~Hakurei Shrine~ > Patchouli's Scarlet Library
The Case Files of Reimu Hakurei - File #006-KOUMA
FinnKaenbyou:
Maybe it was the fact that she knew this place was the new home to a death, but for some reason Reimu couldn't be impressed by the mansion's scale in the slightest. The sunlight seemed to almost weaken the building, exposing it as a magnificent piece of architecture that was horrifically out of place. At night the inconsistencies might have gone unnoticed, but right now it looked like it simply didn't belong.
But what does a vampire care about how she looks during the day?
Cirno had already made her way into the building and back by the time Reimu had reached the doorway. She was wearing the stupid smile that seemed to be her neutral expression, the one that made Reimu want to punch her.
?Body's round the side, if you wanna look at it. Not really a pretty sight, though. I'm gonna go in and talk to some people...?
Reimu nodded, glad to get the fairy out of her hair for a few minutes. She walked next to the wall of the mansion, running a lazy hand along the wall as she approached the corner. She poked her head around it, looking for anything resembling a crime scene-
?Oh.?
Cirno's claim had been right ? the body was hardly in its best condition. A light red dress hung on the corpse, but Remilia herself had almost dried up to a husk. All the fluid in her body seemed to have been drained away, leaving a pale shell in its remains. Lesser humans would probably take this cue to be violently ill, but Reimu had enough experience in the area to respond with little more than a sigh.
Guess that rumour about vampires and sunlight was true, after all.
Coming closer to the body, Reimu looked up and noticed a balcony almost directly above Remilia's corpse. It seemed as though she'd fallen out, hit the ground hard, fallen unconscious and never made it back in before the sun rose. She wouldn't even have had time to react and use those wings of hers (now withered and pathetic-looking) to save herself from the fall. Of course, more likely was that she'd been shoved, but that meant more effort on Reimu's part so right now suicide seemed more likely to her.
Could be that simple. Last thing Y's gonna want is me hauling in an innocent...
The body was in too poor a state for Reimu to surmise anything further. She'd have to haul the body back and get the coroners to take a look at it. That'd be a job for Cirno ? she wasn't keen on this whole 'manual labour' thing, and the GPD hired her for her brain, not her muscles.
Making her way back around to the entrance, Reimu was somewhat unsurprised to see Cirno marching out, chest sticking out proudly, hauling a taller girl along by the arm.
?Case closed, ma'am! Here's our culprit right here!?
The girl being tugged along was dressed in one of those classic maid outfits, more proof that this place was totally not at home in Gensokyo. A pair of long, silver braids slid down the sides of her face, and her dark-blue eyes seemed focused entirely on the ground beneath her. Cirno was unaware of any of this.
?Her name's Sakuya Izayoi. Head maid here, and the only one who had a set of master keys on her person. Therefore, the only one who could've made it into Scarlet's room and shoved her off! Piece of cake!?
Sakuya seemed to grow more and more disgusted with every word Cirno spewed, her eyes growing misty and her expression more depressed. Was it anger at having been figured out, or grief at the death of her employer? Right now, Reimu wasn't sure.
?Okay, kiddo, hold your horses. We don't even know if this was a murder yet. And let go of her arm, it's turning blue.?
Cirno's mood sank hastily, letting go of Sakuya immediately and muttering to herself.
"...C'mon, it's always the butler that does it..."
She strolled away, leaving Reimu to talk with the apparent 'culprit'. Conversation wasn't exactly her strength, so she did her best to stick to the book.
Might as well see what I can get out of her for now.
?Miss Izayoi? I'm Detective Hakurei, G.P.D. Mind answering a few questions for me??
Sakuya looked up slightly. Apparently she was more comforting to the maid than Cirno had been, and she slowly nodded.
?...I'll offer what I can, but I'm afraid I can't help you much...?
Reimu sighed.
?Alright then. I'll start simple. When was the last time you saw Remi- I mean, your superior??
Sakuya took a few deep breaths before she started on a response.
?...Last night, around 7 or 8 in the evening. The entire mansion was present-?
