioko's eyes were wide open, least expecting such a heavy answer.

"What's the story about Tokihiro's son?" Shioko slowly asked.

Michie said, "To give a little background, Tokihiro and his son had a huge falling out due to him disagreeing on how they should carry the party forward, to help the LPP gain an advantage over other parties and win greater support for their cause. Along the way, Tokihiro's son, Youshiro, got involved with investigations targeting suspicious individuals involved in sex trafficking. Needless to say... he was likely silenced."

"And Tokihiro?" Asked Shioko.

"He retired from politics and public life after the **** of his son," Said Michie, "Since then, he's focused his energy on helping to support his daughter-in-law and three grandchildren."

"How was Youshiro murdered? Blunt **** trauma to the head?" Shioko inquired further.

"No, it was by strangulation," Michie corrected, "But the **** more or less shared similarities with needed brute strength and circumstances preceding it."

"Hence Tokihiro saw a similarity and reached out to us," Shioko concluded, "This just gets better and better..."

"Welcome to politics," Michie smiled mirthlessly.

"So when do we meet him?" Shioko asked.

"Not today," Michie stated, "It'll only be in three days' time."

"I see," Said Shioko, "Well, I suppose that means I get to enjoy a few days off work; Danjuro's been pestering me to help him with shopping."

Michie laughed softly, "You sound as if you enjoy his company."

"He's always a huge handful, but... I admit, I like seeing his joyful smile whenever he's having fun," Shioko smiled softly, "What of our benefactor? Has he made a move yet?"

"Not yet, but according to him he wants the three proprietors of a suspicious ryokan detained as soon as possible," Michie said, "Apparently, they're the same rapists who accosted you and Danjuro, and his adoptive family's booked a holiday there."

To that, Shioko needed no further explanation.

"Then may I impose on you to dig up all the dirt I need?" She requested.

Michie smiled, "You owe me one for this."

The next day...

The Tachibana Family's eyes were glued to the TV, shock and disbelief on their faces.

"Just this morning, police launched a raid on Ishimoto Ryokan after an anonymous tip-off revealed the proprietors and their staff were guilty of orchestrating sexual **** and **** on no fewer than twelve victims, the most recent one being a female police officer who investigated them for the aforementioned crimes. We cannot reveal her identity due to a gag order to protect her anonymity, but she and the other victims may finally have peace, now that the culprits have been brought to justice. They are set to appear in court for a trial this coming Sunday at 11am..."

"My god, that was the ryokan we were planning to visit," Kyouka muttered, clapping a hand over her mouth, "If we went there..."

No further words needed to be spoken; the Tachibana Family would have been ****, and they would likely keep quiet in order to not burden Yuu, too ashamed of themselves and too worried for his mental health to reveal such a terrible thing to him. This was the catalyst that would sever the bonds between them, and at long last, that terrible future was averted.

You placed a hand on Kyouka's shoulder, offering an expression of love and support, before moving to hug her with all the affection you could muster.

"You could not have known what they were guilty of, none of us could," You gently reassured, "If they had this many victims, it's fair to assume they're extremely good at covering their tracks. At least now, we can all rest assured they will not torment us or anyone else ever again."

"Yes, that's right," Koharu smiled despite her shivering, "Just goes to show there's still good in this world, right?"

Today would be spent comforting the Tachibana Family over a dark future that never came to pass, reaffirming your familial (and romantic) love to the gorgeous women who took Yuu in after the loss of his parents. Yet their backers remained, and so long as they walked free, you doubted the dark future was averted that easily.

And while what you said earlier was technically true, you would not - could not - tell them about the true scale of things beneath the surface, not yet. They were just civilians unaware of the political machinations of this years-long sex trafficking scheme, and the shock of this incident would engrave itself in their minds for months to come.

As a living god, it was child's play to alter their memories, make them forget this whole thing ever happened, let them live in blissful ignorance.

But that was not your purpose or your nature; like it or not, there will always be bad things in life. Life is one huge trial, and only by overcoming the countless hurdles in their way can Humans mature and grow as people.

And then there was this one thought that recently came across your mind: Revealing your true nature.

'Should I reveal it? Should I reveal the fact that I am not truly Ebinuma Yuu, but a living god inhabiting this host body?'

You answered your own question.

'No, they've no reason to believe me, and I've never shown them anything remotely inhuman. Well, maybe except that time with Koharu, but she'll likely just chalk it up to me being surprisingly intimidating.'

And so, you made the decision to retain your anonymity for just a little longer.