Tokyo: Officer Rabbit and Her Evil Partner

Chapter 44

Yoshimura Yu still tried to say something, but the other instructors cut him off. When there's a disturbance, you grab the ringleader. They stuffed a rag into his mouth and hauled him into the cave like a sack of rice.

At last the uproar died down. Shirata Masahiro barked an order for everyone to fall back inside the cave.

Then, voice softening, he soothed the cadets, telling them, "You're the students I'm proud of," "Every one of you is a fine young man," "Keep pushing yourselves after graduation..." The words drew fresh tears; the scene turned into pure melodrama.

"The fog will lift soon. Ten minutes' rest, then we move," Shirata said, pale-faced, forcing a smile. "This is the last leg—show me your guts!"

"Yes, sir!" the cadets roared.

Shirata nodded, satisfied. They'd learned shame and now found courage; everyone would pass. The pep talk hit like a shot of adrenaline—eyes welled, blood burned, spirits soared.

Only Yoshimura Yu wept in silence, dragged along like a dead dog between two instructors, not planning to take a single step on his own.

The instigator, Classmate Fushimi, couldn't care less. He followed Minamoto Tamako into the cave and up to the skeleton.

Only then did everyone remember: Fushimi Shika and Tamako had turned back to Daisetsuzan precisely for this set of bones. While the rest agonised over the descent, Tamako had hauled her feverish self uphill to investigate. It wasn't a gap in skill; it was a difference in resolve.

Total defeat...

The same thought flickered through every mind.

Before they reached the remains, Miu warned, "Careful! Th-the skeleton... it moved..."

No sooner had she spoken than the skull swivelled again, fixing its hollow sockets on Fushimi. He didn't flinch; he only glanced at Tamako. "Your cue, world-class deduction prodigy, future famous inspector and detective..."

"Stop!" Tamako's face flamed scarlet; she clapped a hand over his mouth. "Don't announce it in front of everyone!"

"Why not? After graduation we'll never meet again—might as well shine now..." Fushimi yawned; he'd stayed up all night watching over her and could barely keep his eyes open. "Hurry up, it's freezing. I want to go back and sleep."

Tamako nodded, stepped up to the skeleton, snapped on white gloves and began a meticulous examination.

Several cadets hovered at a respectful four-metre distance, craning their necks. Curious but too embarrassed to ask outright, they shoved Hidenori forward as the sacrificial dummy.

"So, Classmate Tamako, notice anything unusual?" he ventured.

"Two points."

She pointed to a notch in the skull. "First, this hole—gunshot. I spotted it when I first found the body, which is why I suspected homicide."

"Back then we were still sweeping the mountain, so I couldn't examine it properly, but I clearly remember a rusted bullet lodged in the opposite side of the skull. The round punched through the left temple, ploughed through the brain, and stopped against the right bone..."

She rotated the skull to show Fushimi. "Strange—the bullet's gone."

"Eh?" Hidenori blinked. Wasn't the moving skull the headline? And why was Tamako calmly twisting the thing like a doorknob?

Before anyone else found words, she continued, "Second suspicious point: the jacket pocket."

The skeleton wore a threadbare jacket over a sweatshirt reduced to shreds. Tamako turned one pocket inside out; it was empty.

"Uh... what's suspicious about that?" Hidenori scratched his head.

"Too clean—no dust." She flipped the other pocket; it brimmed with grit and pebbles. "Something the size of a small box once filled this pocket perfectly. Recently removed—probably by the same person who took the bullet."

More cadets pressed in to watch the show.

"Ah, I see," Hidenori muttered, rubbing the tip of his nose. "Actually, what we really want to know is why the skull moved..."

"Because there's a snake inside—didn't you notice?"

Tamako's expression said, why are you asking such a dumb question? She lifted the skull free from the spine and tilted it toward Hidenori.

A small snake coiled inside the cranium. Moments earlier it had wrapped its body around the cervical vertebrae, probably looking for a winter hide-out. Disturbed by the cadets, it now wriggled, making the skull seem to turn on its own in the dim light.

Oh...

Realisation dawned; the mystery deflated. Shirata clapped his hands—break time was over, time to march.

Fushimi checked his watch. Getting late; they really should head down.

Suddenly Tamako turned. "Who first found the skeleton?"

Kuroki Miu raised her hand timidly. "I... did."

"When you reached the cave, did you see any footprints?"

"No..." Miu glanced back; the others were already packing. "Anything else? Otherwise we're leaving..."

"Wait!"

Tamako swept her small arm in a dramatic arc, striking the classic pose of "the culprit is among us."

"One of you has stolen crucial evidence! If you want to leave, hand over the missing item first!"

Everyone froze, first reaction pure bewilderment. Who would loot a corpse?

"It started snowing after last night's sweep. Any outsider entering the cave would have left prints. Since there are none, that bullet disappeared after you arrived."

When homicide was involved, Tamako's principles were iron. Her small face set, she said gravely, "Please cooperate. Just a few minutes—tell me who approached the skeleton..."

"Sorry, no time for your detective games," Shirata cut in. "I'm responsible for my students. We're leaving now."

"Weren't we promised ten minutes?" Fushimi tapped the crystal of his watch. "It's only been seven. Three more won't hurt. Besides, the fog hasn't fully lifted—have you somewhere urgent to be, Instructor?"

Under the cadets' puzzled stares, Shirata fell silent, lit a cigarette, exhaled a plume of white smoke.

"Three more minutes, then."