Thirteen years ago, during the Obon Festival.
Nagono Kawai could never forget that deserted path, the air filled with the scent of ginkgo, and the distant clanging of the railroad crossing's alarms as the barriers slowly descended, followed by the thunderous roar of a passing train.
"I'm sorry, I told you it wasn't on purpose..." Her younger brother followed her, pleading softly, "Will you forgive me? I'll share my pudding with you tonight..."
Nagono Kawai no longer remembered what the argument was about, it must have been something trivial. All she remembered was pushing her brother and shouting:
"Go to hell! I hate you the most!"
What followed was the sound of impact and the shattering of flesh and bones; she could never erase from her mind the image of her brother's face being crushed under the car's tires. The car paused momentarily, reversed, accelerated, and charged again, then reversed once more... The ninety-second green light turned into a prolonged ordeal.
Finally, as the red light appeared, the barriers slowly lifted, and the car lowered its window, the driver glanced at the body before speeding away across the tracks.
Afterward, people said it wasn't Kawai's fault, it was a green light at the time, and she was only play-fighting with her brother.
However, when Kawai looked up at the Buddha statue filled with compassion, all she felt was deep guilt.
To atone, she tormented herself, day after day, for ten years.
Memory is the most unreliable thing; Kawai feared she might forget that face. So, every night before sleeping, she would close her eyes and replay the scene—the scent of the ginkgo trees, the urgent alarm of the railroad crossing, her brother's bloody body, and the face that peeked out from the car window.
It took thirteen years of nightmares to engrain Sakurai Chizuru's face into her bones.
"I don't want to commit murder, so I asked the Divine Buddha Fortune-Telling nine times if I could take revenge..."
Nagono Kawai said softly, "Nine times the result was 'great fortune'."
She suddenly pulled the trigger, only to hear a sharp click; the bullet jammed.
Compared to firearms, Japan regulates bullets even more strictly. Thus, Nagono Kawai was using reloaded bullets. Due to differences in models, deformed shells, damp powder, and other factors, this kind of reloaded ammunition has a high jamming rate.
Sweat like beads formed on Sakurai Chizuru's forehead. She slowly turned her head and glanced at Kawai from the corner of her eye, urgently saying:
"As a police officer, how can you abuse justice with vigilante actions? I'll turn myself in! Please, please give me a chance to apologize!"
Fushimi Roku leaned back against the chair, sneeringly said, "Yes, it's only been thirteen years, the statute of limitations hasn't passed. Let the law punish her for perfect redemption, right? Doesn't Buddhism teach to lay down the butcher's knife and immediately achieve enlightenment?"
Nagono Kawai tuned out the noise, ejected the jammed bullet, reloaded, and said, "If all five bullets jam, it's destiny that I leave; if not, destiny makes me your retribution."
Upon hearing this, Instructor Sakurai finally realized the previous sharp sound was the bullet jamming.
If she had been unlucky, her head would probably have been blown open by now.
"Wait!"
She quickly said, "If you kill me, wouldn't you also be a murderer? Then what right would you have to live? Call the police, calling the police is the most rational choice—"
"Yes, I deserve to die as well." Nagono Kawai turned the gun towards her own temple and decisively pulled the trigger.
With a click, the bullet jammed again.
"This is destiny."
She dislodged the bullet, reloaded the chamber, and pointed the gun back at Sakurai Chizuru.
However, two consecutive jams rendered the gun ineffective as a threat. Sakurai Chizuru suddenly spun around, pulling a piercing dagger from a briefcase, and lunged forward!
Simultaneously, Nagono Kawai pulled the trigger!
As thunder rumbled across the sky, lightning cut through the clouds, and the gunshot was drowned in the downpour.
The bullet pierced through Sakurai Chizuru's abdomen, grazed Fushimi Roku's ear, and embedded itself in the wooden desk. Shocked, Fushimi's ear throbbed with pain, and when he touched it, his hand was covered in blood.
Tsk, DNA left behind.
Fushimi Roku furrowed his brow and looked up to see Sakurai Chizuru, driven by inertia, plunge the dagger into Nagono Kawai's chest. The latter did not evade, firing another shot into Sakurai Chizuru's abdomen.
Thunder rolled, deafening.
Tears streamed from Sakurai Chizuru's eyes, her spirited face now twisted with pain. Summoning her last ounce of strength, she twisted the knife, causing Nagono Kawai to spew blood and drop her pistol to the ground.
Both staggered a couple steps and collapsed.
Gasping for air, Sakurai Chizuru's pupils dilated, adrenaline suppressing her pain.
Surviving a disaster, she clutched her belly and burst into hysterical laughter.
"I survived! I'm alive! This is destiny! Do you see? This is destiny! You lunatic! How many years ago was that incident, utterly meaningless! For such a ridiculous reason, you attacked me, go die! Go die—"
Her voice abruptly halted.
A shadow fell on Sakurai Chizuru's face.
She tilted her head back, eyes wide open, pupils reflecting the dark gun barrel.
"—wait—"
Click!
Fushimi Roku pulled the trigger.
The first shot jammed, unfazed, he ejected and reloaded. Sakurai Chizuru panicked, screaming 'I have no grudge against you', 'Why', 'I know I'm wrong'... Fushimi Roku, expressionless, pulled the trigger again.
A gunshot rang out, the bullet pierced the center of her forehead, passing through her skull, blood splattering onto Nagono Kawai's badge.
"That's how you should use a gun."
He turned his gaze downwards at Nagono Kawai: "Using the detective game as an excuse, hoping Tamako and I would stop you from killing, wavering and indecisive, that's why it came to this for you."
Nagono Kawai struggled to sit up, leaning against the lectern, coughing blood foam, her eyes filled with confusion: "Why... why?"
"She's already shot through the spleen and bleeding profusely, even if I hadn't shot, she was doomed." Fushimi Roku explained.
"Then why did you fire the finishing shot?" She still did not understand.
"First, I also dislike Sakurai Chizuru. I once defended a hit-and-run culprit; it wasn't a pleasant experience."
"Second, stealing the diary was my idea, and you didn't rat me out. I dislike being in debt, so this clears it."
Fushimi Roku crouched down, looking directly into her eyes, saying earnestly: "I'm the murderer, and you are innocent."
Nagono Kawai was left dumbfounded.
A humming filled her ears, vision turning fuzzy, yet her heart felt a newfound ease.
The weight pressing on her soul for thirteen years suddenly dissipated. The path of becoming a murderer for atonement had reached its end. She relinquished her guilt without committing a murder, keeping her promise with Minamoto Tamako.
In her final moments, she dreamily returned to six years ago, where Minamoto Tamako, dressed in a high school uniform, jubilantly held up an application form:
"Alright! To eliminate all evil, to uphold justice, I hereby declare, the detective squad is officially established!"
Tears of warmth welled in Nagono Kawai's eyes, streaming down her face, and she murmured softly:
"Sorry, this will be my last puzzle..."