Chapter 148 38: Flower Traces (4k)

"I don't have much to say about that Nishimura Takashi guy. He's dead, so what? It's normal for gang members to die suddenly. I expected this day to come. Even insurance companies are unwilling to do business with him, otherwise I would have bought all of their stocks."

At Nishimura Kayoshi's home.

In the reception room, she lit a cigarette as if no one was around, and spoke calmly about her opinions while puffing away at the smoke.

The smoke rising from her still charming face added a touch of mystery.

Shirai on the opposite side straightened her back and held her breath quietly. She didn't like the smell of smoke.

Takashima had a blank expression on his face. He reached out his hand and domineeringly put out the cigarette that was still in Nishimura's mouth.

"Let's smoke it later. I can't get used to the smell."

"You guys... Tsk." Nishimura Jiayue looked at the extinguished cigarette, sighed helplessly, stood up and opened the window, "Ask, if you have anything else to ask, ask quickly, I still have to cook dinner, I didn't prepare any for you."

Shirai looked at Takashima, but Takashima did not directly let Shirai try it. Instead, he asked a seemingly unrelated question.

"I smell flowers on you."

Nishimura Kayue was startled when she heard this and looked at her strangely: "Well, carnations, I order a bouquet of carnations every week, and I also participate in flower arrangement activities on weekdays. It's only during this period that my freedom has been restricted by you. But do you also want to control my ordering of flowers?"

Takashima didn't respond: "Did you order it from Chiba Kikue's flower shop?"

"Yes, her flowers are good." Nishimura Jiayue looked a little unnatural, "I have ordered flowers from her for a year. Is there any problem? You all know about it."

"No problem, just asking." Takashima stopped the topic and pointed to Shirai beside him, "This is my colleague, Shirai Anko. She has a supernatural power that can help people relieve stress. I hope she can help you."

Nishimura Kayue looked at Shirai Kyoko and her eyes softened a little: "You may say it's a hope, but it's actually forced."

Takashima smiled politely and said nothing.

Casually extending his hand, Nishimura Kayue looked at Shirai: "Okay, then I'll trouble you, Shirai, right? You're still studying, right?"

Shirai's hands glowed faintly, and he gently held Nishimura's hand: "I dropped out of school, Mrs. Nishimura, please relax."

"You" Nishimura paused, then his tense face quickly relaxed, ". Mutsumi."

After a few seconds, Shirai slowly withdrew his hand.

Nishimura held his heart for a few minutes, then wiped his tears and recovered: "I really didn't kill him, and I don't have the ability to kill him. I still have scars on my back, which he left behind."

"Then do you think this is possible for Miss Chiba?" Takashima asked.

"Chiba. She's a good person. I know her husband. But in that case, she should only hate that scumbag Mizutani. What does it have to do with Nishimura Takashi? Although he is definitely a scumbag, do you mean to say that she hates all gangs because of that? I don't think she does. She hasn't shown any extraordinary abilities."

Nishimura pondered for a while and then expressed his thoughts.

After listening to this, Takashima seemed to be thinking about something, and the living room fell into silence for a moment.

"Thank you for your cooperation. Sorry to bother you, Miss Nishimura." Takashima avoided the title of Madam and stood up to leave.

Nishimura Kayue seemed to be relieved, hummed, and took out a cigarette box.

"Um, Ms. Nishimura," Shirai said hesitantly, as he followed Takashima to the door, "Smoking is bad for your health."

Nishimura stared at her for a while, then lowered his head, his hair covering his expression: "I see. Thank you for your concern. Take care. I won't see you off."

After saying this, he put the cigarette box down and covered his shaking hands with his body.

Takashima and Shirai got in the car and did not leave immediately. Instead, they waited for a while until Takashima's phone rang.

".Oh, I see."

After hanging up the phone, Takashima looked at Shirai curiously: "Have you thought of this too?"

Shirai blinked blankly, not knowing what Takashima was talking about.

Takashima knew that he was overthinking.

"Before the Mei Nu case, Nishimura Kayetsu had no habit of smoking."

"She must be hiding something."

"Next, let's go to the Ueda family."

"You are?"

Hearing the doorbell, Akiko Ueda hurried out of the kitchen and saw through the peephole that there were two strange women outside. She let down her guard a little, opened the door carefully and asked.

"Special Affairs Bureau, investigating previous disappearance cases." Takashima showed his ID.

Shirai stood aside with a tense face, she didn't have any proof yet.

"Don't you know it's dinner time?"

Upon hearing about another inexplicable disappearance case, Akiko Ueda felt very upset. She held the spatula and stared at the two guests with a bad look on her face.

