Jorge Joestar

Chapter 4: Morioh

To get from Nishiakatsuki to Morioh in the middle of the daytook a good six hours, even using planes, trains, and buses in the mostefficient combination available. By car, it was about 650 kilometers, whichwould take roughly the same amount of time. I was told of Tsukumojuku’s deathat 6:30 AM, so Tsukumojuku must have headed there shortly after I left him atthe hospital. Either he’d been pretending not to be interested or he’d foundsome reason to care after I left. That, or someone else had taken him to Moriohto kill him, or after killing him. Although the corpse of a sixteen-year-oldboy wasn’t exactly easy to transport. How he got there wasn’t the only problem.The body of a sixteen-year-old male wasn’t small, and Tsukumojuku’s body hadremained largely intact. His throat had been slit so deep that only a singlelayer of skin kept his head attached. He was found naked, wrapped only in ared, diamond-shaped cloth. There was a broadaxe slung over his shoulder, and hewas found mounted on a bear. Obviously, the scene was arranged to look likesomething out of the folk tale Kintaro. Ever since I left Fukui the lyrics tothe Kintaro children’s song had been on an endless loop in my head. This wascompletely inappropriate, of course. The killer didn’t arrange the scene likethis as a joke. I think.

I got off the train at Morioh Station shortly after 1 PM,and looked over the map of the town posted just outside the station gates. Dejavu. Had I been here before? I was sure I hadn’t. Touhoku had the famousNamahage Detective, and he pretty much handled all the cases that requiredsomeone like him, so I’d never been called up here. In elementary school wewent to Nara and Kyoto, and in Junior High we went to Tokyo, so this was my firsttrip up north.

There were no tall buildings anywhere around the station,but there was a lot of foot traffic, and rows of nicely turned out shops andcafes. It was both peaceful and lively. The city had been well-planned; therewere no telephone poles in sight, and plenty of rooms for pedestrians and cars.There was a car stumping for the upcoming election in the roundabout by thestation, but they kept the speaker volume to a respectable level.

“Kumotaku, Morioh’s son. Kumotaku, star of the north. Kumoi Takumiasks for your vote.” I was hungry, so I stopped a restaurant near thestation and had the Miso Tongue Meal – a local delicacy, apparently. It wasgood. Beef Tongue is both thicker and softer than I’d imagined, Tsukumojuku.May you rest in peace. When I finished eating, I took stock of my emotionalstate. I’d only known Tsukumojuku a few hours, since I’d witnessed his entranceinto our world, and was basically the only person alive he knew. There’d beennobody else to report his death to, and I was basically here to bury him. Inlight of this I decided not to try the sweet sesame dumplings the stall nearstation was hell bent on convincing tourists to buy. I hailed a taxi, andheaded for the Arrow Cross House, where my strange visitor’s body had been found.Morioh was in a gentle valley, and once we left the shopping area, we passedthrough a residential area and soon found ourselves in farmland. The road ledthrough fields towards the sea. As we neared the water, round hills grew morecommon, and this topography continued into the water; there were a great numberof tiny islands dotting the shallow sea. For a moment they looked like a groupof umibozu peeking out of the water; it was quite striking. And tourismfriendly, as the tour boats sailing in and out of the harbor demonstrated.There were a number of souvenir shops, inns, and restaurants lining the docks.The Arrow Cross House stood on top of a round hill – the biggest hill around,and the closest to the water — with a fantastic view of the sea and theharbor. White walls and a flat roof framed

against the blue sky, making it look like a dainty littlemuseum. As my taxi reached the top of the hill, I saw the building’s ownerstanding outside. He was a manga artist named Kishibe Rohan. He was supposedlyin his thirties, but to my surprise, he looked barely out of his teens. I don’tread a lot of manga, and had never read anything by him, but I knew the name.The Pink Dark Boy series had been running for twenty years, and had recentlystarted part eight. I got out of the taxi, said hello, and apologized for notbeing familiar with his work.

“Then let me show you my art,” he said, and his fingerwent fwipfwipfwip through the air in front of my eyes, sketching a mysteriousboy in a broad-brimmed hat. Not only was I able to make out what he was drawingin the air, I was apparently so impressed with the quality of his art it feltlike I’d been struck by lightning fttzzz and froze to the spot, unable to move.I think I even passed out for a moment. I don’t know if this surprised him ordisappointed him, but he gave me a dubious frown, and then said, “I’llshow you around the Arrow Cross. I purchased it quite recently, and I’ve onlylived here six months. Of all the rotten luck! Here I was, happy to have acquireda bizarre building, and it gets used for a murder. What a cliché! I supposeI’ll have to turn it into something worthwhile, but I can’t just write thedetails of a real case into my manga. Or should I be more concerned aboutfinding a place to stay? Until the case is solved?” He spoke very quickly,and frequently changed subjects; clearly conversing with him was going to be aworkout.

“I doubt it; it’s a big enough house you won’t necessarilyneed to use the room where the body was found, and there seem to be plenty ofentrances.”

“I see! Good. I suppose both Agatha Christie and ElleryQueen both show everyone living normally in the house after a

murder. Even though staying together just leads to moremurders. I always assumed that was forced by the needs of the plot, and wouldnever happen in real live, but I suppose we all believe that one murder isenough to end things, and nothing bad will ever happen to us. And it is such apain to find a new place to live. Even now someone’s been murdered, I find myselfquite grateful I can keep living here.” In my line of work, I’ve knownplenty of people who thought like this, and then got murdered. I decided not tomention it. Our feet scrunching on the gravel, we did a circuit of thebuilding. There were no bushes or flower beds, but with this view, they hardlyseemed necessary.

“This is a spectacular view, Kishibesan. With a view likethis at home, I can see why you wouldn’t want to switch to some dumpyhotel.” Below us you could see the white sands of Morioh Pearl Beach, andcountless tiny islands out in Morioh Harbor. Kishibe glared at me, muttering,“Kishibe-san?” several times. Crap, did I get get his name wrong? Itwas Kishibe Rohan, right? “Nobody calls me Kishibe-san,” he said, atlast.

“Pardon me. Kishibe-sensei,” I said, hastily.

“Noooo! That’s not what I mean!” he exploded.

“There’s no need to call me sensei whatsoever! I shudder atthe very thought that someone might think I wanted that! I’m simply not at allused to being addressed by my family name. My editors, readers, and even thebank clerks down in town all call me Rohan!” Whew, manga artists sure wereeccentric. I guess? What he was saying wasn’t that out there, but theover-the-top eruption of emotions certainly made him one to watch out for.

“Um, but…”

“No buts allowed!” Kishibe-sensei? san? screamed, andwent fwipfwipfwipfwip with his fingers again, drawing that boy, and ffftzzzonce again I was super impressed. Had I become a huge fan of his this quickly,or did Rohan’s art have some sort of special

power…eh? “Rohan?”

“You can no longer call me anything but Rohan.”

“Rohan…hunh? Ro…guhh…?” The word refused to comeout. I was trying to address him by his family name, but only his given namewould come out. What was this? This was weird, right? Was something wrong withme? Rohan turned and grinned at me.

