2025-07-21: Crimes That Matter
- Log: Crimes That Matter
- Cast: Tsubasa Seki, Katsuya Suou, helpful dog Lance
- Where: Hirasaka Ward - Rough Streets
- OOC Date: 2025-07-21
- IC Date: Wednesday, June 13 2012
- Summary: Katsuya is investigating a murder, and Tsubasa is deeply, deeply suspicious. It's only when he pushes a remarkably successful investigation to its end that they manage to tell him what really happened, though -- and the truth of the abuse they actually suffered is so horrifying, he lets them go without any more questioning. Unfortunately, to Tsubasa, his horrified reaction just looks like disinterest...
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Tsubasa Seki is a punk. Now, some punks, they declare their punkness through their attitude; other punks have wild styles, like the ganguro girls or mohawk boys or sukebans or sentaa guys. This punk? This punk has such a deep fake tan they've turned orange, with bleach-white hair dyed in pink, purple, and blue all hanging in a shock explosion from their head like some kind of -- metal thrasher. They're wearing a Kasugayama uniform, but it's entirely unclear whether it's the right one, because it's hard to really tell if they're a boy or a girl under all that artifice. The bottom half of their shirt is unbuttoned and tied across their bruised belly, and their sleeves are rolled up to expose their similarly-bruised arms. Youth violence.
They're setting off, like, fifteen different crime alarms, even though the only dubious thing they're doing this afternoon is walking their dog without a leash. It doesn't even look like a poorly-behaved dog, even though that's definitely a Tosa Inu, which looks scarred despite the fact that dogfighting is illegal in the prefecture of Tokyo. (It might be legal elsewhere in the country, but not here.) Slouching probably isn't a crime, but the threatening look in their eye for anyone who stares too long might be the prelude to a crime. Both in attitude and appearance, this kid is a punk through and through!
... it might not be so weird that some people stare when they stalk past, though. Get a little closer, and it's clear that their tan isn't entirely even, across their body. Concealer is covering a lot of discolouration, on their right side. No, not just discolouration -- the texture is different. Those are burn scars they're covering up. A whole lot of burn scars.
Oh, no.
This punk is the punk kid who set City Hall on fire a few years ago, apparently due to a bout of insanity, which would explain why they set the office on fire while they were inside it. They're being managed by an officer, which might explain why they're not doing any crimes presently. But what about that evidence of past crimes?! So many crimes!
Tsubasa remains oblivious as to how much they're making the Crime Sensor go off as they stalk down the street with their dog.
<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
It might not be a surprise to learn that different divisions within the police department are given greater or lesser prestige depending on the perceived impact of the crimes at play. Homicide is king, of course: what could be more important than solving an untimely murder? Further down the rung is narcotics: Japan, in particular, takes a heavy-handed approach to drug-related crimes. Arsons are also taken seriously. Destruction of property is no joke, and on that note, theft is of significant concern. But traffic? ...Juvenile crime?
Woe betide the cop in the juvenile division, as regards the pecking order. While Katsuya may be down on his luck where homicide is concerned (he's getting assigned to incidental suspicious deaths or 'definitely not because of Joker' cases), he's not involved with juvenile crimes. Nor is he a beat cop.
Someone's turned up dead in Yumezaki, and while they don't think it's anything too serious to worry about, they sent someone (e.g., Suou) over to investigate. The scene's been photographed and catalogued, the body's been packed away for the morgue, which now means...
...he gets to find out if anyone saw or heard anything. The other inhabitants of the building swore up and down they didn't hear or see anything out of the ordinary overnight, which means finding out anything more than the basic facts about the apparent victim (name, job, their general perception of him) is... ...going to be difficult. It's the usual. No one really knew him. No one knows if he was in trouble with anyone else, or giving someone else trouble. No one knows him well enough to say if he was perhaps suicidal (not that there was a note; there's almost never a note even at an actual suicide). No one knows anything that would give him direction, which suggests it's going to probably end up another cold case. Another person no one cared about, dying alone in this city...
Katsuya stands outside the building, lost in thought. He'll have to check employment records. Perhaps that's the best avenue. If the victim worked, that gives him an avenue to follow up. Maybe he can try asking at the local shops, see if anyone else might have known... him...
