"Nothing More Deceptive Than An Obvious Fact"

Part 2

"Who?" Genta stared blankly at the stranger who just declared himself to be 'Shikanoin Heizou'.

A small smirk came to Heizou's face. "I'm a detective with the Tenryou Commission," he replied simply.

The Tenryou Commission? But...Weren't they the ones who locked Arataki Itto up in the first place? Why would one of their detectives suddenly be willing to help after refusing to take the boss' case any further? Then there was the matter of mora—the commission would expect to be paid, of course—

"Ah-ah-ah," Heizou said, waving a finger. "I can see that look on your face. Don't worry, I'm not asking for mora. I'm also not technically with the commission on this one. This is more...a matter of personal interest."

Yet again, Genta was left staring blankly at the detective. "Personal interest? What do you mean?"

"So you really don't recognize me?" There was a few moment's pause from the detective. Then, "I sometimes bring Arataki Itto roasted lavender melons when he's stuck in a cell. He's a mischief maker, that's for sure, but he's no murderer. I don't even need my intuition to tell me that something's not right here."

Oh. Oh! He thought he looked a little familiar. Genta didn't think he'd ever actually spoken to Detective Shikanoin, but now that he thought about it, he had seen him around Itto before. And Shinobu too, for that matter.

"Good, so you're on our side!" A relieved grin came to Genta's face. "Do you really think you can get our boss out of jail?"

"I'm positive," the detective replied matter-of-factly, a confident grin on his face. Then a sort of odd thing happened. His expression slowly changed, morphing into one that was a mix of frustration and disappointment. "I'm just sorry it's even come to this...I should have stopped this long before Itto ever got caught up in this mess." Heizou clenched his fists fiercely tight, then unclenched them. When he did, Genta could see the imprints of his fingernails on his hands.

"What do you mean?" Genta asked, a very puzzled expression coming to his face. "Long before he got caught up in this? The murder happened just last night! The boss got arrested this morning."

Heizou shook his head. "Though the others in the commission refuse to believe this was a set-up, Itto was clearly framed, which means that someone was planning this for quite some time." He paused for a moment as his eyes fell to the ground. He looked almost...ashamed? "I should have seen it coming, or at the very least, my reputation should have stopped them from even thinking about committing a crime."

"Yeah, I...Still don't get it," Genta said, staring at the detective like there was something on his face. "There's thousands of people just in Inazuma City! How were you supposed to see this coming? And why would your reputation stop anyone from committing a crime?"

The detective's shoulders straightened a little. "I aim to be evil's natural enemy. I work to solve the most difficult of cases so every criminal in the city and beyond knows there's no chance of getting away with a crime. Already, my name has spread." He sighed exasperatedly. "But of course, there's always those who think too highly of themselves. They think they're invincible, or that nothing bad will ever happen to them because it hasn't before. Pride or disillusion gets in the way, and suddenly they think that even though many others have been caught, they're the one clever enough to get away."

A part of Genta wondered if Shikanoin Heizou was the disillusioned one here. How could any one person think they could just...end crime in the city with their reputation alone? Even if he was super smart or whatever, even he knew that it seemed like a very, very far-fetched goal. It didn't make sense for him to somehow put a stop to a crime that had never even been committed. But he didn't comment on that, there's no way he'd contradict the only detective who was actually willing to look into Itto's case.

"Okay...Um, well, do you have any leads on the Boss' case?"

"A few, but I'll have to look into them further to see if they're worth anything. It's strange, you know."

Genta's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What's strange?"

Shikanoin Heizou met his eyes, his gaze locked into place. He suddenly seemed more serious than before, and even a little intimidating. "There's obvious holes in the case, ones that even the least intelligent Doushin should have been able to see. Still, no one even questioned Arataki Itto being the culprit."

"Wha-what?! Seriously?" Genta exclaimed, feeling very defensive of his boss all of a sudden. "Are you saying that they just turned a blind eye to this? Is it because of his--our past offences?"

"That thought briefly occurred to me, but everyone in the commission knows that none of his offences have ever been serious. It wouldn't make sense for them to so easily believe that he would suddenly do something as drastic as commit murder. Anyone who's met him before should know that it doesn't add up." Heizou shrugged. "Of course, even good people are capable of violent acts, so I would understand if they simply suspected him, but to full-out arrest him without even starting a real investigation? It's a bit odd, don't you think?"

"I-I guess," Genta replied, rubbing his neck awkwardly. He had no idea how all of this detective/Tenryou Commission stuff worked. But Shikanoin did have a point--anyone who'd spent a lick of time with Itto before would've known that something like this was greatly out of character for him. He and the other gang members didn't think too much about it before. Sure, they were angry at the Commission for arresting Itto, and they were mad that no one would give them a full account of what happened, but...Well, knowing Itto better than anyone else, Genta and the other gang members knew fully well that their boss was framed. There was no question about it. And they'd heard of others being framed before, but for the Commission to not even put up a real investigation for this? Yeah, that was definitely odd. Hmm...

"Wait--" Genta's eyes widened. "You don't think someone in the commission had something to do with this, do you?"

"I don't know. I don't want to think badly of my co-workers, or be suspicious of them, but there's a very real chance one of them could be involved somehow."

Again, an unreadable look crossed the detective's face, as he stayed silent for a few moments. Genta got the feeling that there was something Detective Shikanoin wasn't sharing. That was fine with him though, he didn't need to know all of the facts or theories floating around in the other's head. He only needed his friend...er, boss...free of the homicide charge.

"You'll do it though?" his voice dropped down to a whisper. "Even if this could get someone you might know in trouble, you'll really take our boss' case?"

"Of course," Shikanoin said back, a look of determination on his face. "Regardless of who's responsible, I'll get to the bottom of this, that I promise you. Be careful not to mention any of what we discussed to anyone else though, like I said, these are only suspicions. My intuition tells me that this case won't be as simple as we might think."

Then, just as quickly as the flip of a switch, an easy grin came to Heizou's face. "Well, see you later then." The doushin turned around and raised a hand. "Let me know if you discover anything, alright?" His arm lowered, and Genta watched, baffled, as the young man walked away, his hands sliding into his pockets.

How did he do that? He was so serious only a few seconds ago, but now he seemed more relaxed than ever. That detective was a strange one, that was for sure.

"That was...interesting." He had to go tell Shinobu about this. He couldn't wait to tell the good news to the gang--that someone was actually willing to help them out with this. Things felt so hopeless earlier this morning, when they found out what happened with Itto, but now...Now he knew there was still hope.

"I hope you mean it, Detective Shikanoin Heizou," Genta muttered to himself as the doushin vanished from sight. "That you can get Itto out of jail. Besides us, I think you're the only one who cares." If Heizou couldn't help them, he wasn't sure anyone could.