“Guhh? Please. It is but a small change. Pray, don’t worryabout it. You’re here to solve this murder! Do your job. I have my own job todo, and until the Arrow Cross Case is solved, I will be forever preoccupiedwith police interviews and people investigating the scene. Like I’m made oftime!” Change? What did he mean? Don’t worry about it? So he did dosomething to me? What? He’d just draw a sketch in the air and made me gofffftzzz. But…not just that. He’d done something else, something that changedme. What did that mean? This was very strange. Something bizarre was happening,something I didn’t yet understand. I’d have to be on my guard around Rohan.

Like the name Arrow Cross House implies, the building was shaped like a cross, with each point shaped like an arrow. There was no dedicated front door; each of the arrows had two doors, and any of the eight could be used to get inside.

“The Arrow Cross is a strange sort of house,”Rohan said.

“It appeared five years ago, without any of the neighborsnoticing the construction. Despite the size of it. For three years before thata different house stood here – so to build this one they would have had toknock the old one down, or at the least, remodel it considerably. But nopermits were ever filed. Furthermore, this house is clearly visible from theharbor, and anyone glancing upwards would have seen people working on it. Yetsomehow the Arrow Cross was built without anyone noticing. This is quite amystery, wouldn’t you say? Not only were there no permits for construction,there is no record of sale for the land. It was officially owned by the city ofMorioh, and construction was done illegally. They spent some time attempting tolocate the owner, but when they gave up and decided to tear it down I steppedin and offered to purchase it. My previous residence had just burned down, yousee. This place is perfect. It’s quiet here, and the house itself isfascinating – I love not knowing who built it or why. Now, the house that stoodhere before this one was a very simple square building. But it was also bizarre– it had no windows or doors. No visible entrance at all. Heh heh heh heh. I’msure there was an entrance hidden somewhere; after all, if there was a sunroofor whatever you’d never know from downhill. Although that does beg the questionof why they’d wish to obscure such a glorious view. At any rate, that squarehouse – the neighbors called it the Cube House – supposedly was moved here froma town called Nishi Akatsuki, in Fukui. How that rumor got around withoutanyone having any idea who owned the house, nobody knows.”

“Eh? Nishi Akatsuki? That’s where I’m from.”

“I know?” Rohan purred. I know? How did he know? It wasthe police who had called me to let me know Tsukumojuku was dead, and when I’dcalled Rohan, I’d had no reason to mention my current address. I suppose

he could have heard my name on the news, but I was a minor,and had already had death threats from several psychos, so the most specificinformation available given about me was always ‘from Fukui.’ Or did Rohan haveconnections with the police or those in power that could get him that kind ofinformation this quickly? Whatever. I was more concerned with what the factthat Tsukumojuku had been murdered here, in a house that had been transportedfrom Nishi Akatsuki, actually meant.

“Did you know there’s been more than one detective murderedin this town?” Rohan suddenly asked.

“More than one? Really?”

“I suppose you wouldn’t know. The first one happened in themiddle of the night. The news has only just started talking about it. Youwouldn’t have had much chance to watch TV on your way here, either. Tell me,was that boy…the one killed in my Arrow Cross…was he a detective,too?” He had said he was.

“Yes. Although he was from far away, and what cases hehandled…” I knew perfectly well. He’d solved fifteen locked roommurders. In 1904, in the Canary Islands, in another world. But bringing that uphere would just confuse things.

“…I’m not sure. But he was definitely a detective.”

“I see. So then he is one of the Serial Detective Murders.”

“Who…who else was killed?”

“…? Do detectives all know each other? If it might come as ablow to you, perhaps we should step inside and let you sit down first?”

“I’ll be fine. The only detective I’ve met is Tsukumojuku.”

“Oh, in that case, a man named Hakkyoku Sachiari, and a girlwith a very strange name, Nekoneko Nyan Nyan Nyan.” I’d heard of both.They were both Tokyo detectives. We stood outside one of Arrow Cross’s doors,and Rohan told me how Hakkyoku had been found across Morioh Harbor, at BoingyCape,

seated on a giant stuffed sea turtle. Nekoneko had beenfound in town, near a strange-shaped stone called Angelo Rock, surrounded bystuffed dogs, cats, and pheasants. Hakkyoku had died of alcohol poisoning; alarge quantity of sake had been injected into his blood stream. Nekoneko hadsuffocated from the massive quantity of dumplings jammed down her throat.They’d clearly been made to look like Urashima Taro and Momotaro. WhileTsukumojuku was Kintaro. A serial killer killing detectives? That meant I mightbe targeted, too.

“Let me show you to the scene. The forensics peoplehave been and gone. I’ve looked it over thoroughly myself, but didn’t touchanything.” Rohan took me through a door on the east side of the ArrowCross. Inside was a large triangular sunroom, with large bay windows on bothexterior sides and the ceiling. The walls and floor were all painted white. Itwas very bright. All the furniture was in exquisite taste, and were it not forthe bed in the middle, you could easily mistake it for a furniture store, or anunusually elegant manga shop. There were books on the tables, shelves, andfloor, but not the books of photographs or other decorative books you’d see infurniture stores. They were all manga.

“Feel free to keep your shoes on anywhere in the house. Thisis the east sunroom, which I use as a bedroom,” Rohan said, leading me outinto a carpeted hallway. It had no windows, so the moment the door to thesunroom closed it seemed very dark indeed. I had the silhouette of the bed andcabinets burned into my eyes, and had to blink furiously the whole length ofthe hall. Doors to either side led to the bathroom and toilet. At the end ofthe hall was a large square room at the center of the Arrow Cross House. Everyhouse

I’d ever been to used large open rooms like this as a placeto entertain company, but not this one.

“This is where I work,” Rohan said, leading me in. Itwas at least twice the size of the sunroom; windowless, dark, and gloomy, withnothing in it but a single tiny desk perched right in the middle. There werepens and ink on the desk, arranged in neat rows. The walls were bare, with onlythe doors leading to the other arrows breaking the monotony. The only lightscame from the chandelier on the ceiling, and the smaller lamp on the desk.

“With such a great view, aren’t you tempted to work in oneof the sunrooms?” I asked.

“Not at all,” Rohan snorted.

“Much too bright, and my work requires no view.” Okay,then. I could swear he’d grumbled about the Cube House wasting the view, butwhatever. Rohan led me across his study, down another hall, and into the northsunroom. The scene of the crime. The light hit my eyes, which felt like they’dbeen slapped by the soft hands of a child. It had seemed bright when I enteredhis bedroom, but now it actively hurt. Walking through the dark halls and workroom hadn’t helped, but there was also nothing in this sunroom…except for thegiant bear. The bear’s brown fur and the blood stains on its back and the floor– Tsukumojuku’s blood, presumably – were almost a relief in the sea of white. Ilooked over what was left of the Kintaro display, waiting for my eyes to adjustto the light.

“I don’t use either this room or the southern one. This onegets too cold in winter and the south one gets too hot in summer. I only need abedroom and a work room to begin with. At most, a guest room for editors tostay in when they come to see the sights,” Rohan said, shielding his eyesfrom the light.

“The murder itself doesn’t bother me, but I’d like to cleanthe place. The police won’t let me. Have to keep the scene intact, they say.”