His gaze lands on the colorful figure of a punk walking their dog (it's in fact impossible to make a call at this distance if they're a boy or girl; once, the Kasugayama uniform would have been a clear indication, period, but those days have ended as of this spring). Bruises, Katsuya notices. From a struggle? Possibly with a...
They've got Katsuya's full attention now. Youth crimes leading to murder are rare, and, of course, he has no evidence. Still, something about the youth's appearance doesn't quite sit right with him. That's makeup, isn't it? It's not just a tan. In fact, if he had to make a guess, it's covering up...
...burns. A few newspaper headlines rise to the top from the abyss within his mind. That fire at City Hall. A kid set a fire in one of the offices: had set herself (she, he thinks he remembers?) on fire in the process. Insanity had been the verdict, but what are the odds that this is the same...
...pretty good, actually.
He has a possible murder to solve (alongside the very many other supernaturally-related murders he also needs to solve). And, if his worse suspicions are true, this person might have something to do with it. Or, possibly, have overheard something or otherwise have some information about what happened in apartment 2B.
"Excuse me," he calls out to them, walking quickly to try to intercept them. "Might I have a word? I'm from the Konan Ward Department. Sergeant Suou, homicide." He's already produced his badge. He doesn't waste time...
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Not many people try to intercept Tsubasa, on the street. They'd love to say this is all because of their fearsome rep, but honestly, most of it is just the culture of the city: even strange figures aren't stopped, generally speaking, because people in a city all have somewhere to be and they're all in a hurry to get there.
It probably helps that they glare at anyone they catch staring, though, because teenagers are terrifying monsters and no one wants to be caught out by someone trying to figure out how risk works and why they should care about it.
Strangely, though, this kid knows about one particular risk. The risk... of a cop approaching them, getting into their path so they have to stop and look at him. At his badge. Homicide... what? He thinks they killed a guy or something?
"Don't got words for cops," they state, flatly, their stoic tone at odds with the slight edge of what can only be described as being really freaked out to be stopped by a guy like Katsuya. Their voice sounds like it's been dragged through gravel, and while that might sound like a smoker's affectation, a keen detective's mind might instead leap to damage from smoke inhalation secondary to fire.
Lance, that Tosa Inu, wanders up to him and sniffs at him before she starts wagging her tail, ears all perked up. Maybe he ought to question the dog, she looks way more friendly than her owner.
<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
For all that he might fret inwardly or worry, Katsuya has all the confidence afforded a healthy, tall Japanese young adult male with the sort of career he has: the only way he could be any more confident is if he was wealthy andor socially well-connected. Of the latter two, alas, he is neither: he has only the status he was born with and the status he has climbed to early in his career as a police detective. But it's more than enough to walk up to and address Tsubasa without even flinching.
Even at that glare.
Unfortunately, they don't want to talk.
But one doesn't make homicide detective if they're afraid of confrontation.
Strange, Katsuya contemplates when his initial volley is deflected. If he didn't know better, he'd think they were a heavy smoker-- ah. Smoke inhalation, secondary to exposure to a fire. In fact, that's how most people caught in a blaze die.
There's something familiar about that, something that runs down the length of his spine. No, there hadn't been any deaths in the fire that consumed the entirety of the--
The thought stops him dead. He blinks. What fire? At City Hall? Of course no one was killed. He's looking at the only person who was injured in it at all. What in the world was he thinking about? Shaking his head, Katsuya focuses again on Tsubasa, who is trying to do their level best to evade him, and their dog, who is very much not. Before he really thinks twice about it, he reaches down to pat her on the head.
Then, as if they hadn't tried to brush him off and he hadn't had a moment there, for some reason, or pet their dog, he asks quite casually, "Those bruises look new. Did you receive them the other night?"
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Tsubasa's expression grows confused, as Katsuya just stops dead for a moment there. "Uh. You good?" They can't help but ask, despite the fact that they have no words for cops; apparently, they're not so uncaring that their first response to someone zoning out in such a weird way isn't to express concern.
Lance whines, because she's used to picking up Tsubasa's moments, and sniffs Katsuya's hand before giving it a good licking. It's okay, human! You're safe now!!
