𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐬

file 055 | april 4th

After questioning a beat cop about districts in redevelopment, Kogoro and Suzume went to Minatomirai, where they found an abandoned hotel.

11:25 AM

"But do you really think this place is somehow related to the case?" Kogoro asked as they got out of the rental van and went to the front doors.

"We have to believe it," Suzume said simply as she pushed them open.

"Speaking of which... Why'd he have you come along?" he wondered, moving his flashlight about the place.

"Probably just really wants this case solved, so the more people working on it, the better," she replied. It's definitely strange though. He requested Kogoro-san and there was no guarantee that I would even come to Miracle Land.

Her head turned as a wooden door slowly creaked open, freaking out Kogoro if his jump, shriek, and run to hide behind Suzume was anything to go by.

"What's that?!"

A man walked out of the dark, tugging a small cart behind him. "You can't live here," he said to them, assuming them to be homeless. "It's gonna be torn down next week. Must be hard for you as well, having a grown kid and all."

"No, nothing like that!" Kogoro protested, waving a hand.

"Have you been living here for long?" Suzume asked, tucking her hands into her pockets.

"Yeah. Since this hotel went bankrupt two years ago."

"Has anything out of the ordinary happened lately?"

"Lemme see." The man looked up, pondering on her question for a little bit. "Oh, that's right! A big white bird flew by the other day."

"A big bird?" Kogoro echoed, not buying it.

Suzume smirked. It's probably...

"It shot right past me in front of the sun!" the man continued excitedly.

"When did this happen?"

"It was my birthday. April 4th. On that day, a weird car parked outside in the morning. And then some real estate agent came and closed off that basement." The man pointed in the direction of the basement to emphasize his point.

Suzume frowned. "What weird car?"

"It's weird because there are never cars here," he told her with a smile. "When I left in the morning, there was a car that looked new parked in the garden. But when I came back in the evening, it had turned into an old second-hand car. At night, that car had its parts taken and turned into a skeleton."

"Do you know why they closed off the basement?"

He shrugged. "Well, it was the machinery room. I guess he's gonna sell the machinery and make some money." He began to want out of the hotel.

"About what time was that?"

"It was in the evening."

After the homeless man left, Kogoro and Suzume split off to look around. While Kogoro was observing the lobby, Suzume decided to take a look at the machinery room that the man indicated to her. Pulling out her flashlight, she made her way down the stairs and found the locked door. Pulling out her lock picking set that had been a gift, she unlocked the door and pushed it open. A loud creaking noise echoed through the basement and she cringed at the sound.

"Hey, brat, what happened?!" Kogoro called down to her as he came down the stairs, clearly spooked by the loud creaking from the door. "Geez, don't scare me like that."