“………..”

“The police took your friend’s body and the axe with them.

The bear was so big they left it here, but they’ll be backfor it eventually. Yesterday and last night they found two other deaddetectives, and then this morning a third, your friend. They’re rather busy. They’reforming a special team to deal with things. I had them leave a copy of thecrime scene photographs and the forensic data, if you’d like to see it?”He had them leave it? What led to this…arrogant streak? It didn’t seem to bejust a personality thing. It was like he’d gotten used to the world bending tohis will. I did want to see the photographs, though. Rohan brought a notebookcomputer, rested it on his arm, and showed me the screen. I took a closer look.Tsukumojuku’s handsome visage was ashen. He was seated on the bear’s back, andboth his body and the axe were wrapped in wire, fixing them in place. He wasleaning slightly to the right, I think; his head was tilted in that direction,leaving the gaping wound on display to his left. I could tell Rohan wasstudying my reaction to these images, but it didn’t bother me. He didn’t meanto be insensitive. He simply wasn’t aware how transparent his expressions andbody language were. We may not have known each other long, but it was alreadyclear that Rohan was an odd bird, but not a bad one.

“Notice anything, detective?” he asked, with a mockinglilt. Then again, he always sounded like that, so I didn’t take offense.

“From the state of his body, nothing of note.”

“Oh? Nothing about the Kintaro thing? The others areUrashima Taro, and Momotaro, of course.”

“True. I don’t suppose you have pictures of those crimescenes, too?”

“I do. Impressive deduction, detective! I suppose.”Rohan quickly opened more images on the screen.

“But why would the killer pose them like this? It’s hardly aprofessional opinion, but it

seems like rather a lot of work. Gathering all the stuffedanimals, decorating them, even matching the method of murder to the theme.”

“If you had the bear already, then the dogs, monkeys, andpheasants would be easy to get. Even the sea turtle must not be that hard tofind in a port town like this. But getting a stuffed bear is quick tricky.There are no bears around here – that’s why they had to use a polar bear, andfinding the polar bear was likely the inspiration for the whole stunt.”

“…eh? Polar bear? This is a polar bear?” Rohanasked.

“? You didn’t notice? Small head, long neck – it’s obvious.Ursus maritimus, the polar bear.” The scientific name was given by JohnPhipps in 1774.

“Hunh…that should narrow down the owner, then. Even morethan owning a normal stuffed bear.”

“Mm? But…this is your bear, isn’t it?”

“Heavens, no. There are no polar bears in my manga. If therewas, I…might consider buying one, but more likely I’d just go to the zoo, orfind some place with a stuffed one on display. No need to own it personally. Dothey even sell stuffed polar bears anywhere?”

“The Washington Convention doesn’t specifically forbid thesale of them; polar bears are listed in Appendix II. That means it’s up to thecountry of origin whether to grant permission to export them. There were plentyavailable before the convention existed, so I’d imagine they’re obtainable ifone desires. But you didn’t buy one, Rohan?”

“Noooo. Decorating with animal corpses is not my style.”

“…I see. But getting a stuffed animal this size into yourhouse would be very difficult. It would take several people.”

“I’d have noticed.”

“The murder happened late last night or early this morning.Did you go out at all?”

“Of course not. I was drawing until two AM, then slept untiljust before dawn. I usually sleep until sunrise, but I woke a little early thismorning.”

“Dawn…it starts getting light around five AM this time ofyear.”

“Sunrise yesterday was at 5:18 AM. I sleep in a sunroom.Early rising is inevitable. I’ve never really needed a great quantity of sleep.Three hours is plenty.”

“Hmm…I’ve heard manga artists are always busy. By the sametoken, I don’t suppose you were so exhausted you would have fallen into such adeep sleep you could have failed to notice a group of intruders?” Itseemed unlikely, but was worth verifying.

“No, no. It may come as a surprise to you, but I’m quitehigh strung. I’m not saying I’d wake at a pin drop, but I can’t see how someonebringing a giant stuffed animal in would escape my notice.” How could thatpossibly be a surprise to me? He might as well have it written on his shirt.

“But if they put it on a cart or something, and moved itquietly into the house?”

“Quietly depends on how quietly. I like to work in silence,and there are sound absorption panels everywhere. If they were moving it fromone room to another, it’s possible I wouldn’t notice. But from outside, nonormal human could ever do it. You walked around the house with me. Arrow Crossis surrounded by gravel. As an anti-theft mechanism. No normal human couldcross it without making a sound. Anyone delivering a bear would have made atremendous racket. Last night I certainly may have been more

exhausted than usual. After all, I somehow managed to pickthe wrong bedroom. The difference in the morning sky was what woke me early.”

“The wrong bedroom?”

“Yes. My bedroom is the east sunroom, the room we came inby. But this morning I was sleeping in the west sunroom.”

“? How could that happen? You work in the center room, andyour desk is right in the center of it, right?”

“Yes.”

“Your desk faces north, so south is behind you, and east andwest are to the right and left. Simple. You’ve been living here for six months,it hardly seems likely you walked the wrong direction.”

“But apparently I did. I like to keep things orderly, yousee. I cannot bear things that aren’t symmetrical. That’s part of the reason Ipurchased the Arrow Cross. The east and west sunrooms have exactly the samefurniture, arranged in exactly the same way. Beautiful symmetry is always aproduct of human ingenuity. Symmetry is the basis of man-made beauty.”Hmph.

“We’re talking point symmetry rather than line symmetry,then?”

“Mm? No, line symmetry. The rooms are mirror images of eachother.”

“Then something even stranger is happening here. Theplacement of furniture in the two rooms is reversed; you’d notice the momentyou opened the door. Yet you fell asleep without noticing?”

“…er, um…hmm.”

“Did you get in bed without turning on the light?”

“No, I turned it on, got in bed, and pressed the switch nearmy pillow.”

“Do you drink much?”

“I ingest nothing after nine PM. And I may have a drinkon occasion, but never to excess.”

“………..”

“I guess these mistakes just happen. After all, I’m not theonly one who made this mistake last night.”

“Someone else did? Who?”

“My guest. I’m letting her stay here for the time being.”

“….so there was someone else here last night with you? Mindtelling me more?”

“I’ll introduce you, of course. But please don’t mention herto anyone else. She’s still in high school. If word got around she was stayingat the home of an older bachelor, well…that would be a shame, wouldn’t it?She has her reasons.”

“Like?”

“She remembers nothing but her name. Amnesia. So severe evenI can’t read her past. So I have her help look after the place while she triesto uncover her past, and waits for her memories to return.”

“Heh…you didn’t know her before?”

“Not in the least. She’s maybe a little older than you.Showed up shortly after I moved here. I never imagined myself capable of livingwith anyone, but I couldn’t just throw her out on the streets, and she seemedlike a nice girl. We’re getting along well.”

“What’s her name?”

“Sugimoto Reimi.”

“So she made the same mistake as you, and got the wrongbedroom?” This seemed like a fun way to live. Rohan seemed quietly happyabout it, too.