But Katsuya takes that opening and (surely intentionally?!) exploits it. Tsubasa takes a step back, a hand coming up to cover the bruise at their side. "N-no way," they say, their freaked outedness coming through in their voice now too. "Just banged my arm on somethin', uh... got hit with a baseball while we were playin'." Tsubasa wouldn't be caught dead playing sports, but he doesn't have to know that.
Tragically, they're giving their lies to a man who knows what kind of bruise a fist leaves. And while most of their bruises could believably be older -- they're fading -- the one they're covering up is still quite fresh. Perhaps three days old, at the maximum.
<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
That was... odd. It was like stepping over his own grave, if he wanted to call it that. A sense that he'd seen something himself not all that long ago (he can almost smell the smoke in the air, in memory) but he's fairly certain -- positive -- he hadn't been anywhere near where that fire had occurred. It was like something he'd seen before, but had never occurred.
...'Deja vu', aren't they calling it of late? He's heard of cases from other officers in recent weeks, but until now, he hadn't...
But it's neither here nor there. He has a suspect, or possibly a witness, to interrogate, and he'll get nowhere catching himself up on a hallucination, however concerning it is that he's having them now along with the rest.
"I'm fine," he assures them, though there's still that momentary hesitation -- that moment of 'that was weird'. The world tilted, and now it is righted, and, oh yes a dog is licking his hand.
He's not a dog person, but their dog seems like a fine dog, if he's to be any judge. He resists the urge to pat her on the head again.
They cover their bruise when he seizes on the opening, backing away. ...That's a lie. His face doesn't so much as flicker, but Katsuya's gaze hardens: 'caught you', the look suggests. "If I had to hazard a guess, those bruises are fairly recent. Perhaps... two, three days at most? Did you get in a fight with someone around here recently?" He pauses, trying to see what he can tease out of Tsubasa's gaze: what thoughts lie behind those eyes? Is that guilt? "Is the name 'Masaya Oku' familiar to you?" The dead man of apartment 2B. The one nobody knows anything about. A violent end, but at whose hands? Could it be possible that the perpetrator is...?
But if there's evidence, he doesn't yet have it.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Well, at least the cop's okay. Ugh, wait, why is Tsubasa worrying about him when he's such a problem for them?
Katsuya's caught them, though, and it's lucky that they've got such a deep fake tan; it covers up the way they pale, seeing that look in his eyes. "It's not like that!" They snap, as Lance returns to their side, pawing at them with a whine.
There is guilt, in their eyes, but it's tempered with fear. Why wouldn't they be afraid, though, facing up to an officer like this? After all --
Their brow knits, when Katsuya gives them that name. It's harder to see, since they've shaved their eyebrows, but the makeup across the top of their eyes is at least something of a replacement. "Huh?" They ask, with confusion. "Do I look like I know that guy? Mighta heard his name get yelled out over at Izakaya Shiraishi, that's about it..." ... but are they just acting dumb, with how suspicious they're being?
<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
It is odd, though. The dog looks like she's possibly been in a few fights (Katsuya is not up on his dog breeds, but if he had to hazard a guess it does look like a dogfighting breed) but the way she's acting is far from the way he's heard dogs engaged in dogfighting behave. In fact, this one is downright friendly.
Animals, unlike people, can't lie.
There's guilt there. And... fear? Of being caught? That wouldn't be a surprise, he considers, regarding them as he presses on.
But, is the confusion? Or, is that the look someone adept in lying can make? Their reputation precedes them, if they are who he thinks they are. It might even not be lying. It might be another... lapse. "You are a resident of this neighborhood, correct? This morning, he was found dead in his apartment under suspicious circumstances. Surely you have heard something." He's easing off. Is it because he doesn't think they've done it, or is it another trick? Cops are adept in using tricks. And if he starts to think they did it, well...
"So, you think they were a regular at that Izakaya? How often are you there? Have you encountered them before?" Didn't they just say-- or does he not believe them there, either?
"...What is your name?" he asks, at last.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Shit," Tsubasa swears. "I mean, yeah, around here, but... I dunno, man, you hear shit all the time. Ain't no one comin' to help you, even if you yelp." Their expression darkens, their hand tightening at their side. "Whole place is a dive, shit. You don't end up here if your life's workin' out."
They're thinking back, though, to the way they wrecked that microwave with the Boss back on Sunday night. (The same night they got that bruise they're guarding freshened up.) They must have partied pretty hard after that; they don't even remember how the night ended, just that they hadn't even showered when they collapsed. Were they loud enough that someone could get away with icing a guy...?