?Wait, you all eat together??
?There are only six people living here, so it isn't that big a problem feeding everyone at once.?
Reimu vaguely remembered Cirno saying something along those lines. The maid paused for a moment, growing more teary.
?...Although...it's only five people now, isn't it??
She wept quietly.
Good job, Reimu. Way to remind her that her boss just died.
?W-Well...can you tell me what you were doing after dinner, then??
?Nothing. I felt ill after dinner, and excused myself to take an early night. I've no idea why, though...it was unbecoming of me, and it's never happened before. I thought that I could afford to take a break for one night...turned out to be foolish, didn't it??
Another weeping session, as Reimu's patience wore painfully thin. She had other people to talk to, crime scenes to investigate, and so on, but right now she didn't want to do any of that.
Screw it. I'm taking the body over to HQ. If it turns out this is all some tragic accident, I can leave this place as it is and get some goddamn sleep.
She cranked up her internal 'false gratitude' notch.
?...Alright. Miss Izayoi, you've been invaluable. I'm going to have to ask you to stay here for a while so I can...get some information.?
Reimu decided it'd be a good idea not to mention the body, in case it just gave the maid another reason to burst into tears. Sakuya nodded, still seemingly shaken.
?I'm sorry...it's just so sudden...I wouldn't have believed that-?
?Yeah, yeah. I'll probably end up taking your statement properly later. C'mon, rookie, we're moving out.?
Cirno, who'd been keen on helping out, had already taken hold of the body and started hauling it around. Pulling along Remilia's corpse, she waved cheerily at her superior.
?Sure! Just taking this back to base, right??
Sakuya's eyes bulged open as she saw what was trailing behind the fairy, and in an instant she'd rushed back into the mansion, most likely to be ill. Reimu felt a vein popping out of her forehead, walking up to the regional detective and slapping her hard.
?Idiot.?
Cirno rubbed her cheek, but Reimu hadn't managed to do any serious damage to the youkai. In fact, if anything, Reimu had probably hurt her hand worse in the process.
?S-Sorry. Anyway, I'll just fly over back to HQ, and-?
?Don't think I'm letting you do that alone.?
Cirno had already started flapping her wings, gaining a few feet in height. She looked down at the miko, irritated.
?What? You want to go use the boat and walk back? Sorry, I know you're my boss and all, but you're gonna just slow me do-?
Cirno cut her sentence short when she realised that Reimu was suddenly looking her in the eye. She was floating in the air without any apparent effort.
?...You can fly??
?Hey, if you want to be anybody in Gensokyo you have to be able to do something cool.?
Von Stein:
Always remember, it's never what it looks like, unless it doesn't look like it.
[make sense]
Geh, due to recent events Sakuya's reaction is rather well known to me. Well played there.
And nice character portrayals so far, keep it up. =3
[/make sense]
WRATHIE_Beatrice:
AMUSE ME, ROU! I'll break your mysteries!
AND I'll SAY IT IN RED
I'm the detective!
Dizzy H. "Muffin" Muffin:
So, I guess location is limited to "on the balcony."
So ... Spoiler: Sakuya, on the balcony, with Spoiler: ZA WARUDO.
Actually, I'm gonna guess it's Spoiler: Flandre, on the balcony, with Lavatein.
FinnKaenbyou:
?Okay, explain to me exactly what you're doing back here, Detective.?
Reimu hadn't expected her boss to be pleased with her early return, but by now she expected her to be used to it. She sat back, totally relaxed, muttering her response.
?Just checking to see if we can confirm a suicide, that's all.?
From the other side of the desk, Shikieiki Yamaxanadu sighed. It was better than some of Reimu's earlier excuses ? she still remembered the time the miko had called in ill with 'alcoholitis' ? but it still made her wonder if the human was more trouble than she was worth.
?You realise the body's in no fit state for something like that.?
?I have faith in our team of coroners.?
?Faith has nothing to do with it,? Shikieiki said, nudging her hat to keep it upright. ?They've got a dried-up vampire husk to work with. They're talented, yes, but they're not miracle workers.?