“Yes. She was in my bed, and I was in the bed I’m loaning toher. So awkward. She made the mistake first, but that’s no excuse

for jumping into hers. At least I wasn’t snoring next toher. At any rate, the light woke me up; it was on the wrong side of the sky,and hit my eyes the wrong way. I jumped up, went to my room, knocked on thedoor. She woke up, I explained the situation through the door, and then movedaway so she could get back to her own room. Since she had to cross the workroom to get there, I went into the north sunroom. That’s when I foundTsukumojuku’s body.”

“Hmm…” From romantic comedy hijinks to grisly murder.

“I suppose the simplistic layout and lack of furniture makesuch accidents possible,” Rohan continued.

“I wasn’t drunk, and I’m such a light sleeper the differencein the morning light was enough to wake me. So I don’t see how it’s possible Icould have slept through someone carrying a stuffed polar bear into the house.”

“There’s no need to think about that any more,” I said.

“Hunh?” Rohan blinked at me. This room mix-up wasbothering me. Why would that happen? To both at once? This meant something. ButI didn’t know what, yet.

“So why is there a polar bear here?” Rohan asked. This,I knew.

“The stuffed polar bear was not brought into the house atthe same time as Tsukumojuku’s body. It was already in the house, probably inthis very room.”

“What? Here? This gigantic stuffed animal?” Rohan wavedat it. It was two and a half meters long. If it had been standing it wouldeasily have topped three.

“Since when?”

“Have you gone on any trips since you moved into the house?”

“No. Not because my work schedule keeps me here. I simplyhad no place I needed to research.” I didn’t care.

“So you were working at home every day, which means it wouldbe quite difficult to guess when you’d go

out. Odds are this polar bear has been here since before youmoved in.”

“Hmm? Since I bought the place?”

“Yes.”

“Then how do explain me living here without ever seeing it?Do you take me for a blind man?”

“Rohan, it’s almost evening. Before the sun goes down, let’stry an experiment.”

“Yes! Let’s!”

“But first, let me ask…do you want this stuffed animal?”

“Not at all!”

“I asked because you are technically the owner. Now, whereis your washroom?”

“What? Why?”

“I need to borrow your hair clippers.” The top ofRohan’s head was nicely styled, but he wore a strange jagged headband, and thehair beneath that was neatly trimmed. This did not seem like a hairstyle youwould ask for at a hair salon, so I was sure he maintained it himself. I wasright; he took me to a washroom and handed over a pair of clippers. I alsoborrowed a broom, dustpan, and a towel.

“I’ll have you know I’m not a fan of loaning such things toother people! Like I said, I’m very high strung!”

“I’m not using them personally,” I said. We went backto the sunroom, and I began cutting the polar bear’s hair, removing the bitscovered in brown paint. Vvvvvvvvvvrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

“Aaaaaaugh! Now I can never use those clippers again! I hopeyou’ll be paying for those? Augh! Augh! I’ll send you a bill! Seriously!Aaaaaugh!” I brushed Rohan aside.

“Please, you’re being distracting. Why don’t you go callSugimoto? I’d like to meet her, hear her side

of things. Wait in your work room till I call you.”

“Tch…you’re not going to be rude to her, are you? I won’tstand for it!” he muttered, and left. I concentrating on shaving the bear.Eventually it looked like a polar bear again. Good. I swept the hair into thedustpan, but there wasn’t even a trashcan in the room, so I just had to leaveit in the corner. I wiped the floor with a towel. I went to wash the towel off,and on my way to the washroom, I found Rohan peeping in the door from the workroom.

“Just a few more minutes.”

“Ahhh, you even wiped up the blood? Don’t look at me whenthey yell at you for destroying the scene!”

“Yes, yes, don’t worry about that.” With the bloodgone, the sunroom floor was bright white again. Good. I put the towel down bythe dustpan, and left the sunroom to get Rohan. He was alone in the dark workroom. Was Sugimoto out? No matter.

“The experiment is ready. Come on in.” Rohan was seatedon the corner of his desk, and he jumped up and trotted over.

“So? We’re experimenting with my supposed blindness?”

“Yes.”

“……! Did you hide the polar bear somewhere?”

“No. I’m just checking to see how blind you are.”

“What do…” he started, but as the door swung open,his words trailed off.

“………hunh? …………? The bear…? It’s here?” Ithought so. He couldn’t see it. The bear had its back to Rohan.

I explained.

“Polar bears have evolved to enable them to hunt in snow.Their hairs are hollow. The hollow serves to scatter the bright

northern light, making their entire bodies glow white, andpreventing their prey from seeing them approach. Their bodies cast no shadow.This also allows the light to reach their bodies directly, and warm them.Rohan, right now you are a seal in a snowfield being stalked by this bear. Inthis white room, with sunlight streaming through these massive windows, and thewhite gravel and white sand beach outside the room, the polar bear’s hairsscatter the light just enough to trick your eyes as you enter from that darkwork room.”

“Nyanyanyanonono!” Rohan reacted to my deductioninjection with such a bizarre noise that I burst out laughing. Ha ha ha ha haha ha! This was no time for laughter. This wasn’t a trick the killer hadintentionally prepared.

“You were so busy working since you moved in that you putnothing in this north sunroom, and almost never came in here, and even if youdid were blinded by the sunlight and never saw the bear. But it was alwayshere. And it’s in a glass room, so at other times of day or otherangles…anyone doing anything but peeking through the door after working in adark room would have seen the polar bear. The girl you live with never imaginedyou hadn’t seen it, and never thought to bring it up in conversation, but sheknew it was there. Tsukumojuku’s killer saw it too. That’s why it occurred tohim to use it in his Kintaro display. You see, that was the start, Rohan.That’s what gave him the idea.”

“But this is the third murder?”

“He simply chose to use it later in his spree. But becausehe had the bear, he knew he could pull off Kintaro; because he could do Kintarohe decided to do Urashima Taro and Momotaro. Based on the difficulty of eachdisplay, that must be how he arrived at the plan.”

“……….”

“Now, Rohan. Kintaro, Urashima Taro, and Momotaro. Thethree famous Taros. All famous folk tales. Will there be more murders? Thereare plenty of other folk tales, so why pick three with characters named Taro?”

“I have no idea.”

“There must be a meaning. But the three famous ones arealready used. Do you know any other folk tales with Taros?”

“Gegege?”

“But that’s not a folk tale, and the anime song isn’t achildren’s song.”

“Then Obake Q is out of the running as well.”

“Indeed.”

“I can’t think of anything else.”

“Neither can I. Perhaps there are local legends aboutsomethingsomething Taros here and there across Japan, and songs about them, butthis type of display holds no meaning if the people viewing the display don’tget it. Occasionally you’ll get a killer doing it for the art or something, butin that case, these three are too simplistic. If there were a fourth murder,the display would have to be based on a legend so much less famous it wouldn’tfit. I think we can probably assume that this serial detective killing hasended at three.”

“If I was the killer, I would reveal an original Taro forthe fourth murder,” Rohan said. Mere distractions. I ignored him, andreviewed my theory. Three cases. Three points. That made a triangle.

