Ren Kuroda checked his clothes once more, made sure there were no obvious slips, and then returned to his seat at the venue.
"Ren, where'd you disappear off to for so long?" Ran Mouri tilted her head, a little puzzled.
"Ran? Oh—that. Ran into someone I knew and ended up talking longer than I meant to," Ren shrugged, offering a casual excuse before steering the conversation elsewhere. "So — how's it going out there now?"
The mention of the match snapped Ran fully awake. Her eyes brightened. "Mizuno made it through to the grand finals! Harada and Takeda just finished — Harada won by three points!"
"Oh, perfect timing then. I'm back just in time," Ren said offhand. "I'd put my money on Mizuno for the title. Guy's got long legs."
"You didn't even watch the match — you don't know how brutal Harada's offense is! I bet on him!" Ran insisted.
"He's all forearms and short legs. No way," Ren dismissed with a single line. He didn't actually care who won; anything that pulled Ran's attention onto the match was fine with him.
"Then let's watch!" Ran declared, giddy and entirely absorbed by the event.
When Harada did take the match, she whooped with joy, certain her instincts were superior to Ren's. Ren could only grumble that he'd misread it.
They got back to the Mouri Detective Agency well past ten at night. For adults the night was just getting going; for high-schoolers like Ran, it was time to head home.
At the steps under the agency's sign, Ren said, "I'll skip going up. You get home and rest early, okay?"
"Okay… Thanks for bringing me to watch the match, Ren!" Ran flashed a sweet smile in thanks.
"If you really want to thank me, then win the championship — don't let what I did go to waste." He waved goodbye and turned to leave.
"I will! I'll definitely win!" Ran promised, humming a tune as she hopped up the steps.
——————————————————————————————————————
Homicide scene.
Inspector Megure Jūzō had cordoned off the road for the time being. He kept frowning at the charred-out wreck and didn't stop scowling.
Detective Takagi Wataru jogged up. "Inspector, we've ID'd the three victims. Same as the other three who were shot earlier — all gang members."
"Another gang hit, huh." Megure sighed and already labeled it. "Why do they have to pick busy spots to kill people? Couldn't they do it somewhere more secluded? Always causing trouble for everybody."
At that moment, Officer Sato Miwako came back carrying the rocket-propelled grenade launcher, practically buzzing with excitement. "Inspector! We found the weapon the bandit used… I've never seen this kind of launcher before."
"Me neither… Sato, can I… touch it?" Takagi's eyes lit up — he was clearly fascinated.
"Of course." Sato handed the launcher over.
"Ah… so that's how it feels." Takagi took it in both hands and clicked his tongue. "It's heavier than it looks… this is where the round goes, right? Let me try."
He hoisted the RPG onto his shoulder and, copying what he'd seen on TV, began aiming.
Megure, exasperated, snapped, "What do you two think you're doing? That's evidence — it's a deadly weapon, not a toy. Give it here."
"R-right, sorry." Takagi, chastened, handed the launcher to Megure without further protest.
Megure took the RPG expressionlessly, glanced around, shouldered it, and muttered, "I see now. So this is how the perp carried out the attack… it even has a sight."
Takagi piped up, "Inspector, if you fire it like that the recoil will be huge. On TV they always kneel partway and brace."
"Is that so?" Megure half-kneeling to test it out.
Sato and the others watched the two of them starting to play and were left speechless.
At that moment traffic cop Miyamoto Yumi came over, taking in the scene. "Miwako, is that really how detectives at your unit handle evidence?"
"What is there to investigate?" Sato shot back.
Miyamoto glanced at the scene again and realized Sato had a point. The case was unusually straightforward: victims identified, cause and method of death clear, the weapon recovered. The only task left was finding the bandit known as Azou.
"This case doesn't even belong to our First Investigation Unit," Sato continued. "When the Organized Crime Division gets here, we're out."
"That's true," Miyamoto said with a knowing nod. There was no point in fussing — the Organized Crime people would take over and they might as well loaf until then.
"Hey, I heard the bandit opened fire at you traffic cops. You alright?" Sato asked with a sharper tone of concern.
"No problem! Would I just stand here and chat with you if I was hurt?" Miyamoto laughed and waved it off. "He only blew out our tires… that guy's aim is no joke."
"That's a relief." Sato stepped closer and lowered her voice, serious. "Next time you run into something like this, don't go charging forward, okay? The guy even has an RPG. If he gets cornered…" She shot a glance at the destroyed car and shivered.
"Relax. I'm not risking my life for a measly monthly salary," Miyamoto said, nodding to reassure her.
.......................................
The next morning.
On his way to school, Ren checked the news on his phone.
As expected, every major outlet had run the story about his heroic exploits last night.
[SHOCKING! Red-Masked Man Kills in Broad Daylight!!][Members of the Nizaka Gang Shot Dead — Mob Warfare Erupts Again!][Outskirts of Mihana: Red-Masked Man Uses RPG to Blow Up Car!][Police Announce Reward for Red-Masked Man — Codename: Bandit Azou!]
He'd acted right out in the open with a crowd of witnesses. He'd not only grabbed the cash — he'd torched the goods as well.
Naturally, that stirred anger on all sides.
The police, squeezed from all directions, couldn't tamp down the public heat and had to hold a press briefing and slap down heavy criticism — and put up a reward.
Of course, this wasn't the first time something like this had happened; such gestures rarely produced results.
Finished with the news, Ren turned to the 2ch-style forum to see what people were saying.
[I saw it with my own eyes! That Bandit Azou just straight-up killed someone!][They were gang members — not my problem. Honestly… serves them right.][How can you be sure he only kills gangsters? Maybe he's taken out innocents you didn't see.][Lets set that aside… how the hell did that guy get an RPG? What are the cops even doing?][Right? A bunch of tax-eating slugs — what can you expect? Real detective work's gotta be left to Kudo Shin'ichi, apparently.][Maybe we should just hand the taxes over to Kudo Shin'ichi then.][Japan's as good as gone! This country's done for!!!]