Reimu didn't respond, lying back slightly in the seat. Shikieiki waited for an answer from her, staring at her with piercing blue eyes.
?...Zzz...?
Reimu's snoring was the first thing to give her away. The judge's hand instinctively began to move toward the ceremonial rod she kept on her desk. Gripping it professionally, she flung it straight at the sleeping Reimu, hitting her square in the forehead. The chair fell back along with her, the pair giving off a loud crash in unison.
?Ow...jeez, can't I at least get five minutes to take a break??
Shikieiki slipped off of her chair, stamping towards Reimu as she sat up. Even now, the yama was only able to meet with Reimu eye-to-eye ? she'd chosen the nickname of 'Big Y' for her mostly out of irony.
?Let me make this perfectly clear, Detective. You're going to go down to the morgue, and they're going to tell you that homicide is still a possibility. Then you're going to get your ass back down to the Scarlet Devil Mansion and figure out who did this, and if I don't have a culprit by tomorrow you can get back to begging random passers-by for shrine donations. Do I make myself clear??
Reimu was only half-listening, brushing Shikieiki away as she stood up and rubbed her new bruises.
?Yeah, yeah, whatever. Sorry for not wanting to waste time if we didn't have to.?
Reimu excused herself, stepping out of the office without so much as picking up the chair on the floor. Shikieiki put a hand to her forehead, rubbing her temples.
?...Surely there has to be someone more competent than her that I can hire...?
-----
?Now, dear, I understand the body is unusual, but it makes sense that-?
?You're talking about a vampire here! Why the hell are you looking for sense?!?
Even before she'd entered the morgue, Reimu could make out the coroners in one of their usual debates. It was the only position in the whole of the GPD where there'd been more than one applicant, and Shikieiki had been so grateful for the support that she'd hired both of them rather than needing to choose one. Opening the ominous set of double-doors in, Reimu saw the pair looking over what was left of Remilia Scarlet.
?Saigyouji, Kaenbyou, good to see you. Now if you could tell me this was a suicide or an accident it'd be the best day ever.?
The pair were distracted from their little clash by Reimu's entry. Yuyuko Saigyouji was the first to respond, giving her that warm, cheerful smile that made it feel like she was talking to her own mother. In another glaring example of Why-Don't-We-Have-A-Uniform Syndrome, she had undertaken the autopsy in a simple blue and pink kimono.
?Ah, Reimu. Sorry to disappoint you, but...we've got nothing useful for you on that front. The body is too badly damaged to confirm whether Miss Scarlet was injured before her...exposure.?
Yuyuko had a slightly disturbing ability to talk about death and her occupation without dropping her smile for an instant. Given that she was a ghost herself, death probably just didn't seem that big a deal to her. Reimu briefly considered the irony of a ghost working in a morgue before she remembered that the boss was probably timing her every move.
?...Alright, then. What exactly can you tell me??
Yuyuko nodded, pulling out a small piece of paper on which she'd written some notes.
?Well, we can say first and foremost that it's most definitely Remilia Scarlet. That or she's been lying in a furnace for the last week, but I'm assuming we can rule that out. Method of death is unknown, but obviously the whole sunlight thing didn't help out. As for a time of death, I'd be willing to go for something along the lines of three or four o'clock in the morning.?
?Yeah, with some absurd guesswork.?
Rin Kaenbyou, or Orin as she insisted on everyone calling her (vainly), took this moment to intervene in the discussion. Her black ears pricked up at the sign of an opening, and she grinned in a way that always made Reimu shuffle a little. Apparently no-one had suggested to her that bright red hair in braids was probably a bad idea when performing an autopsy, but at least compared to Yuyuko her dark-green dress was relatively ordinary. A kasha who'd had plenty of experience with corpses herself, she was young but nearly on par with the centuries-old Yuyuko.
?You're already assuming that Scarlet has an abnormally low body temperature. Since when were you some sorta expert on vampire anatomy??