“Rohan, can you show me the exact locations of the othercases?” I took out the map I’d procured at the station, and Rohanconfidently pointed them out. I wasn’t sure how Rohan had come by thisinformation, but he had it. Rohan…had some power I did not yet understand.But I could deal with that later. I marked the locations where HakkyokuSachiari, Nekoneko Nyan Nyan Nyan,

and Tsukumojuku were found, and drew a triangle. Then I took out the hand drawn map of the world Tsukumojuku had made. The world filled with oceans, pieces of Panlandia scattered across it. I compared it with the Bermuda Triangle he’d described. I was right. The triangle of dead detectives matched the shape of the Bermuda Triangle exactly.

Tsukumojuku traveled through time via this triangle. Whatcould that symbol mean here? “…what is that strange map?” Rohanasked.

“It’s a map of the world, isn’t it? I see Japan. In thestrangest place. The whole world’s been scrambled.”

“This is a map Tsukumojuku drew for me before he died.”

“It looked like you were comparing the triangle drawn onthat map with the triangle formed by these three murders. Do you think there’ssome connection to that fictional map?”

“…………….”

“Not everything has meaning. Moments of synchronicity seemso bizarre our minds naturally attempt to extract meaning from them – meaningthat isn’t there.” I looked up, and met Rohan’s eye.

“I disagree. There’s a important, inflexible law thatdefines the world.”

“…………..?”

“Everything has meaning. Nothing is out of place.”

“Hmph. That’s only true in mystery novels.”

“But I’m a detective. The moment I get involved, the rulesof the world shift to my genre.”

“…such confidence. Or possibly madness. So this is amystery novel, then? Hmm. Then let me say this – if I’m involved as well, ifthis is happening here in Morioh – then no one set of rules can defineanything. The very laws of physics are distorted beyond recognition here.”

“…………..?” In Morioh? What did that mean? Rohanwas clearly hinting at the mysterious power he seemed to have, but was theresomething specific to Morioh that caused it? Or were there other people withpowers like his here? “Rohan…you have a…a power of some kind, right?”

“Mr. Joestar, you realize that Arrow Cross and the room in

which Tsukumojuku was found technically form a lockedroom?” Rohan asked, ignoring my question.

“Eh? What’s that got…” What point was there to theroom being locked? The state of Tsukumojuku’s body made it perfectly clear he’dbeen murdered, the body was carefully posed, and it was the third case. In noway would it be mistaken for suicide.

“Being a locked room means nothing, here.” Rohan said.So he hadn’t ignored my question.

“…because the laws of physics don’t apply?”

“Exactly. There are a fair number of people in this town whocould kill Tsukumojuku from a distance, and create the locked room.”

“………? Could you do that?”

“Yes. I could have Tsukumojuku himself lock the room, paintthe bear white, strip, wrap that triangle around himself, climb on a bear, andcut his own head off with an axe. Of course, I would do no such thing.”

“You can make people do things? Like hypnotism?”

“Very similar. But much less ceremony, and much harder toresist.”

“……so………..” I hesitated, then decided to say it.

“This is a super power? It this a town of people with superpowers?”

“We call these powers Stands. The main difference fromtypical comic book super powers is that each Stand has a visible form. It maylook like a person, an animal, an insect, a boat or a car, a fishing rod or akey. But because these images appear to stand beside their users, we call themStands. And Stand Masters find themselves drawn to one another, like a magneticattraction. Morioh is just one such pole.” I shuddered, at a loss forwords. Super powers? I had to solve a case in a world where they existed? Itwas

too late to back out now. I was already part of this.Everything I’d known went flying out the window when Tsukumojuku appeared.Everything had meaning. Nothing is out of place. I repeated my own proclamationlike a mantra. I had to make my deductions with this new information in mind,and if I was truly a detective, I would be able to pull that off.

“Speaking of strange laws of physics,” Rohan said. Iknew I didn’t want to hear this, but that I had to. I needed to know everything.

“What?”

“This morning, when I woke up in the west sunroom afteraccidentally sleeping there, I looked at the north sunroom.”

“…………”

“Those big windows are perfectly parallel, and the doors atthe back of the arrows are also made of glass, so I had a good view of theinside of the north sunroom. The polar bear is quite tall, and if Tsukumojuku’sbody had been on its back, I would certainly have seen it.”

“….uh.”

“I couldn’t see it at all, Mr. Joestar,” Rohan seemedto pity me.

“When I woke up, the polar bear and Tsukumojuku’s body werenot in the sunroom. The sun had not yet risen, and the sky behind the northsunroom was a dull orange. The polar bear’s hairs would not have had enoughlight to reflect to make it invisible. I’m certain of it. There was no Kintarodisplay in that sunroom when I woke. I’m afraid your theory that the polar bearwas always in that room doesn’t hold water.”

“……….!”

“After my coincidental glance at the north sunroom, I gotout of bed, crossed to the east sunroom, spoke a word or two to Sugimoto, wentto the north sunroom, and found the Kintaro

display. In other words, during the couple of minutes…no,one minute that I was inside, the killer would have had to murder Tsukumojuku,move the bear in, arrange the display, and escape from the locked room. Allwithout being seen by me on my way to the sunroom, and without stepping on anyof the gravel that surrounds the house. I think it’s clear this was not thedoing of any normal human, no matter how crafty.”

“…it certainly seems that way.”

“I don’t mean to frighten you, but three other detectiveshave already been murdered. You should consider your own safety. You appear tobe a skilled detective, but I doubt there’s anything someone without a Standcould do here.” Was that true? “If everything has meaning, then mycoming here means something, Rohan,” I said.

“I have a role to play here – that much is certain. Rohan,could you tell me more about these Stands?”

“People like us never share the details of our powers withothers.”

“…………”

“But for some reason I find myself drawn to you. Don’tmisunderstand me! I’m speaking of the magnetism I mentioned earlier. For somereason I find myself convinced our meeting isn’t a coincidence.”

“Naturally,” I said.

“I was more or less summoned here. Invited…by means of athreat. Rohan, do you know…um…hunh?” What? I couldn’t finish thesentence. I had known the name a moment ago, but now it wouldn’t come out. Ihad wanted to ask if he knew the name.

“Mm? What?”

“Sorry. I was going to ask if you knew a name, but suddenlyI can’t remember it.” I was a detective. This never happened. It couldnever happen. Had I simply forgotten? No, that couldn’t be.

My memory never failed me. Rohan was staring at me insilence.

“Did you do something to me?” He nodded.

“Yes. If you say that name aloud, you’ll die.”

“………?” What? If Jorge Joestar ever comes to Morioh,I’ll kill him. Was Rohan making that same threat?” What had Rohan done tome? Stolen my memories? No. Rohan had also forced me to call him Rohan. Hispower was similar to hypnotism…so he was controlling me. Making me forgetthat name. What kind of power would make that possible? “Then you do knowthat name, Rohan?”

“I know the name. Not his face.”

“Can you tell me?”

“No. Speaking his name means death. You explode.”

“Hunh?” Explode? “What do you mean?”

“Your body is blown away. Fire and shockwaves. Everythingturns to ash, down to your hair and fingernails, until there’s no trace of youleft.”

“…….? You’re killed by a bomb of something?” But whatkind of bomb could demolish the body that thoroughly? “…your entire bodyis the bomb.”

