Asi Hell

Capítulo 81

Whether it was from enduring the pain or feeling troubled, the injured detective made an expression that was hard to describe.

"Yes—but Kinoshita didn't mention anything."

"Sekiguchi, there's something I'd like to ask you."

Kyogoku-do didn't look at me; he was staring at the kettle beside his pillow when he spoke.

"Birdmouth, you're part of the problem too. Or are you just fed up?"

"Of course not, I want to see this over."

Bird Mouth seems to have become a little stronger than before.

Kyogoku-do turned around and said:

"Please come to the Mimasaka Institute of Modern Medicine. Go now, it might be too late."

"Mimasaka? Why?"

What happened to that company vehicle?

"Well, Mr. Natsuki drove it away..."

"Really? I understand. Wait a moment."

Kyogoku-do stood up and muttered to himself:

"That idiot went too far."

Hearing the news from Toriguchi this morning was a huge blow to me. I felt completely helpless and didn't know what to do. Panicking was useless, but I just couldn't calm down.

In the end, I decided to call Kyogoku-do first; I felt he should know about it. My wife answered the phone and said Kyogoku-do had just set off for Yodobashi to visit Aoki. We quickly followed him.

Aoki's injuries seemed to have healed a lot, but he still felt pain in certain positions. He had really been beaten up.

Kyogoku-do told us to wait a moment, but he hasn't returned even after thirty minutes.

“Kubo is a criminal, without a doubt. Anyone who has been there, to Kubo’s place, knows that. It’s not a place for humans to live, not some kind of den of demons or snakes. You can feel it just by standing there—if you stay in that room, you might even kill those girls yourself. That’s the kind of place it is.”

Although Aoki's description was very vague, one could understand everything just by looking at his face.

That's just the kind of place it is.

Because that room was essentially Kubo himself, Aoki peered into Kubo's inner world.

Everyone has such a place in their heart.

Even I don't want to look at this kind of place.

Moreover, it's about spying on others—

--etc.

That is the Garden of the Collectors.

Aoki recalled the situation at that time.

"I've seen a lot of corpses. But that face, that one face, I'll never forget. Luckily, I didn't know Nanamoto Yoriko when she was alive. If I had—I don't think I would have been able to recover for the time being."

"I have a lot to say," Aoki said with deep feeling. He was a special forces soldier in the war, but his sensibility was quite inconsistent with his background. His youthful appearance, like a puppet, was actually quite masculine once you got used to it. In other words, the simultaneous presence of these two aspects in his appearance was what this man truly looked like.

"If I hadn't caused this mess, the matter would have been resolved long ago, and Kubo wouldn't be dead. You all went to great lengths to guide me through this, and I'm truly ashamed to face you all."

Aoki lowered his head, looking as if he was in great pain in his chest.

Kyogoku-do is back, and he seems to be in a hurry.

"Alright, the pass, and Bird Mouth. Let's finish this off. We can't waste a moment, let's get moving."

"Act quickly, but how should we act?"

"Xia Mujin is waiting outside. I've already spoken to him, so please get in the car quickly."

"You told us to get on the bus, so what about you?!"

"That's a four-seater; I can't fit in. Besides, I have something I need to confirm, and I'll catch up as soon as I'm done. Stop arguing and go!"

Torikochi and I left the room as if we had been kicked out.

"Aoki, I'll be going now. Take care."

My final greeting sounded incredibly foolish.

Natsuki made a dashing entrance.

A black classic suit paired with a red scarf—this man's fashion sense has never been right.

"Hey, Seki and Atori, it's been three days! If you keep dragging your feet, Kyogoku will curse you."

It seems that Bird Mouth's nickname has been confirmed as Bird.

We shrank into the back seat. Kyogoku-do quickly disappeared from our sight, and before anyone could get into the front seat, the imposter Datsusan started the engine. An astonishingly sudden start; maintaining that speed for even a few minutes would surely get them arrested.

"Brother Xia, so fast! Too fast."

"What nonsense are you talking about? We only need this car because we're in a hurry. Don't worry, it's not a genuine one, so it can't go very fast."

"Kyogoku-do didn't explain anything to us. Why are they in such a rush?"

