Reincarnated Into A Dead Woman's Body In Another World-Chapter 345: Arc 5, - 39: The Next Step

Although the hour had gone well past the evening hours, her heart still sped up at the mere thought—the thought of, that kiss. With her eyes wide, there she sat in front of her board pinned with mysteries connected by red string.

No matter where her eyes darted to, that thought kept punching any sort of sleuthing she could even begin to tackle. Her hair had been fanned out and dried, her uniform most likely on the clothesline indoors.

Even so, it was quick work for a certain redhead to dispel the water from some of the garments—including the one Fumeko kept lying on the edge of her bed...

As she glanced to Tiffany’s blazer, she heard a couple knocks at the door, "Who is it?"

"Me kid."

Fumeko responded with silence.

Kazuo gently opened the door and glanced in. His eyes first went to the evidence board the brunette had set up and then to his daughter. "I, just wanted to bring you these," Kazuo placed a dozen or more brochures and pamphlets on her desk.

"What’re those supposed to be?"

"Kid," Kazuo didn’t meet her gaze, "It’s time for you to think of, what comes next. There’s no rush, but these should help. You’ve got a good grade point average, better than a lot of students.

Criminology, forensics, sociology, you can choose whichever course you want; choose any university or college you want—in the country, abroad.

Money’s not an issue and you have all the freedom to choose. If you still want to be a detective, you can check out the courses I marked on these. At least, think about it all," he advised, in a voice that was so close to breaking into a sigh.

Fumeko crossed her arms, "Yeah. I will," her lips tightened right after she spoke.

Kazuo nodded. He held her doorknob, "See you in the morning kiddo," then shut the door.

The brunette walked towards her desk right after and picked up one of the top from Dolpool University. "What’s this? An attempt to subliminally make me stick around Dolpool?" she sneered.

She skimmed over the pages, with a glance—just about—to the courses her father had underlined or circled with red marker. None of them particularly piqued her interest, though they sounded cool.

With a sigh she shut the pages and took all of them into her grasp. As she left the door... "What, are you doing?" her brows raised.

Asobi’s legs hung over the handrail of the stairs and within her grasp was a book she held upside down. Books were stacked and papers were laid out all over the floor. Her face had gone red.

Her jade-green eyes shifted to the brunette, "Oh! I’m keeping the blood pumping to my brain so I can keep it active."

"That’s... only gonna give you a headache."

"Silly Meko, it already has! But this is probs not the best idea, is it..." she looked up to the ceiling in a daze. "How did you study?"

"Sat at a table taking notes. It’s easy to do when you’ve got absolutely nothing else to worry about," Fumeko said.

"It’s the only thing I need to worry about, my entrance exam’s tomorrow."

"Still crazy how quick they made an allowance for you to take the exam. Guess the enrolment’s close anyway."

"Aru worked her magic with the headmaster while you were hanging out with Tiffany."

"Yeah, just hanging out..." she muttered. She blinked to the staircase without disturbing the books and papers, "Good luck with studying."

"Thank you!" Asobi tossed her legs to the side and sat right-side up, "Woah-ah," her entire body swung from side-to-side.

Whilst Asobi wobbled and droned, Fumeko made her way downstairs. Her thoughts ran and ran; nothing else to worry about—her own words spiralled.

"Knock, knock." Fumeko waited out the door, "Hey, you two in there? I, I need to talk. If you’re busy canoodling, I’ll come some other time," she rolled her eyes.

The doorknob turned and out came a blonde in a yellow nightgown, "No, that’s not happening." She sighed and leaned against the doorframe. "I suspected something was up with you detective."

"Huh? What’re you talking about paranoiac?" Fumeko furrowed her brows.

"I don’t know," Jotou shrugged with a grin. "Ever since you came back home from the rain, it looked like you had something on your mind."

"It’s probably just you overthinking things again," she crossed her arms.

"Is it now?" Jotou noticed the pamphlets and brochures bunched up in her grasp. "Well, then what is it you wanna talk about?"

Fumeko peeked into the room, "I was hoping to ask the both of you, but," she handed them to Jotou. "My dad left these on my table and well, I’d like some advice."

Jotou looked through the pages. ’I’ve seen hundreds of these at this point.’ The mere sight of them made the blonde’s lips tighten.

The brunette’s shoulders slumped and a weary breath escaped her lips, "There’s the case that still needs to be solved, adventuring we still wanna do. The thing is, we’re running out of leads, fast.

We’re kinda in a standstill, not really knowing where to go. We need to be more drastic if we want more information about the cult.

But everything with my dad, I just; this would also technically be a way of proving to my dad I can be a good detective, right?" she looked up to the blonde... "Something less, reckless. You two’d know better," her voice softened.

Jotou stood upright and looked to her, "Aru’s downstairs, helping Kineko study before bed. But, I can probably tell you what she’d likely say. Which is to follow the path you think’s right for you.

There’s no reason you can’t quit one path and choose the other at any given point. You always have that choice."

