Detective Inspector Saito

I hung up the phone without saying anything.

Kyougo had voted for the next video. By voting, he had basically condemned an innocent person to die. Granted, we didn't know whether the person he voted for would actually be killed. They should be safe as long as the highest voting result was other person. However, the fact remained that Kyougo had participated in a heinous act of killing someone.

I stood up and paced back and forth in front of the window. The light outside was bright and the sun was shining. The sound of cars passing by could be heard from the street below. The laughter of children playing in the schoolyard echoed in the distance. The cheerfulness of the day was in contrast to the dark cloud hanging over my head.

I had to do something. But what?

I racked my brain, trying to come up with a plan. What about the police? Should I tell them? Would they believe me? At the very least I must show them the video and for that reason I needed the one-time link which I did not have right now. I wonder if I could get it from Kyougo? Yesterday, by the end of the video I was certain I saw the page generating two links. I surmised it was the same link to the video we watched. If I could get my hand on one, I could take it to the police and showed them the video.

Yes. I decided that was the best course of action I could take right now.

I texted Kyougo asking him to meet at the nearest convenience store. He agreed immediately.

"I'll be there in twenty minutes."

I quickly showered and dressed myself. I left my house and headed towards the convenience store.

I arrived at the store and waited. Ten minutes later, Kyougo showed up. He was wearing a gray T-shirt and blue jeans. He had his black hair combed straight across his head. He looked the same as always.

"Hey Kouichi. Sorry I'm late."

"Hey."

We walked over to the bench in the shade of a large tree in front of the store and sat down.

"I guess you want to talk about the voting?" He said.

"Yeah. That too. But that's not the main thing I want to ask you."

"Oh? What's up?"

"About yesterday. You remember the page generating the two one-time links after the video ended?"

"Sure. Why?"

"I need those links."

Hopefully he wrote down the links. And did not share them to anyone yet.

"What for? Those are the links to the same video we watched yesterday. "

"I'm going to report the web page to the police. I need the link so I can show them the video as evidence. You copied down the links right? Can you give them to me?"

He looked at me for a moment before pulling out a sheet of paper from his shirt pocket. On it was written two link addresses.

"Here you go. Lucky I haven't shared it to anyone else yet."

"Thanks. I appreciate it."

I took the paper and stored it in my pocket. Had to make sure I did not lose it. It was a vital piece of evidence. After that I asked him why he voted for the video.

"It wasn't on purpose. It just sort of happened," Kyougo said.

"What do you mean?"

"Other than the two link addressed I also wrote down the short URL from the voting page. Last night I was just messing around when I entered the URL, thinking there was no way it would work. But it did. I was just curious to see what would happen if I voted for a video. I never thought it would lead to something like this."

"You didn't think it through properly, did you?"

He looked miserable enough that I decided not to press him any further. The deed was done and there was no changing that.

I asked him instead, "So after casting the vote, what happened?"

"Nothing really. It just told you that the next video link will be sent to the email address I entered," he said.

What did this mean? Kyougo voted for one person only. Did it mean everyone who voted would get the next video link regardless who won the vote? Or only if the one Kyougo voted for won the voting? The first scenario made little sense. What was the point in voting then? The second scenario sounded more plausible for me.

"Who did you vote for?" I asked him.

"It was the guy with 'shooting' as the method. I don't remember his name."

Huh. The tamest one. Guessed Kyougo still had some conscience left in him. Provided he was telling me the truth. Other sickos who voted would most likely opt for the more gruesome methods.

"Keep on monitoring your email and let me know once or IF they sent you the link," I told him.

"Don't tell me you intend to watch the next video," he said.

"I am not sure yet. There are a lot of things in my mind right now. I will sort them out later. For now, let's report this to the police first."

He agreed and we parted ways.

***

The nearest police station was situated in the city center. It was three bus stops away from the convenience store. The bus ride took approximately forty minutes. On the way there, I thought over everything that had happened.

My mind kept returning to the same question: why did Kyougo vote for the next video? Was he not bothered by the fact that he might kill someone? Did he have no feelings of guilt? Or was he just playing around? Whatever the case, it seemed clear to me that he had not thought through the implications of his actions.

Another thought suddenly crossed my mind.

We might be able to save them! Those names written on the voting form! I should have thought about it sooner. We could warn them now that we knew their names! Granted, we still needed to find out where they lived and how to reach out to them, but it was a start.

While pondering over these thoughts, I finally reached my destination. I paid the fare and stepped off the bus.

The sky was getting darker and the sound of thunder could be heard in the distance. The weather forecast said it was going to rain this afternoon. I made sure to bring an umbrella with me, so I wouldn't get drenched when the rain came.

I walked past the bus stop and headed towards the police station. The building was located in a quiet residential area. The neighborhood was mostly houses and apartment buildings. Most of the windows were closed and shutters were drawn across them. A few children could be seen playing in the schoolyard. Their voices echoed in the distance. I passed by a small playground and entered the police station.

I approached the receptionist and asked for the duty officer. She directed me to the back of the room and I went inside. The place was empty except for a single desk and a chair. On top of the desk was a laptop and a telephone. The walls were lined with shelves containing various books, papers and files.

I took a seat and waited. After a while, a man in his early thirties came out from the back office. He was wearing a dark blue uniform and a badge pinned on his chest. His hair was neatly combed and he had a well-groomed mustache.

"Good morning, sir." He greeted me with a smile.

"Good morning."

"May I know your name and what is your business here?"

"My name is Kouichi Kamiya. I am here to report a crime."

"A crime? May I ask what kind of crime?"

"It is a case of murder."

"Murder?"

"Yes. His name is Noboru Minoru."

"Wait a minute. Did you just say Noboru Minoru? The college student who was reported missing?"

"Yes. That's what I was saying," I answered him.

"Are you sure?"

"I have proof. There is this website that's called 'Guropeji'.."

At this the officer interrupted me suddenly.

"Damn! Another one!" He said, looking disgusted.

"What do you mean?"

Did the police already know about the website?

"Thank you for coming here to report this matter. I will inform the detective in charge of the case. Please wait here," his voice turn serious.

He turned around and left the room. I waited until he returned. When he did, he was accompanied by another person. A man in his late thirties with a crew cut and thick eyebrows. He wore a white shirt and black suit pants. The badge on his chest read 'Detective Inspector'.

"Good morning. My name is Detective Inspector Saito."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Saito. I am Kouichi Kamiya."

"Mr. Kamiya, please come with me."

I followed the detective to a conference room. The room was filled with tables and chairs. It was brightly lit.

"Please sit down," Saito said to me. I sat down in front of a table.

Saito sat opposite me and opened up his notebook.

"Before we continue, I need to confirm some details. Just now you mentioned the website 'Guropeji' to Officer Okada? Is that correct?"

"Yes. It was where I saw Noboru Minoru getting murdered. Wait a minute, does the police already know about this website?"

"We know of it, yes. However, we cannot divulge information regarding our investigations. It may compromise the integrity of the case."

"Now, please tell me from the beginning. You said you had a clue about Noboru Minoru's whereabouts?" Detective Saito asked me.

"That's correct. It was faster if I just showed you the video," I said as I extracted the sheet of paper from my pocket.

"Let's see... What is this?"

"This is the video link. The one that showed Noboru Minoru getting tortured and murdered."

Detective Saito typed the link into his computer and we waited for the video to load. After a while, the video started to play.

However, it was not Noboru Minoru. Instead, it was another guy who was tied up and hung upside down from a tree. He was stripped naked and his body was covered in blood. There were wounds all over his body. The camera zoomed out to show the rest of the scene.

What the hell??