Detective Yuki

3. Koto

1.       Koto

On the foothills of mount Fuji stood the opulent mansion of Senbi. Aibo and Yuki marvelled at the exquisite decorations, gargoyles, fountains, slanted green tiled roof, and manicured garden groves of advanced topiaries. The duo parked their car next to an old man in a red kimono and sandals sitting under a blossoming cherry tree. The man gazed at Yuki discouragingly as Aibo came to greet her.

"a girl driving, I never thought I would live to see the day" the man scoffed.

"is that a problem sir?" Yuki inquired discreetly.

"it is all the problem!. Women should never learn to drive automobiles. They are only good as Geishas and that is that. It includes you too, young lady!!" the elder snapped back.

Yuki simply went back to the car, honked the horn a couple of times, then slammed the door and made her way inside the mansion, followed quickly by Aibo.

"I know we should respect our elders, but I thought that man was plain scum" the young man argued to Yuki as they frolicked among other groups in fancy dress or suited wears.

"it is because of scum like him that I became a detective" she strolled in a huff.

"a detective?" Aibo seemed perplexed.

"yes, privately to the Tokyo police department. I needed a challenge to keep my mind in check, so I thought enlisting in the army was best, but I was rejected. I found better company amongst the fellows of the police in our empire's capital instead" she boasted before bumping into a tall shadow. Upon further inspection, the shadow had a masked face for none other than Mr Senbi himself, whose presence required an applause deemed fit.

"miss Yuki, it is so good to see you, the hero of the hour, here at my private estate. I noticed a white car of my own branding appear in the parking area, and a small woman in a neat little dress accompanied by your date?" Senbi spoke without a move in his mask.

"no, you have it all wrong. He is my assistant. Aibo, meet Senbi" Yuki addressed the two men, with Aibo retaining disbelief that he was her assistant. 

"of course, miss, I do hope you appreciate your little gift as a token of my appreciation for that courageous act which you undertook yesterday. It is clear you know where to find the action" Senbi giggled to himself. Yuki felt implored to gloat but prevented herself from doing so.

After an hour, dinner and desert had been served in the ornate gold encrusted dining room wing of the mansion, until Senbi proposed a toast.

"distinguished guests, I would like to propose this glass to miss Yuki Miyamoto, who singlehandedly thwarted the biggest robbery this great city of ours has seen in several years. To Yuki" he cheered as the congregation joined him in congratulating the star of the show, with Aibo in tow.

Soon the entire commune migrated out of the dining room to the glorious white ballroom, topped with a giant crystal chandelier. Classical music was a recent import that had taken the upper class of Japan by storm, with the entire room entranced by the rhythms of Bach and Chopin. Aibo and Yuki were dancing ballroom style graciously, when Senbi waltzed over the dancefloor to the couple.

"I hope you have enjoyed my party, miss Yuki and this nice young man you have brought this evening, but I am afraid I have a previous engagement now across town, so I will look forward to seeing you very soon" the gentleman reassured his guest of honor as he left the mansion for his automobile factory on the other side of Tokyo.

Half an hour had passed since Senbi's departure, Yuki was on the second-floor balcony at the front of the mansion watching a fireworks display not far away to the south, soon accompanied by a tipsy Aibo, who may have had one too many champagnes handed out by the butlers.

"heeyyy Yuki bear, you good, because I feel great and drunk" Aibo laughed.

"I feel good too, great in fact to be recognized for doing what I do best: be myself" Yuki exclaimed as she held up her new friend to their view of the glowing low-rise city in front of them. They held a virtually unruined for several minutes, until without notice, a massive explosion broke the silence, as a shockwave of energy was sent hurdling out in all directions, and the sky grew red as molten lava. The roars of constant thunder and lightning interrupted the festivities and the nightlife of Tokyo, before balls of fire the size of a fist began to rain down from the sky, spreading destruction wherever they landed, including at the mansion.

This forced a hasty evacuation as the guests rushed out of the mansion away from the carnage. After five minutes of hailing fireballs, Yuki and Aibo continued to speed through the exploding city streets.

"where are we going?" a swerving Aibo mustered.

"that explosion was not from a plane. It was on the ground, and I saw it come over by one of the big new buildings at Tokyo's western frontier. We are going there, because maybe we can shed some light on the matter" Yuki hypothesized to an Aibo that was reluctant yet ready to help. As the car pulled up to its destination, the duo inside it were in shock at what they saw. A giant crater had emerged on the former sight of Senbi's automobile factory, along with the surrounding houses being levelled to the ground. They exited the car with caution, oblivious to what had conspired amid the devastation. What once had been a prosperous area churning out fine cars surrounded by the houses of workers, had now become a barren wasteland of charred ash wood and twisted metal, illuminating the Tokyo skyline with a red plume across the city.

"what on earth happened here?" Aibo questioned as Yuki took the initiative and began her search for clues almost immediately, soiling her fine ballroom dress with marks of charcoal. Aibo remained at the top of the wide crater, about thirty feet wide in all directions and fifteen feet deep, tearing through the ruins of the central assembly line. Aibo soon drew his attention to something extremely peculiar, as did Yuki when she discovered something at the epicenter of the crater.

"Aibo, look what I found. It looks like the mask Senbi wore at the party. Oddly white despite the blackened wood indicates this was his" she marvelled and inspected. She maneuvered the mask around and saw a small piece of paper concealed inside the face rest.

"Yuki, what do you make of this?" Aibo called down to her, as she held onto the mask and paper.

Aibo directed Yuki over to where the exit of the factory had once stood but inspired her to puzzle over a trail of black ashy footprints left behind and leading out into the street.

"it would seem Senbi was here, and whoever caused this must have had a serious grudge against him. Do you think you can follow these tracks a little?. If so, meet me back at this address" Yuki told Aibo while showing him the mask she had found and her address using some charcoal from the ruined buildings on a half-burnt piece of paper.

"certainly, someone has murdered Senbi in what was obviously an arson attack" Aibo volunteered as he gave chase to the footprints like a hound after a hare. Meanwhile, Yuki took her quarry back to her cottage to investigate as the Tokyo police and fire department arrived on the scene.