"So we came after dinner, so there's no need to prepare anything for us." Takashima's words choked Ueda Akiko.

She took a deep breath, and in line with the idea that the people should not fight against the officials, she gave up the idea of ​​hitting the other person on the head with a spatula.

"come in."

She opened the door and made room.

"Excuse me." Shirai bowed, took off his shoes and put them neatly aside, then followed Takashima in stiffly.

This house is not big and can be seen at a glance. It doesn't seem to be kept in such an orderly manner.

Takashima glanced at the vase in a conspicuous place, which contained a few tulips.

After watching them sit down, Akiko Ueda hurried back to the kitchen to continue preparing dinner.

About five minutes later, she came out with the dishes.

Not in a hurry to eat, she walked up to Takashima and wiped the sweat off her face: "If you have anything you want to ask, ask now. We are not used to having strangers staring at us while we eat."

"Miura Tsujou is dead." Takashima said.

Ueda Akiko's body trembled, her eyes full of disbelief, as if she couldn't believe it: "That scumbag of his is dead? Really? You didn't lie to me?!"

Takashima didn't miss a single look of hers.

It all seemed to be genuine.

"Who do you think killed him?" Takashima asked.

Ueda Akiko cried and gnashed her teeth: "A scum like him has offended many people every day. It would be a relief for him to die like this. If he falls into my hands."

She didn't continue speaking, but her eyes were cold.

"If you came here specifically to tell me this good news, I'm very happy. You can stay here to eat. I can prepare another table. But if you want to know if I have committed any crime, haven't you been monitoring me all the time? Apart from going to work and buying groceries, where else have I been?"

Perhaps due to her excessive emotional fluctuations, Akiko Ueda felt a little dizzy. She slowly sat down and looked at Takashima.

Takashima was noncommittal: "Can we meet Kana Ueda?"

"Again? Do you know how much pressure Chanel was under when you detained her for no reason last time? I took care of her for so long, and she finally recovered a little bit. But because of you, who only care about the lives of those scumbags, her current condition has worsened. You people don't care about the lives of us civilians at all!"

When talking about Ueda Kana, Ueda Akiko became very excited. She slammed her fists on the table, leaned forward with her upper body, and spoke quickly and hoarsely.

Takashima was silent for a moment, and after Ueda Akiko's emotions calmed down a little, he gave a look to Shirai beside him.

"Ms. Ueda, please believe us. We are here to help you."

Shirai took the initiative and stretched out her glowing hands, slowly clenching her fists.

Soon, Ueda Akiko's anger gradually subsided, and she stared at Shirai blankly. The girl in front of her with her undecorated face revealed an innocence that could not lie, which made people feel close to her and trust her.

The warm current that flowed into her palm penetrated into her heart, as if healing the long-unhealed scars deep in her soul.

"This is..." Ueda Akiko's excitement gradually subsided, ".The superpower mentioned in the news?"

Shirai withdrew his hand and smiled faintly.

Doing these things is exhausting, but every time she sees the other person's relieved expression, she feels that it is all worth it.

"Now, is it convenient for Ueda Kana to come out for a while? We have no ill intentions, we are just trying to treat her." Takashima said when he saw Ueda Akiko staring at Shirai in a daze.

Ueda Akiko turned her gaze and thought for a few seconds: "Okay."

She stood up, walked to a door, and knocked a few times. No one responded, so she was not surprised. She opened the door directly. It was pitch black inside, without a single light. After a while, Ueda Akiko came out with a thin woman with disheveled hair.

"Kaina, don't be afraid, they are here to help you."

Akiko Ueda leaned close to Chanel's ear and spoke in a gentle voice as if coaxing a child.

Kana grabbed Ueda Akiko's sleeve and looked up cautiously.

Shirai could feel a pair of eyes full of timidity and fear of the outside world looking at him through his hair.

Akiko Ueda held Kana's wrist and slowly raised her hand in front of Shirai.

It was a hand so white that it seemed transparent.

The turquoise blood vessels are clearly visible.

Shirai gently held it with both hands and felt a cool touch.

"Hopefully, this helps you."

The light lit up in the hands of the two people, and continued to spread and shine.

This was the most mentally taxing treatment Shirai had ever had. She was like a firefly that accidentally strayed into a dark cave, trying her best to emit her light.

Finally, the cave was enveloped by gentle light. In the corner, a scarred rabbit was attracted by the light and cautiously took the first step of its heart.

flutter.

Without any warning, Kana Ueda suddenly hugged Shirai tightly.