“? ….what do you –” …mean? Before I could finish, thedoorbell rang. It made a noise like a phony violin, and took me several secondto work out it was a doorbell at all.

“Oh, they’re back,” Rohan said. His eyes went dead.What was wrong with him? I wondered.

“Sorry,” he said.

“But could you get them to leave? I know them well enough,but lately they’ve been ignoring me. Very vexing.” Ignoring him?“Um…you should really handle that yourself.” I wasn’t here tomediate childish squabbles.

“Come on, you’re a detective! Running off people whointerfere with the investigation is part of your job description.

They’ll definitely get in the way, I promise.”

“How do you know them?” I asked, looking. Three boys,in school uniforms. They looked to be about my age. They were walking aroundthe house, moving towards us. Two of them looked like thugs. I could see whyhe’d want to avoid them.

“They’re kids. You sure they aren’t your fans?”

“They aren’t fans! Just a pain in my ass! Every time theyshow up they bring trouble with them! I’m going back to my workroom. You getrid of them.” Rohan turned, and basically fled the north sunroom. But ashe opened the door, he paused, and said, “You too, Sugimoto.” Iturned to look, but only Rohan went through that door.

My head was swimming. Stands. A murder display and a lockedroom made in one minute. A name hidden from my memory. Rohan’s odd behavior.Speaking his name means death. You explode. This strange building, and thestrange events inside. The Arrow Cross House and the Cube House. There was evena girl with amnesia, Sugimoto Reimi. Rohan was a little weird about her. Youtoo, Sugimoto. He’d been speaking to empty air. As if there was a girl standingthere…? I opened the door, and stepped outside. I had to get the facts. Whenthe three boys saw me coming out of the Arrow Cross, they moved into an attackpattern, placing themselves on all three sides. The two thugs had the sameface, and were probably twins; one went to my right, and the other to the left.The boy in front of me looked like a nice kid; he didn’t look like the sortwho’d be friends with the other two. He waved, smiling.

“Hello!” I bowed.

“Good afternoon.”

“There was a murder here today, but we saw you in the

window, and came to check it out,” he said. He wassmiling, but also watching me carefully.

“Let me introduce myself,” I said.

“My name is Jorge Joestar. I may be only sixteen, but I’m adetective.”

“Sixteen? So are we. A detective? But you shouldn’t be in aplace like this alone. After all, the one murdered here was a detective, too.”

“Yes, I knew him.”

“Oh! I see. My condolences. So you came to investigate?”

“Exactly. You are…?”

“…friends of the owner, Rohan-sensei!” And he told meto run you off.

“I see. Well, sorry if I spooked ya, but Rohan gave mepermission to be here, so…”

“Rohan did whaaaat!?” the thug on my right snarled.

“Don’t you fuckin’ lie to me!” Interestingly, he madeno attempt to get in my face, the way most thugs would. He had his hands in hispockets, and was standing a good three meters away. His body language made itclear he was ready to pounce, and I was suitably intimidated. His twin kept thesame distance, and was watching me quietly. This was clearly their naturalfighting distance. Out of my reach. But they could reach me. They had powers.Stands. That had forms of their own.

“So…” I said.

“You’ve got your Stands out, then?” The boy on my rightsnapped.

“You can fuckin’ see them!?” he roared. Somethinggrabbed me by the throat. He didn’t move at all. Something else had its handaround my neck, and was lifting me into the air. An invisible hand. I couldfeel the palm, and five fingers. It was shaped like a human, but it wasn’t human.Rohan had said some Stands were humanoid, and this was clearly one. I tried tograb the hand, but my fingers passed right through it, catching only empty air.When he saw that, the thug looked

surprised.

“You can’t…? What? You aren’t a Stand Master? What thehell are you doing here? What do you know about Rohan?” His Stand slammedme up against the Arrow Cross window.

“…….what?” I managed.

“Where is Rohan? Don’t you even think about lying!” Where…?“He’s here!” I said, betraying Rohan’s trust immediately. I didn’thave much choice; my vision was quickly blurring, and I was about to pass out.

“Here!? What are you talking about!? No one’s seen him fortwo weeks! Don’t you fuck with me!” He was missing? Lately they’ve beenignoring me. But they called him sensei, and were clearly searching desperatelyfor him. That’s why I was dangling in the air like this. This didn’t add up.How could they perceive the situation so differently? The other thug turnedtowards the house, and yelled, “Rohan-sensei!” The smiling one waswatching me closely, saying nothing. The flow of blood cut off, my brain wasgasping for oxygen, but I forced it to think.

“Rohan-sensei!” Thug B yelled, again.

“What?” Rohan said.

“Honestly, you’re the worst,” I heard him mutter. ButThug B asked, “Reimi, has Rohan come back?” Like Rohan said, werethey ignoring him? “This ain’t right,” Thug B said.

“This murder today, I’m sure it was him. It’s not safe foryou to be here alone, Reimi.” I started sliding higher up the glass.

“Eh? But he’s suspicious, Reimi,” Thug A said. Eh? Whydid he say “Eh?” Like he was responding to something Sugimoto Reimisaid, but I hadn’t heard her voice, couldn’t see her at all. I tried to turn myhead and get a better look.

“See, Mr. Joestar?” Rohan sighed.

“They’re the worst.”

Thug A spoke over him.

“None of us know what he looks like. Heh heh heh.” Heturned to look at me.

“You could be pretending you’re a detective. But you’rereally Kira Yoshikage –”

Oh! I thought. The invisible hand around my throat vanished,and I fell to the ground, almost laughing. I remembered! That was the name! Howhad I forgotten it? Wait, what was it again? The gravel crunched under myknees, and I coughed violently. Thug B run over to me.

“Nooo! Fukashigi! Where are you, Fukashigi!” That’s aweird thing to say, I thought. Then he grabbed me by the shirt and dragged meto my feet.

“So you are a Stand Master?” he yelled. I had no ideawhat he meant until I looked around. Thug A was gone.

“What the hell did you do to Fukashigi? Bring him back rightnow! Or I’ll retire you on the spot! You’ve got three seconds! One!”Apparently Fukashigi was Thug A’s name, the one who’d been strangling me. Andhis sudden disappearance had made Thug B jump to the conclusion that I’dattacked him. He seemed frightened.

“Wait, I have no idea what…” I saw Rohan standingnext to him.

“Rohan, you saw it! Say something.” Thug B saw melooking over his shoulder, and turned to look. He spun back quickly, angry.

“What are you talking about? You’re mixed up in hisdisappearance, aren’t you?” Whaaat? What the hell? “Jesus,”Rohan said.

“Your brother vanishes and you’re still keepingthis…practical joke going? What an asshole.” No. He wasn’t ignoringRohan. Thug B couldn’t see him.

“He’s in on it! Kouji, Reimi, get back! Where’s Fukashigi?Tell me right now! Two!” Thug B screamed. The other boy stepped

back, keeping a close eye on me the whole while. I lookedaround. They kept talking to Sugimoto Reimi, but there was no sign of her. Butshe was here. I just couldn’t see her.

“I will fuck you up!” I understood now.

