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“I’m ready.”

“Are you?” Rui gazed at me intently. “You were bawling your eyes out all day. Are you sure?”

I nodded simply. “Yeah. I’m not sure what you want to talk about or what it means for me, but I did promise I would pay you back somehow for helping me. I gather from your eyes you want to talk about something serious. I will do my best.”

“That’s all I ask.” Rui nodded, smiling brightly. “You aren’t a noh-face anymore, so of course we know you’re going to be less useful now. At least you have the strength of a man, and we’re a couple of cute girls. We won’t just settle for that, though we might be able to call everyone to help with what needs to be done, and Akuchi will come when you call him.”

“Y-yeah… I don’t exercise, but if you have a jar that needs to be opened…” I responded.

“IDIOT!” Rui jumped up and swatted my head. “I know you're useless! The fact is, you have Reiko-chan’s face. Trust me, at the very least you’ll be perfect bait.”

“AGAIN!?” I yelped. “You want me to be bait? Wait... last time I was bait for noh-face, and I guess that worked out more or less, but now you want to catch something else?”

“Yup! This time a man!” Rui gave me a big thumbs up and winked.

“W-- NO!!!!!” I bellowed.

“Wait a moment. Let me tell you more here, and I don't think you’ll say no after I do.” Rui’s lips twisted in distaste.

“This man killed Reiko-chan. It was not Noh-face.”

Ume gasped, clasping her delicate hand to her lips. My eyes opened up wide.

“A-are you sure of this?” I panted, my heart racing. My chest hurt intensely. “How can you be so sure it was a man who killed her?” Suddenly, I had visions of the man with cold eyes back at the amusement park. He was looking at her as though he had a secret. A plan for her. My skin prickled. I hurt from head to toes. “Oh... my... kami..." I drew in a halted breath. IT WAS THAT MAN!

“Yes... it was a man she was investigating. She was dating a series of men, you see. It was just an act. Reiko-chan only loved women.” Those words struck me as though I was a bell that had been hit by a bomb. She... didn’t hate me? She just couldn’t love me because of my sex? Was that an act too? “The men she dated were all men who had accrued great wealth in a short period of time over the last couple of years. Since the murders were related to corporate mergers, I thought I should look into the people surrounding these events. After checking facts, I was left with a list of young men. I investigated them all. Probing them for information went wrong because my body..." Rui sniffled. “No one wants a flat-chested middle-grade girl!”

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

“And then somehow Reiko-chan got involved… but how? She was a normal girl even if she was strong.” I glared at Rui. “So she did all the dirty work and took all the risks for you?” I couldn’t help blaming her for what had happened since she was clearly partly to blame.

“No..." Rui looked sad. “She volunteered. She was investigating the murders and corporate thefts as an auxiliary reporter. She wanted to storm the world by cracking the case and reporting on it. She had unbelievable amounts of guts. She rocked my world. I’d almost given up on being a spiritual detective, myself. I was going to just live off my inheritance and immerse myself in anime and manga. But one day when I was thinking about how to successfully approach a suspect, she noticed how suspicious I looked.

She approached me, pointing out that I was like a polka-dotted clown capering around, the way I snuck around wearing trench coats. She tore it off my back and sat me down and made me talk, thinking maybe I might be involved, but she found that my intentions were pure. We met at my office after I told her about what I do. She was intrigued. We talked a lot, mostly about the case, and it was revealed to me that she was investigating the same things. That’s the kind of work a police officer should do, and I told her that she should just become one, or leave it to us.”

I sighed and breathed slowly. I was on the edge of my cushion. “She said no.”

“Yes. She’s... she could be so stubborn. She wouldn’t listen. She wouldn’t turn back. She explained that she had what we needed to enact my plan to use my sex appeal. Um... anyhow... she auditioned very effectively by somehow picking up on my sexual preference even though I hadn’t known at that time.” Her face was suddenly aflame.

“She kissed me. That was the moment I was awakened to yuri. She had stolen my heart.” I looked at her, blushing. I felt anger and jealousy surge inside of me, hearing about this. I wasn’t sure about who I was jealous of or who I was pissed off at. I didn’t even know why I felt those things. “And we had a night of passion..." She sighed softly, swooning.

I fell over. That was the nail in the lid of the coffin of my innocent love for my childhood friend. Rui had had her in every way I’d wished I could, just like the cold-eyed man. “I’m sorry... I know I’m enthusing about it... but it hurts too.” Rui sniffled. “I’m suffering more than you!” Rui exclaimed. “Don't act like you’re so special! I loved her too!”

“Oh, my... you mentioned how there was a girl who took your heart.” Ume clutched her hands to her chest. “And she died... Oh, RuiRui... why didn’t you tell me until now?” Her voice was so gentle and caring.

I straightened with determined eyes. “You’re right. I’m nothing special.”

“Oh... but I think you are.” Ume smiled warmly. “There’s a strong scent to your blood. It isn’t obvious, but there’s a depth to the scent that makes me want to see what happens with you. It was very subtle when we met. It made me curious. But since yesterday, it’s grown stronger.”

“Thank you, Ume-chan,” I responded, comforted by the warmth of her words. “I don’t know what you mean, but... I’m determined. My mourning is over. I still love her, but it’s time to act. You too, Rui-chan!”

Rui blinked and nodded with a small smile. “Yes. That brings us to the main subject. She’d cleared all the men on my list except for one or three. I wasn’t sure which ones she was investigating. She told me little. So there’s a list of three men. I brought it folded from my files in my purse. I still don’t know who to go after, but with that face, we might be able to..."

“I won't date them!” I yelled loudly.

“Why not? How could you look into those eyes every morning until you die of old age if you make less of an effort than her? Can you?” Rui glared.

“W-well... how about Ume-chan do it? She has a ton of sex-appeal and far more experience. I mean, she’s the only one here who has boo--” I suggested, and flailed when Rui raced over to smack me upside the head.

“You’d do that to poor Ume-chan? You coward!” Rui accused me.

“I don’t mind it, actually,” Ume chipped in chipperly. “But I’m a very busy girl. The investigation would take too much time. But are they handsome?” Ume toyed with a ribbon on her dress.

“Well, yes..." Rui pursed her lips. “They’re all attractive, but I don’t want what happened to her to repeat itself with you! We are NOT doing that! I will not risk you!”

“And you’re willing to sacrifice me?” I sobbed sadly. “That’s kind of cold.”

Rui shook her head and she closed her eyes, turning away. “You couldn’t be... no..." She sighed. “Darn it... I don’t know what else to do. Let’s just look at the file. We’ll find another solution!” Rui sniffled and unfolded the file on the table. We looked at the pictures thoughtfully.

“What do we do? Who do we sacrifice?” Rui froze. She peeked at me and blushed, seeming conflicted.

I nodded and stood straight.

They looked up to me, expectantly, but shyly.

I slammed my hand down on the table. My eyes flashed. They stared at my fist.

“What? Are you breaking up with us?” Ume asked wonderingly.

“Susumu... I’m sorry... I-I really care about you..." Rui fidgeted. “Please don’t..."

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