Shirai was not too surprised, but gently stroked her back and whispered to comfort her: "It's okay, it's okay. The night is over, and we should welcome the dawn, don't you think?"

Kana didn't answer, but Shirai could feel her body shaking and her silent sobbing.

"Cry, this is not weakness, no one can hurt you anymore..."

Kana's sobbing became increasingly obvious. Her icy emotions were melted by Shirai's light, forming a surging river. With nowhere to release them, they could only burst out.

"Wow... I resisted, I really resisted..."

She cried for more than ten minutes before she leaned exhaustedly in Shirai's arms and fell into a deep sleep.

Although she is much older than Shirai, at this moment, she looks like Shirai's daughter.

When Ueda Akiko carried Kana back to her room, Takashima thought, "It seems like you are very good at comforting people."

Shirai shook her head shyly: "Nothing... Maybe it's because I was also comforted here, so I understand her pain."

"Also, my ability can allow me to touch the root of pain a little bit."

Takashima frowned: "Won't your emotions be brought into it?"

Wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes, Shirai smiled: "I'm happy to be able to help others."

Takashima knew that the abilities she acquired were inseparable from Hirosue Yoshimiya, and originally thought that she was a new member that the Holy Infant Society was going to recruit, but later discovered that it was not the case, and it was more like an awakening experiment similar to Nakai Hayabusa.

A small thought from a big man can bring about a subversive change in the life of an ordinary person.

Whether this change is good or bad, ordinary people seem to have no power to refuse.

Takashima didn't continue the topic. Looking at Ueda Akiko, who had already settled her sister, she stood up and said, "Ms. Ueda, I'm sorry to bother you today."

"Are you leaving? I, I..." Thinking about her previous rudeness, Akiko Ueda felt a little embarrassed.

"Please forgive me, I lied to you. Miura Tsukami is not dead, he just became a vegetable in the hospital." Takashima confessed.

Ueda Akiko was a little surprised by Takashima's confession and shook her head: "This is a better punishment for him... Thank you, and you, Ms. Shirai."

Takashima seemed to see the tulips casually: "Are these flowers from Ms. Chiba?"

"You know? Oh, yes, you should know that she sent these flowers yesterday morning. She also said that flowers will remember people's wishes..." Akiko Ueda recalled.

Takashima didn't say much and left Ueda's house with Shirai.

"I think... Ueda and the others are not charmers." In the car, Shirai carefully expressed his opinion.

"Why?" Takashima asked while driving.

"It's just... intuition." Shirai felt a little embarrassed and felt that what he said was not very reliable.

"Keep your instincts." Takashima did not deny it.

After a moment of silence, Shirai asked again.

"Why... we know they did those things, but we can't judge them?"

“This is called procedural justice.”

"Justice...?"

Shirai looked at the neon-lit world outside the window in confusion.

In the distance, you can see Osaka’s landmark building, Tsutenkaku, standing quietly like a flower bud about to bloom, gazing at the people below.

The car soon stopped in front of a single-family house with a sign saying "Chiba"

Ding dong.

"You are?"

A woman's voice came from the microphone.

"Osaka Police Department, there is new information regarding the missing case a few days ago and we need your cooperation in the investigation." Takashima's words changed.

There was silence on the other side, and after a few seconds, the sound of footsteps was heard.

The door opened and a beautiful woman appeared in front of them.

Much more beautiful than the photos in the archives.

Shirai thought so.

"I need to see your work ID." Chiba Kikue's gaze stayed on Shirai. She didn't seem to recognize Takashima as one of the three famous special agents not long ago.

It may also be related to the fact that Takashima changed his outfit.

Takashima took out a “genuine” Osaka police ID from his pocket.

"This is the assistant we specially invited to assist in solving the case. We will need her help later."

After reading it carefully, Qianye handed it back to Takashima without questioning her statement: "Come in."

Takashima took a quick look from the entrance to the corridor.

Not a single flower exists.

They sat calmly on the tatami, and Chiba asked, "What would you like to drink?"

"Two glasses of water."

Qianye took two glasses of water and handed them to them: "Ask, I go to bed early."

"Did you know that something happened at Miura Tsujo?" Takashima asked directly without drinking the water.

"What happens to these scumbags is none of my business. I've been going back and forth between two places these days, and at most I've sent flowers to old customers." Qianye had a blank expression on his face, playing with his nails nonchalantly.

"Do you know Miura?"

"It's just knowing, not knowing."

"He died yesterday."

"Really? That's really good news for the people of Osaka, worth a couple of drinks."

"We found a petal at the scene."

Chiba's movements paused slightly.

(End of this chapter)