Shit. Shit.
Those thoughts are dancing pretty close to their eyes, the way their expression tightens as their teeth grit in their jaw. They didn't mean to -- fuck. And now this cop, damn it --
"It's Seki," they tell Katsuya, looking away. "Tsubasa Seki. I don't know shit about him, all right? Don't go to Izakaya all that much, don't got the scratch. But everyone here's gone to see Ma'am at some point, so why don't you go bother her, already?"
<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
It's true. It's one of the rougher neighborhoods, enough that even the locals have not been particularly forthcoming with the authorities. He can't seriously believe that none of the neighbors saw or heard anything, but... then again, in this day and age, people are more split from one another than ever. Or perhaps both are even true: they saw and heard nothing and they don't trust the authorities.
This is the sort of world Japan has become, is it...
"I see," he says, as they stammer out an answer, swears and all.
[EMPATHY]: They're in a panic. But is it about his death? There's something that's got them frightened, and it's not just about your presence here. Maybe they didn't do something. Maybe they saw something. Did it involve the dead man?
His gaze flits again to their bruises. He looks harder this time. Definitely from a fist. Someone hit them. But... that's not nearly enough of a bruise to be from someone who would have been fighting for their life, even if the man was intoxicated.
"Seki-san. I see," he says. That was the name. He's certain that was the name. "So, you think that the victim would have been a regular at the Izakaya? I will speak to the owner about him." But if Tsubasa thinks he's letting them get away with just that--
[LOGIC]: You already know what to ask.
He gazes at them over the top of those red shades of his. "Tell me about your bruises. Who did you get in a fight with? If you were with someone else the other night, I can speak to them to corroborate your story. Otherwise, I may have to ask that you accompany me to the nearest station for questioning."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"I dunno," Tsubasa shrugs, uncomfortable with all the attention and seeing no other chance to get him out of their face than to throw Ma'am under the bus. Hopefully, she forgives them. "If that makes you happy, sure. Whatever." It's more than most of the locals have given him, at least; Tsubasa might know the theory of not talking to the cops, but they're still only seventeen. Katsuya has years of experience on them; it's no wonder his interrogation's going well.
... unfortunately for Katsuya, his interrogation's going well. Because when he asks his next question, Tsubasa staggers another step back, their other hand clasping over their bared stomach. Lance, having intuited that they feel threatened, helpfully positions herself between them and Katsuya, watching carefully.
Fuck. Fuck! And now he wants them to rat on the Boss, too?! Fuck, but he wants them for questioning, and there's no way it's not easier to just blame them, what the fuck, going down for murder?! Fuck!
"It was my father, all right?!" It bursts out of them, defensive, but there are tears in their eyes; their shoulders hunch forward, and they look down to their hands, and they're able to see how shallow their breathing is from how their hands are guarding their body so there's no way he can't. "Look, I -- he dumped me out here so he wouldn't have to look at me after I ruined his damn life, but everythin's busted. And it's like, whatever, cope, but then the microwave fried and like, the fuck am I gonna do? Only way I got to cook shit... but he got real mad about it. Real mean." They swallow, against a lump in their throat, grimacing at the memory.
"... looked at the spot someone'd slugged me a week back, gave it another. Said no one'd believe me if I told on him 'cause I'm a piece of shit punk to begin with. Called me a girl, all sorts of shit, doesn't fuckin' matter... but he said he'd replace it later, so, like, me --" no, the Boss wasn't there with them, fuck it, they'll just look like they forgot how to talk, "I, I took the damn microwave out onto the street and smashed it up once he was gone, alright? Fuck, sue me," they probably shouldn't tell a cop to do that, can he do that? Tsubasa doesn't know, though they are trembling. "I wasn't hurtin' no one. Had some fucks yell at me they were tryin' to sleep 'cuz it was just about midnight, that's it. You happy, now? Fuck," they blink, rapidly, and they're evidently trying to pretend they're not crying.
<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
He's familiar with that particular izakaya in theory, though in practice it's... another story. When he's in Hirasaka, it's usually because something unfortunate has happened, which means that any time spent locally is not for recreation. Such as today. Still, he has heard from other officers that the Ma'am who runs that particular izakaya has her finger on the pulse of Hirasaka. If his current line of questioning does not pan out, perhaps that's another avenue he can pursue outside Oku's employer (if they can find out who that is).