“Time’s up! Get ready for a beating! That’s what I’m bestat!” When the invisible hand was around my neck, I’d been pressed upagainst the Arrow House window, and I’d fallen straight down. But that windowwas a good two meters behind me now.

“Alright, little dog, prepare to get put down!” Thug Bsaid, stepping back away from me. Like Fukashigi (?), he had other ways toattack, and kept his distance when he fought.

“Wait! I can find Fukashigi.”

“Whaaat!?” he yelled. But he held off the attack. Istood up.

“I am the detective, Jorge Joestar. I can solve thiscase!” It was a little theatrical, but it bought me a few more seconds.The other boy behind Thug B was calm, but equally tensed, equally on his guard.Rohan looked a little shaken, but mostly just fascinated by what was going on.None of them seemed to be acting. I’d seen through the lies of many a killer,and my lie detection was honed to perfection. None of them were lying. Whatthey said they saw was the truth. That meant Sugimoto Reimi was here, even if Icouldn’t see her. And if the four of us hadn’t done anything, then SugimotoReimi must have spirited Fukashigi away. But not to harm him; she was Rohan’shousemate, and seemed to be friendly with these boys as well. So she hadn’tmade him disappear; she’d hidden him. Where? How? What had happened?

Fukashigi had vanished. I had hit the ground. The ground I’dlanded on was two meters away from the window I’d been pressed against. WhenFukashigi vanished, he didn’t throw me aside. The hand was just gone, and Idropped straight down. To two meters away. But my back had been pressed againstthe glass when he vanished. The very laws of physics are distorted beyondrecognition here. I had to accept this new rule. I hadn’t moved. The window hadmoved two meters forward, dropped me, and moved two meters back. In an instant.The window had moved on its own? That wouldn’t be enough to hide a big guy likeFukashigi. You’d need to move something bigger to hide him. But what? I wentover to the west sunroom window I’d been pressed against, bent down, and movedthe gravel aside. There was nothing but dirt underneath. The outer walls lookedlike they went underground, but I looked closer, and saw a faint line runningacross it. A gap. Forget the old physics. Okay. I stood up, and ran through itagain. Why had she needed to hide Fukashigi? At that exact moment? What had hedone? He’d said that name. Then vanished just as I remembered it. The name Icouldn’t remember (again) was the key. Of course it was. Rohan had told me asmuch. Speaking his name means death. You explode. Your entire body is the bomb.I should take that literally. If you said that name, you’d explode, and die.But Sugimoto Reimi had prevented that.

She had put him in a vacuum to prevent the explosion. Byplacing him under the Arrow Cross House.

This was Sugimoto Reimi’s power. But she was not a StandMaster, not a human. If she was, I’d have been able to see her, just like thethree boys. I couldn’t see her, because she wasn’t a Stand Master. Fukashigihad proven I wasn’t. You can fuckin’ see them!? You can’t…? What? You aren’ta Stand Master? Being able to see Stands was proof you had one. And I couldn’tsee Sugimoto Reimi. The girl with amnesia…or not. She was a Stand. A humanoidone. She wasn’t human, so had no memories. Stands didn’t simply stand by you,they had powers. Sugimoto Reimi’s power – difficult as it was to believe –clearly allowed her to move the Arrow Cross. She had moved the building to hideFukashigi. And one other.

I looked at Rohan. He spent most of his time at home, notmeeting anyone, and had not realized the girl he lived with wasn’t human. Hewas grinning, enjoying this turn of events, but he was invisible too. I couldsee him, but the three boys couldn’t. If Stand Masters couldn’t see him, hewasn’t a Stand. He was something else. Not a Stand, but not alive. But notdead, either. Hidden, just like Fukashigi. How did being under the Arrow Crosskeep Fukashigi and Rohan alive? Was there oxygen down there? I didn’t know, butit didn’t matter. The laws of physics didn’t apply. What mattered was

that both were alive. If she’d intended to crush them todeath under the Arrow Cross, she could have just let them explode. But if bothRohan and Fukashigi were trapped between life and death, why was Rohan standingin front of me, talking? Because he was a manga artist, and had deadlines. Tooworried about his schedule to die if you killed him.

“Rohan,” I said. Thug B looked for him again, butcouldn’t see him.

“You can use your stand to control people, or change theirnature?” He nodded.

“I can. That is the power of Heaven’s Door.” ? Was thatthe Stand’s name? Whatever.

“Okay, then first, can you make it so I can seeStands?” Rohan stopped smiling.

“Are you sure? There are some things you’re better off notknowing. Not getting involved with.” I nodded.

“I’m a detective. I need to know all the facts. If Standsare a fact of this case, then I have to see them to know them.”

“Ok. Heh heh heh. I admire your gumption. Then I shall openyour doors! Heaven’s Door!” I’m not entirely sure it was strictlynecessary to shout his Stand’s name like a fighting move, but he fwipfwipfwipdrew his manga character and I went ftttzzz. But this time I saw it. My facepeeling away like the pages of a book.

“Aaaaugh!” I yelled.

“Heh,” Rohan said.

“My Stand lets me turn anyone who sees my character into abook. I can read everything there is to know about you, and write new orders orfacts into your pages. Ha ha ha!” Trying to keep the pages of my face fromflapping in the breeze, I glanced over at Thug B. There were strange dolphinsfloating in the air next to him. Three of them.

“If you’re a book,” he said.

“Then that means Rohan’s alive, and with us?”

“Yes.”

“Who are you staring at?” he growled. I looked at theboy next to him. He had a propeller on his head, like something out of Doraemon.

“Yeah, it’s kind of lame,” he said, bobbing his head.Surprised, I almost laughed, but caught myself in time.

“What was the missing boy’s Stand like?”

“Why should we tell you?” his brother snarled.

“I need all the information to solve this case. I’m tryingto find your brother.” The propeller boy filled me in. Fukashigi’s Standwas named NYPD Blue. He was a good cop, but had a foul mouth, and an abrasivepersonality. Apparently he was a New Yorker to the core. Hunh? Finally I lookedat the attractive girl next to Rohan. She looked a little older than me. Icould see her at last.

“I apologize for the delay, Sugimoto Reimi. My name is JorgeJoestar.” She smiled, and said hello, but her voice shook. She was scared.Of what? Of the others finding out she was a Stand? She must have seen thehesitation in my face.

“Don’t worry,” she said.

“I don’t know if the truth is always the best course, butmisunderstandings and lies will get us nowhere.” She ended with a smile.She was quite beautiful. The best course? Those words were gospel to me.Sugimoto reached out and took Rohan’s hand, and said, “Right, Rohan?”

“Eh? What’s going on?” He said, turning bright red. Iwas suddenly jealous. Of course, I thought. She was worried about this delicatemanga artist. I took her at her word.

“Rohan, next use Heaven’s Door on these boys.”

“Boys?” Thug B said.

“You’re the same age,” he grumbled.

“Make so they can see, um…not ghosts, exactly, but,um…astral projections.”

Rohan caught my meaning, and looked stunned, but the momentHeaven’s Door made the change, the two boys could see him. Amid their cries ofjubilation and surprise, I explained my thinking, had Sugimoto let me under theArrow Cross House to check the suspended bodies of Rohan and Fukashigi. Rohanstared at himself wordlessly, and then looked at Sugimoto, who he now knewwasn’t human after all.

