“I heard from Maria that Maiko is doing psychometry and Maya and Maria are solving cases based on that information, right? Then Maiko is the heart of the investigation, no?”
“But unlike Matsumi, who cures diseases, I only catch criminals in cases that have happened. Dead people don’t come back to life, and I can’t heal the past or emotional wounds of the victims who were attacked…… even thieves, spend the money they steal immediately, so even if the criminals are caught, the stolen things won’t be returned to the victims. Every time a criminal is caught, I think to myself, What I’m doing doesn’t make any sense. I wonder how much meaning there is in what I do…….”
“Even so, I think there are people out there who are saved by Maiko.”
“Eh?”
Maiko stared back at me with a surprised look on her face.
“Finding a murderer won’t bring the dead back to life. However, I did once watch something on television. In the minds of the grieving family, the case won’t be solved until the murderer is caught. They said that the grieving family can only move on once the culprit has been caught and punished. In addition, if the perpetrator is caught, this will reduce unnecessary second and third victims. That would be shielding against harm even before it occurs. Also, isn’t finding missing people the best way to assist others?”
Maiko closed her eyes and fell silent at what I said.
As I was thinking about what that meant and how she took my words, Shisae unexpectedly said.
“But Maiko-chan. We know you worked hard, but does psychometry wear you down in any way?”
Exactly.
I couldn’t figure that part out, either.
Even with working hard, the working hours were only a few hours from after school to dinner.
It wasn’t particularly physically or mentally demanding, and her abilities weren’t exhaustive.
Then why?
Maiko, perhaps not comfortable talking about it, looked away.
But then the memory of her performing psychometry on me flashed back to me.
That memory and the words Matsumi was about to say earlier were connected.
“Hey Maiko, you always say ‘excuse me’ when you psychometry me, right?”
“Eh, y-yeah…”
“What’s it like when you do psychometry?”
Maiko gasped at the question.
Then, slowly, as if confessing her sins, she began to speak.
“Psychometry is difficult to compare to any other thing. I can only say that psychometry is a feeling of a person’s mind. I feel a lot of things about people and things with my mind.”
With a saddened look on her face, Maiko pressed her fist tightly against the center of her chest.
“That’s what it’s like to intrude on someone’s mind. When you do psychometry on a crime scene or evidence of a victim, you get a sense of how the victim feels. Oh, but don’t misunderstand me. It’s not like I’m reliving or feeling the pain of the person who was killed. But, you know, I can clearly see that it must have been painful, that it must have been hard…….”
It was easy to imagine how hard it would be.
It would be like being subjected to an endless stream of scenes of people being assaulted, with narration by the person in question.
There were jobs out there to censor and remove illegal videos.
However, many of them who continued to watch cruel and bizarre videos that fell under the regulation of representation every day would become mentally ill.
This would be especially true if they were kind girls like Maiko.
Girls who were kind have a keen sense of empathy. Instead, they were able to be kind because they were sympathetic.
People would be kind to others because they could imagine the pain and hardship of others.
On the contrary, people who were called psychopaths were said to be unable to imagine other people’s feelings, which was why they had no resistance to inhumane things.
But Maiko would never be able to do such a thing.
“You know, a lot of people that disappear are linked to particular situations, but a lot of people flee on their own initiative. They are mistreated by their families, feel out of place at school, and all wish to vanish for their different reasons…”
My earlier words made me feel embarrassed by her wet voice.
Helping people by looking for missing people? What kind of helping people is it to bring back those who have escaped from hell?
“However, the police won’t act because it’s a family situation and they say it’s non-intervention in a civil matter…….”
It was a terrible story.
I myself was bullied, and I feel bad when I hear those stories, even from others.
I got a blue sense of righteousness and anger, wondering why people would do such terrible things to these people.
I got a blue sense of righteousness and anger, wondering why these people would do such terrible things.
Maiko had endured that for two months.
Just thinking about it was painful.
But at the same time, I loved Maiko’s goodness.
Despite the pain, she was trying especially hard these days to be helpful to everyone.
“From the beginning, Maiko is not obligated to do this work, and our work is not compulsory, right?”
Maiko listened to my words with surprise.
“But if you do that, you’ll get the police and everyone in the police squad in trouble.”
I told Maiko, who took one look at Maria and Maya.
“Then you can narrow down the job to just theft cases or anything else. I don’t like the Heisei era’s black theory that you have to endure something you don’t want to do.”
I told Maiko in a way that she could understand fully.
“There are limits for everything. If you run away from things you don’t like, you will only become irresponsible. But you don’t have to put up with things you have no obligation or responsibility to do. If I don’t want to do something, I don’t do it. That’s fine for human beings. I would never have practiced Apport if my personal supervisor had been a skinhead sergeant with a big muscular face. My personal supervisor and examiner are kind, beautiful, and pretty.”
“Big boobs.”
“Since it’s Kiriha and Maiko, oi Shisae, don’t mix up my words with weird words!”
“Shisae is just the voice of Honey-chan’s heart ♪”
When I did the karate chop pose with both hands, Shisae hid behind Kiriha’s back and ran away.
But I thought it made the situation nice and relaxed.
“So, if it’s alright with Maiko, let’s go back to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and talk to Director Sayuri, but what are you going to do?”
“…No, I’ll continue my current job.”
She said so with a smile.
I was taken aback by her unexpected words.
“But you have a hard job now, no?”
“Yes, it’s hard, but I know I have to do it.”
“Why?”
“Why did Honey say that?”
“Me?”
I tilted my head in confusion, and Maiko grabbed the futon with a face that looked like she was about to burst into tears of joy.
“You said earlier, ‘Only when the killer is caught can the family move forward. You said, ‘Only when the criminal is caught can the bereaved families move forward.’ ‘If we catch criminals, we can reduce the number of second and third victims.’ You’re right. I may not be able to help the victims directly. But if my power can help people who are living in the present, I think they need it. Besides, some of the missing people were kidnapped. I’m sure that even as I’m sitting here, they are hoping for help as soon as possible, even if it’s just for a second. And yet, it’s not okay for me to quit just because it’s hard for me to look at the memories of someone else, even though I’m not the victim myself. No.”
She closed her mouth tight, straightened her back, and then said with dignity.
“I want to work a lot for the victims who still need help.”
Her decision was like an eye-opener for me.
—What a strong girl.
Even though it was my words that triggered her decision, she came to that conclusion almost on her own and matured.
I nodded my head, impressed by her determination.
“I understand. In return, I’ll go see Director Sayuri on another matter.”
“What another matter?”
“If the cause of a runaway is bullying, we need to arrest those involved and then get them to change their direction to encourage the runaway’s reintegration into society. The current government relies on us. Is this so dirty and adult-like that we can’t handle this level of selfishness?”
The success or failure of Japan’s fuel problem was in our hands. A bad idea, but the government would be in no position to refuse my request.
“Thanks.”
Tears spilled from Maiko’s large, wet eyes.
“If that’s the case, I’ll go too. If the politicians get cancer, you and I will be the ones to take care of them. If it’s you and me, it’ll be more effective, won’t it?”
“Me too.”
Miina also tried to follow Matsumi’s suggestion, but Matsumi stopped her with her hand.
“Wait, Miina, no. It would be problematic if people believed that we were creating a clique to control politics.”
“That’s true.”
“So, let’s go.”
“Yes.”
Matsumi and I left the room to get our shoes.
And when we got to the front door, Matsumi said a few words.