But...
Unfortunately, indeed, this interrogation is going too well. He's hit a nerve; even the dog places herself between him and her owner. Just once, he glances down, as if to take in Lance's own emotional state (aren't dogs said to be good at emotionally connecting with humans?).
The source of the bruises was their-- father. "What?" Katsuya looks taken aback. Shaken, even. "What are you talking about, surely--"
Katsuya had a good childhood. His own father never raised a hand against him or his brother. Logically, he knows that not all childhoods are happy ones. Logically, he knows that things like this-- happen. But as he looks at them, really looks... No. No one can fake tears like that. He can't believe someone can fake tears like that.
Tsubasa continues, all of it spilling out of them like he'd opened a wound. In a sense, he has. Called them a... girl? He could have sworn that he half-remembers the 'Seki' from the article being identified as a young woman, but perhaps he's misremembering. Or, maybe...
Katsuya is aware that transgender people exist, but the reality of nonbinary has not even begun to cross his radar (despite encountering Myunghon, who also falls into this category). It's entirely possible he's got the wrong idea here. Still-- it's neither here nor there. He looks ashen, standing there as if stunned as Tsubasa goes on, and on, and...
They are definitely crying. "I... see," he says, fidgeting with his sunglasses as if he would rather be anywhere than here right now. This... is his fault, though. After a moment's awkward silence he chances a look their way and then reaches into his pocket to fish out a packet of tissues. They've been opened before. They're not fresh. "I am... sorry for the misunderstanding," he settles for at last, not even looking at Tsubasa anymore. This has gone beyond awkward. It's gone so far beyond awkward that it's dove headlong into awful. What sort of life does this person lead, if they're still being hit by their--
"In the... the event you should hear anything more, please contact the Konan Department and ask for Sergeant Suou," he says, trying to grip onto the script here as if he can somehow by so doing make this encounter into one that happens in a world where fathers don't beat their children and said children don't apparently scrape by in abject poverty. Things like this happen in this world, and yet, so rarely does he walk into it so sharply as to just about crack his head against the awfulness of it existing.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Ma'am knows everything, Tsubasa's pretty sure. Which means she'll definitely know they told a cop to go talk to her. It's fine. They'll apologise later.
(They're the kind of person who has a lot to apologise for.)
Lance isn't growling, but they are attentive, and quite present, acting as a barrier between the man and her personal human. According to her, Tsubasa needs to be protected. From him.
They'd explain what an X-Gender is, except that they're freaking out, man, and in the middle of the street, and this is so stupid, and they're gonna go to jail for murder and they didn't even do a murder but it serves them right anyway doesn't it?!
At least Katsuya's not alone in wishing he was anywhere but here. Unlike Katsuya, though, Tsubasa can't just walk away from this, because they're pretty sure if they bolt from a cop in this condition they're not gonna escape him and then they're definitely getting taken to the station and last time they got taken to the station the cop on duty ignored Reiko's note on their file and called their father instead of her and --
Oh. He's calling it a -- misunderstanding. That wasn't what he wanted to hear, they guess. "W-whatever," Tsubasa sniffs, stepping forward to snatch one of those tissues before they turn away, cursing themself some more as they wipe at their face.
"Sure," and their breath hitches, between the words. "Whatever. I'm out, all right?" There's a tense moment where they linger, to make sure he's not going to tackle them when they run off, making sure to telegraph their intentions because he's a cop and he can do that if he decides they're pissing him off.
When that moment passes without Katsuya stopping them, though, they bolt deeper into Hirasaka, as Lance lopes after them.
It's a good thing they've got all this makeup on, so people can't see how hot their face is after having to embarrass themself in the street like that.
It's only when they get back home that they sulk to themself that their father was right, anyway. They told a cop, and he was just bothered they'd dumped all that on him when he wanted to know about important crimes -- or at least, that's how it looked to them, unable to fathom the idea that maybe Katsuya was overwhelmingly horrified instead of just dismissive.
... no one in power wants to know about shit like this, they think, to themself, as they turn it over in their head.
Not like any of them could help them more than the Boss does, anyway...