“So what happened to all the food and coffee you had? Awaste of my supplies!” he said, making a show of sulking. Sugimoto justsmiled.

“Sorry. But I wanted to eat with you.”

“…look, I’m not mad about it, or anything.” They werejust flirting! We moved back inside, and I had them explain the basics of Standpowers as we did. I had Sugimoto move the building, did an experiment to provea theory of mine, and was sure I’d solved another mystery.

“So this explains how the murder display and locked roomcould be created in one minute, Rohan. When you finished working last night,you went to sleep in your own bedroom, the east sunroom. Like you always do.There’s no way you could get up from your desk, turn the wrong way, and leavethrough the wrong door. Even if you somehow did, with the furniture in the westsunroom laid out in a mirror image of your own bedroom, you’re much too highstrung – if you’ll forgive the expression – to have missed it. You went tosleep in the east sunroom, like you always do. But when dawn arrived, the househad been turned 180 degrees, and you were on the west side. The light was oddenough

to wake you, and you assumed you must have gone to sleep onthe wrong side. You got up to trade rooms with Sugimoto, but before you left,you glanced at the empty north sunroom – which was actually the south sunroom.Since you don’t use the south sunroom, it was naturally empty. Rohan, did youhappen to look south at all? At the actual north sunroom?”

“…….no, I didn’t.”

“If you had, I’m sure you would have seen the Kintarodisplay already completed. And it was bright enough that, if you had stopped tolook, you would have noticed that everything in the room was backwards. Becauseeverything was laid out the way you were used to, you didn’t notice in the fewseconds you were there. The only thing out of place was the position of thesun. So, you left the east sunroom, which was on the west side, crossed thework room, and woke Sugimoto in the west sunroom, which was on the east side.When she woke, Sugimoto noticed that the building had somehow turned, andimmediately turned it back. She did this while you were in the work room,headed for the hallway to the north sunroom. Without you noticing, the northsunroom moved from the south side of the building back to the north, where itwas when you found Tsukumojuku’s body.” Sugimoto nodded.

“That’s more or less accurate. I didn’t consciously turn thebuilding back, but when I woke up, the building did turn 180 degrees, back tothe way it normally sits.”

“But…that means…” Rohan started, but I didn’t lethim.

“Yes, this only makes sense if the center of the Arrow CrossHouse, the square room you use as a work room, does not turn with the fourarrows. That’s what I just verified. As I thought, no matter how fast the houseis spinning, the center room doesn’t move at all.” The laws of physics didnot apply. Conventional logic would never have allowed me to reach

this solution; only once I absorbed the logicalcontradictions of it could I reach the truth.

“I believe the four arrows and this central building are notactually linked. They appear to be part of the same building, but aretechnically two different pieces.” I had my eyes fixed on Sugimoto, but Icould see Rohan’s jaw drop next to her.

“Remember, Rohan, there was originally a building with nowindows or doors on this hill. Later on, without anyone noticing, it becamethis building. It wasn’t rebuilt; it was remodeled. The Arrow Cross was builtaround the Cube House, but the original building remains – and you work insideof it. Right?” Sugimoto seemed very impressed by the accuracy of mydeductions.

“Wow. You’re absolutely right.”

“In other words, Sugimoto’s Stand power was originallyshaped like Cube House. But five years ago, it changed shape to Arrow CrossHouse. This sort of thing happens with Stands sometimes, doesn’t it? Rohan.Sudden changes or evolutions occur to both the visible Stand and the Stand’sabilities, right?”

“Yes. Nothing like that has happened with Heaven’s Door, butit is possible.” Thug B – Nijimura Muryotaisu – was waiting outside. Hisweird looking dolphin stand, Grand Blue, was originally only one dolphin. Butnow it was three. Things like that happened. And during the fight with thiskiller whose name I was better off not remembering, a similar thing hadhappened to his Stand, Killer Queen. When they first encountered him, all hecould do was touch things, turning them into bombs that he could detonateremotely. Then it could split part of itself off into a bomb that could trackits prey automatically – Sheer Heart Attack. And now it had a new power, Bitesthe Dust, which could make people explode if they so much as spoke his name.Unless they defeated this killer, or somehow got him to turn off his thirdpower, Rohan

and Nijimura Fukashigi would have to stay under the ArrowCross, away from oxygen.

“I do have some questions,” I said.

“When you were shaped like Cube House, what power did youhave?” Sugimoto hesitated.

“…sorry. I don’t remember.” I suppose she wouldn’t.Sugimoto Reimi was a Stand with the power to move the Arrow Cross House. Shehad replaced whatever…personality? I guess? The Stand attached to Cube Househad had.

“…I see. Then…it seems you sleep at night like a normalhuman, but during that time, what happens to the Arrow Cross? In other words,does it frequently turn on its own, like it did this morning?”

“Hmmm…well, I’d be asleep, so I wouldn’t remember, butthis is the first time I’ve ever woken up and found the building turned.”

“………..? Interesting.” There were a few details wehad not yet clarified, but I also had to catch Tsukumojuku’s killer, figure outhow they made the locked room, and search for the killer whose name must not beremembered. I was about to proceed when Nijimura Muryotaisu came into the room.

“Sugimoto, why are you moving the house?” he asked.

We went outside, and Arrow Cross House was rocking back andforth. It had been impossible to tell from inside, but it was as if thebuilding sensed something wrong, and was trashing wildly to get our attention.

“This isn’t me,” Sugimoto said. I looked around. Fromlooking at the building and the land around us, it was

hard to tell, but once I looked up it fell into place. Theclouds in the sky were matching the movements of the house exactly. But itwasn’t the sky that was moving. The ground was moving, and the Arrow CrossHouse was staying perfectly still. The polar bear was pointed due north at alltimes.

“It’s like a giant compass,” I said.

Hirose Kouji flew up into the air on his Doraemon propeller,Blue Thunder. A chasm had opened along the borders of Morioh, and it had splitoff from the main land. It was now an island floating on the sea, headed northalong the coast of the Japan Sea. We all stood stunned after hearing his report.

“While we’re all surprised may not be the best time,”Rohan whispered in my ear.

“But what sort of person are you?” I didn’t know whathe meant, so I had no answer.

“I’ve been wondering if I should say anything,” Rohancontinued.

“But like Sugimoto said…” I don’t know if the truthis always the best course, but misunderstandings and lies will get us nowhere.

“You’re a detective, and seem to have what it takes.”I’m a detective. I need to know all the facts.

“So I’ll tell you the truth. When I used Heaven’s Door toread your book, all your adventures as a detective in Nishi Akatsuki werelisted under the heading: Forgery.”

Hunh?

“Behind your left ear, I found the Real account. It wasvery short. ‘Born in 1889 in the Canary Islands off the coast of Spain.

Became a pilot in the English air force, and fought in WWI. Murdered in 1920 by an air force general.’ That’s all it said. I have never met someone with real and fake books, and the real contents are very strange. England and the Canary Islands don’t exist, and 1889? You were born 123 years ago, and died 92 years ago. If this is truly your real life, then how old are you?”