"I figured she’d say as much, so I’d say you’re right," Fumeko replied. "And you? You’d probably say hell to education and studies if anything."

"First of all, I’m against the system and method of education and the ones that oversee them, not education and learning itself," Jotou squinted. "Second, I’d say it’s up to you, whether you think studying’ll be time well spent.

Third, you’ve accomplished a lot more with us and it hasn’t even been a year since we met. What you lack in having a degree in any of these majors, you make up for in practical experience.

You’ll be fighting for arbitrary grades, trying to get a higher GPA; all so you can get a paper to tell you you’re worthy enough to do what you already can do.

And, ugh," she snarled in disgust. Jotou lightly crumpled the papers as she handed it back to Fumeko. "All this stuff’s so, tedious and stupid—it’s like my old world.

Whatever you learn isn’t gonna be useful against people carving runes to bring out spirits and help fight against a cult with four-armed women and slime-people.

Your dad’s called the greatest detective in Burnetrout and dealt with the cult. Maybe you should ask him if he ever studied to be a detective."

Fumeko looked to the crumpled brochures and back up to Jotou with narrowed eyes, "He started out as a firefighter in training and well, got into the case about the great fire after he got here."

"There you go," Jotou put a palm out. She sighed and her eyes sparked, "Hypocrite; parents are like that. Look, a degree isn’t gonna solve all the issues of your life. If you learn to ride a bike, you never forget. Now, if you read how to ride a bike, I’d bet you’d forget.

Do you really wanna deal with staying up late, exhausted to meet deadlines and work with uncooperative classmates for assignments?

Is three to four years of memorizing things to vomit it back on some test, only to forget it the next week, worth your time? That’s, completely your choice."

Fumeko faced the floor, "Hm..."

Jotou smiled, "I vote, I want my detective on this adventure. Hmph. Silly detective; I believe she said she couldn’t stand by and do nothing while the cult did what they did."

Shadows glimmered in Fumeko’s eyes as she glanced up with the faintest of smirks.

"It’s up to you still, but the world has more choices than two," Jotou remarked.

Fumeko gave a nod, "Thanks."

"Always."

_

A couple of hours passed, the night had grown later; Kazuo Namora had changed into simpler clothes to go to sleep—a simple t-shirt of white and longer than usual black shorts.

He stretched his arm and popped a few joints, to which he groaned. The detective looked to his desk; high were those piles of documents and papers.

Pens and pencils were scattered, newspaper clippings were hung with clothespins, several used up notepads—so used that even the front and back covers had notes on them.

As he looked at it all, he was only reminded of how much more there was kept in drawers and cabinets, office desks and storage boxes. He wondered with an exhale, if he was simply really good at what he did, or obsessed.

Long years were spent with strings and theories; not one case had left his gaze yet, no matter the time it took. His memory then drifted to not but a few hours ago, to the board his daughter had feverishly put together herself in her room...

Before he heard a knock at the door, he spotted the shadow of feet coming from under the door—after which he heard the knock. He turned the knob, and speak of the devil.

Fumeko returned the brochures and pamphlets with no frown nor smile, "I’ve made my decision."

Kazuo took them back with a raise of his brow, "That is?"

"I’m leaving," Fumeko gazed up to him. "I’ve finished what I came here to do. Graduation’s done and you can keep the certificate, I don’t need it.

Asobi will probably be studying, so I’ll be around the city, but I’m pursuing the case—no matter what it takes. I made a mistake last time, but I’m not planning to repeat it.

You don’t need to worry, I’ve kept myself alive so far; and that’s thanks to my friends. I won’t stop—I know I want to be who I want to be."

Kazuo pouted, "Talking big’s easy kid."

"I know. But I’m coming for your title and I’ll be damned if I don’t give it everything I’ve got," shadows glimmered in her eyes. She turned around without another word and headed for the stairs.

Kazuo watched her walk away and his brows wrinkled up his forehead. He looked back into his room—the mountains of cases, the notes, the work gathered over years—and grazed his thumb over the papers in his hand...

In a world of endless potential and mistakes made by those who he had apprehended and tracked down, he only saw one choice to make—the one choice that won’t leave him with regrets, the one choice that could bring her the best outcome...

"Kid," a weak voice called out. Then he turned and stepped out the door, filling his lungs with more air, "Fumeko," he called.

_ 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

’With good lucks from all of us, Asobi was dropped off at the school for her enrolment exam. I honestly have no doubt she’ll pass with all of the effort she’s put in. Kineko, left in the care of a babysitter in 22 Fleur Boulevard.

All while Kazuo Namora took us somewhere; somewhere that even Fumeko wasn’t fully told about. The three of us had no clue where we were even going.

The carriage went through streets and streets, from the school to somewhere westwards of Orchid Borough. All the while Meko kept looking out the window then glaring to her dad. It was, an awkward silence...

Right to the edge of the borough we were led, where it bordered Kalmia Borough. The streets were not too different, maybe a few dips in the roads and pavements.