Yuyuko was unfazed by the attack, turning around to Rin with the same smile she'd shown Reimu.
?I don't claim to be one, Miss Kaenbyou. It's simple common sense, really.?
Rin stamped her foot into the floor.
?Seriously, what the hell's wrong with Orin!? It's shorter!?
?It's also not your name~?
The cat seemed ready to pounce on Yuyuko at any moment, but the ghost maintained her typical dumb smile. Reimu was used to scenes like this, and slowly began to edge towards the door.
?So, uh, yeah, you guys don't have anything concrete for me right now??
?Well, we might, if Miss Kaenbyou would listen to logic for a change.?
?Oh, of course. Because Grandma Yuyuko's never wrong, is she??
For an instant, an expression of anger flashed across Yuyuko's face. She waved Reimu away.
?Detective, you should be getting back to work. Miss Kaenbyou and I have some...discussion to do.?
Reimu took the hint, slipping back out of the morgue and moving on. The coroners looked at each other in silence for a few seconds.
?...You know we could just look it up.?
?But that spoils the fun~?
-----
Great. We got nothing, and now I have to go back out there and do my damn job.
Reimu walked towards the exit of the G.P.D. as slowly as her feet would physically allow. Work was always a hassle for her, but early mornings were the best way to kill her interest dead. Most of her workmates considered her to be the most reluctant and unwilling genius Gensokyo had ever seen. Of course, none of them bothered to say anything like that to her face, because she'd probably take it as an insult. 'I'm not unwilling,' she'd argue, 'I just don't see the point. It's not like I'm bringing people back from the dead or anything.'
?H-Hey! Detective, wait up!?
The sound of hasty footsteps behind her was a good enough excuse for Reimu to stop walking. Turning around she could make out a streak of blue coming down the corridor, slowing to reveal a young girl as she slowed down.
?I...thought you'd be...hanging around for a little longer...?
Not really used to physical exercise, Nitori Kawashiro had to catch her breath for a few seconds. The only things stopping her attire ? clothes, hair, eyes and all ? from being entirely the same shade of light blue were the simple green cap she wore and the (probably completely unnecessary) backpack that she always seemed to carry around. She reached into one of the several pockets on the hem of her dress.
?I just wanted...you to take this with you...?
Reimu's eyebrows knit. Nitori was the sole employee in the G.P.D.'s Forensics department, which basically meant that she was the technological brain around here. As a kappa, she had more scientific knowledge than all of her colleagues combined, and it was knowledge she typically put to good use. She pulled out a small bottle filled with a very pale-yellow liquid, handing it to Reimu.
?Mind seeing if you can test this thing out in the field? I just put the finishing touches on it.?
Reimu looked at the bottle, puzzled. There were no markings or instructions on it.
?...What does it do??
?Ah, that's simple. It reacts with suitable oxidizing agents, producing very obvious chemiluminescence-?
Nitori cut herself short as she noticed the blank, totally lost look on Reimu's face. She took a deep breath, reminding herself that she really was the only scientist on the premises.
?It turns blue if it comes into contact with blood. Even if someone's tried to clean it off, it'll react with the traces. Does that make sense??
Reimu nodded.
?Yeah, that I can understand. Why not say that first time around the next time, okay??
Holding onto the bottle, Reimu returned to the long and arduous process of making the last three steps to the door. Nitori made no effort to wave her goodbye, giving her one passing comment as she went back down the corridor to her own little laboratory.
?And if you find anything interesting in there, bring it back to me, 'kay? I'll see what I can do.?
?Sure, sure.?
Nitori said this every time, so Reimu had just stopped paying attention. She left the G.P.D. Headquarters, catching Cirno at the entrance counting to herself.
?So did you finish that little job I gave you??
?...Two-thousand and four...two-thousand and five...uh, sorry, ma'am, I haven't made it to a million yet...?
Reimu patted her on the back.
?Forget it. We've got a murder to solve.?
Unfortunately.
-----
Actual mystery starting in the next chapter, sorry. This is sort of an introduction to CSI: Gensokyo the G.P.D. >_>