"He said my childhood friend, that big idiot, is facing a life-or-death crisis right now, otherwise I, who's usually so leisurely, wouldn't be in such a rush. No need to worry about the police! We're rushing for the police. Right now, I'm a stupid driver racing for my stupid friend!"

Natsuki didn't slow down at all when cornering. Toriko slammed into me hard.

"Why are all my friends acting so strangely? Brother Xia, what's wrong with Uncle Kiba?"

"Kyogoku said that the idiot filled out a gun-carrying application form as soon as he returned to work today, tricked the inspector into stamping it, took a pistol and said he was going to search the place, and then disappeared without a trace. And his superiors didn't give him any instructions. Kyogoku just asked his superior."

Kiba was carrying a pistol.

"That's why I say, that boss just doesn't understand Kiba Osamu! That guy is no different from a nuclear warhead; letting him get weapons is incredibly dangerous."

I think Natsuki's driving was incredibly dangerous. But then again, what is Kiba planning to do?

"Anyway, this whole thing is bound to end here, so there's no harm in getting it over with quickly!"

After speaking loudly, Xia Mujin stepped on the gas pedal again.

However, the direction that Natsuki was heading on the expressway was not the Mimasaka Institute of Modern Medicine.

"Hey, Brother Xia, where are you going? You've taken the wrong road."

"Idiot, how could I possibly go the wrong way!"

"Does Mr. Natsuki never get lost?"

Bird Mouth asked. He stretched his body to endure the high speed.

"certainly!"

The place we arrived at appeared to be Kokinoi.

"Okay, this is it."

Xia Mujin jumped out of the car and strode away into the alley. I was confused for a couple of seconds before following him. Bird Mouth remained where it was, its mouth agape. I couldn't catch up with Xia Mujin and didn't know which house he went into. Just as I hesitated for a while, Xia Mujin came out of a house surrounded by a black wall, holding a woman's hand.

"Let's go, ladies always take a long time to get ready before going out, but unfortunately I'm in a hurry."

"Who are you, who are you, and what do you need...?"

"I'm a detective, wouldn't I know at a glance?"

"Detective? Excuse me, where are you going?"

"How could I remember the name? Anyway, you're going to some weird building called something like Miyamoto or Dangaizaka (note). In any case, Kiba is dangerous. The life of the man you love is hanging by a thread. If you keep dragging this out..."

Note: Mimasaka is pronounced "Mimasaka", Miyamae is pronounced "miyamae", and Dangouzaka is pronounced "Dangouzaka". The latter two are slightly similar in pronunciation to Mimasaka.

"You'll die," Natsuki said.

A woman who deeply loves Kiba

Kyogoku-do probably refused to ride because he wanted to let the woman get on the bus.

"Mr. Kiba, Mr. Kiba, what's wrong! What happened? I'll go, I'll go, so please don't—".

"The monkeys and birds will explain everything to you once you get on the bus. Anyway, you look just as beautiful without makeup as if you were wearing it, so there's no need to be shy!"

Xia Mujin pulled hard on the woman's wrist.

A woman with exceptionally fair skin was pulled out and appeared at the doorway.

"Ah, I understand, I understand, please stop pulling—"

Minami Kinuko

"If you understand, then hurry up and get on the bus!"

Minami Kinuko vs. Kiba —

"Ah, this is Xiao Guan, and that's A Niao."

Before introducing himself, Natsuki hurriedly introduced us to Minami Kinuko.

"This person is the key figure in this incident—"

"I am Yuzu, Yuzuki... Yoko..."

Yoko—that's right, not Kinuko. Kinuko is…

Silken? So, Kyogoku-do was at that time...

—The sender's name is Mimasaka Kinuko.

The memories are all mixed up.

Wait, what I heard was... yes, Natsume seemed to have said something like that...

—My mother is also called Juanzi.

Mother. It's Yoko's mother. I see, then—

I was shoved into the car as if I were being forced in, while Yoko was dragged into the front seat.

She looks like a fragile object.

However, although he was deeply shaken and uneasy inside, he did not show it outwardly.

The car started up rapidly and extremely roughly again, and we set off once more.