What stood in front of us was-’ A five-storey building of red and black bricks. The paint looked fresh in contrast to the other buildings in the near vicinity. This structure alone stretched the length of three or four buildings.

The symbol of a bronze phoenix upon a black shield; above it, a ribbon of black, with the letters ’D.P.D.’ engraved within. "Why d’you bring us to a police department?" Fumeko glanced up and up.

"It’s not just a department, it’s the main headquarters of the Dolpool Police Force. It’s also frequently visited and used by the GAS," he replied after paying the carriage driver.

"The gas?" Jotou knitted her brows.

"Grand Alderman’s Service—GAS. They’re like the Royal Guard for Cravolta," Hotaru stated.

"Exactly," Kazuo ushered them up the steps.

"Fantastic, why d’you bring us to a special police department?" Fumeko’s eyes glazed over.

"You’re not gonna turn us in cause we investigated you-know-what are you...?" Jotou peered—her sword was not with her...

"No kid, I- why would I do that?" he looked to the blonde.

"Fumeko can’t leave if we’re all in a cell now, can she?" Jotou glared.

Fumeko then leered up to her father...

"You’re," he held the bridge of his nose as he approached the door, "No, that’s not what’s happening."

Hotaru hushed to them both, "Even if that happens, there’s enough guilty parties that I can probably talk us out of it."

With a nod each, Jotou and Fumeko walked up the steps with a Hotaru shaking her head whilst following behind.

Kazuo placed his hand on the door, "Just, know that you have some concrete business here, things we can’t obtain easily."

All three looked to him in confusion before he opened the door. As they entered, they were met with bright white lights and sounds of chatter from police and visitors alike.

Distinctly, the police wore uniforms of blacks, with trimmings of reds. They all wore a symbol of their department above their left breast pocket and a tall hat.

Two rookie officers passed by and widened their eyes to the man who walked in. They gave spontaneous salutes, to which Kazuo would give a small smile and salute back as he passed, with the other three trailing behind him.

’We kept following behind, hoping to figure out what the hell he was bringing us here for, what possible business. He talked to some officers by the reception and then pointed to us.’

The officer behind the reception desk widened her eyes and nodded with a gulp. She pressed a button behind the desk and talked into a phone, that looked almost like a candlestick.

Standing a few steps back, "They’re calling the head of the department. Your dad just said that Jotou’s the Thundering Blade and I’m the Azure Firefly," Hotaru was the only one who could hear—she had focused through the cacophony of noise around.

"Why hasn’t he just told us what he’s doing?" Fumeko hushed with narrowed eyes.

"There’s probably a good reason," the blonde glanced from wall to wall of the room.

"I know that, I’m just trying to figure out what it is," the brunette watched.

Kazuo walked back to them, three police officers in tow. "Hello to you all, you can take care of your business while the commissioner gets here," one of the officers greeted, tipping his hat.

"Thank you, we’ll be finished with our work as quickly as we can," Jotou smiled.

"Or longer," Fumeko crossed her arms and gave a glare, "You never know how much we’re gonna get."

"If it does take longer, you can just refer to me, I’ll take care of any of the paperwork," Hotaru bowed her head slightly.

"We’ve already been informed, right this way," the same officer led forward and Kazuo did not give the three a second glance as he walked. So, with false faces and vague deception, they made their way through to the back of the building.

All the security of locks and eyes were passed, leaving them at a suspiciously mundane floor. Simple white tiles, but nothing on them—stretching to maybe about three or four metres in width...

The eyes of the entire department could not reach their location as one of the officers slid a part of the wall open and revealed a keyhole.

Into which, the officer fitted a key to twist. "Click." "CHF!" "CRUMBLEE!" The suspiciously empty floor, quite literally, crumbled into dust and revealed a platform and a tunnel leading down, lit by magical lamps to the sides.

’It was no different to the elevator in the Krian Maleficos Ordinate; except this one seemed to go down diagonally. No one really said a word, but the lower we went, the more we realized where we were going.’

The glowing red platform came to a halt and around them were rows and rows of solitary cells. The officers directed them down a particular hallway to the right.

Glass protected them, from the criminals they passed. Some were asleep, some watched as the unknown individuals trekked through—some glared to the tall detective who made no eye contact with any of the prisoners.

The glass had a faint, barely noticeable, reddish glimmer to them. As Fumeko eyed each one of the prisoners they passed, she noticed a similarity—they all had collars, black and bright purple.

"Here we are," the officer stopped at a cell.

’I expected a lot of things. I was generally unsure, sure. But what I didn’t expect...’

In garments of bright red, much like the uniforms of all the prisoners here, was a woman with bronzed skin with no blemish nor scar.

Dark green hair with lighter shades mixed within and light green eyes that pierced those who had come to visit her. Her dark green lizard-like tail whipped to one side as she sat up on her bed.

’Was to see her of all people...’

"Feather..." the words involuntarily escaped Jotou’s lips.