[Extra] Newborn Disappearance Incident

(All characters appearing above are adults.)

Kitano Police Station, XX Township koban.

(Koban are police boxes—community and main-road security posts staffed by Japanese officers.)

"How many years has it been now..."

He pulled out a classic pack-and-lighter combo, casually exhaling the life-shortening nicotine haze.

A shabby work environment, lax discipline. Hard to believe these slackers in front of him were his colleagues.

Seito Tetsu—once a hot-blooded idealist, now a full-fledged office veteran after the rules had beaten him black and blue.

Back then, Seito Tetsu had breezed into the police academy with confidence, vowing to punish evil and arrest every criminal without holding back.

After finishing his training, he'd made a friend who shared the same sense of justice and ideals: Sezaki Kawakami.

The two became inseparable, talking about everything. In lockstep, they rose from Assistant Inspector to Inspector and finally made it into the Criminal Affairs Division's First Investigative Section.

That was over ten years ago. Sezaki Kawakami was dead. He'd gone missing while investigating the [Newborn Disappearance Incident] alone. The day Sezaki Kawakami's death was confirmed, Seito Tetsu received a transfer order.

When Seito Tetsu learned he'd been reassigned to a rural koban as a patrol officer, his rage and hatred hit their peak.

Now, he'd long lost that youthful fire. He'd long since let it go.

This island nation... was truly rotten to the core.

"Cheers!"

This was a drinking session reserved for two idealists.

"You can still hold your liquor, as always."

"You're not bad yourself."

"Being with you is still the most relaxing, after all."

Seito Tetsu downed a large mug of foamy beer in one gulp.

"Ohh, now that's a hearty drink."

After the department's first round ended, the two, as if reading each other's minds, kicked off their usual second round—the real drinking session where work pressure melted away.

A cheap, run-down izakaya, a kindly old lady and a young woman, simple yet warmly laid out. To the two of them, this place was heaven for unwinding.

They'd cracked a perfect crime together—the [Family of Four Massacre Case]—and made a name for themselves. Seito Tetsu and Sezaki Kawakami were hailed as "the new hope of Japanese criminal investigation."

Strictly speaking, that first round had been their celebration party.

"Even if we caught the killer... those four lives can't be brought back."

Seito Tetsu slammed his beer mug onto the table.

"If only we could've known those scumbags were going to commit a crime! Maybe we could've prevented a lot of tragedies."

"We can't stop tragedies from happening. Do what we can to prevent more evil—keep more innocent people from getting hurt or dying."

Sezaki Kawakami said it calmly, then finished his own beer.

Closing his eyes... he recalled something from seventeen years ago.

"Off duty."

Seito Tetsu handed over his responsibilities and went to the locker room to change out of his uniform.

Every day he lived like this, drifting aimlessly—no wife, no friends. What a tragic life...

This rural area had an absurd amount of rainfall; he couldn't even tell if it was the season's doing.

"My shoes are soaked. This sucks."

He hurried to the convenience store. Bought a half-price bento—and of course, the classic combo of two cans of cold beer with it. His stash of snacks at home was running low too; he needed to restock.

"Thank you for your patronage."

The young, pretty clerk bowed her head, rattling off nothing but service-industry phrases. Everyone wore a fake smile.

He returned to his rundown apartment building. The place was old, and the landlords were an elderly couple.

Seito Tetsu didn't have many desires. The young, driven version of himself had died long ago. Now he was just a walking corpse wearing Seito Tetsu's skin.

He stepped onto the iron staircase, each creaking step slightly rusted.

How strange. There was a delivery box in front of his door.

He didn't remember ordering anything online, nor had he been in touch with anyone. Who sent it?

[Yowa Ayana]

A name he didn't recognize at all. On top of the box, a note was taped down with clear tape.

It read: [Please read this letter first.]

Curious about what this sender, Yowa Ayana, was up to, Seito Tetsu peeled off the tape and opened the envelope.

[Greetings, Mr. Seito Tetsu]

[I apologize for being unable to meet you face-to-face due to personal reasons. I can only reveal the truth to you in this concealed manner.]

[Regarding the truth behind that 'Infant Disappearance Incident'.]

[If you trust me, please open the envelope. Inside is the evidence I have gathered so far, which will be of help to Mr. Seito Tetsu—]

[And even the death of Detective Sezaki back then.]

"What's the mission this time? A newborn disappearance incident? An organ trafficking or human trafficking organization?!"

Another one of those heinous cases.

Seito Tetsu and Sezaki Kawakami stared at the report.

"Infant Center... looks fine on the surface."

"Look at this anomaly here. It's as if it's been hidden away by ghosts and gods."

Seito Tetsu said calmly.

"There are no such things as ghosts and gods in this world. If there were, we wouldn't need detectives."

"It's just a metaphor. Don't take it so seriously. Keep reading."

Seito Tetsu's expression grew heavier.

"That Infant Center's provided documents don't match the facts. And the main issue is, the starting point of the disappearance incident traces back here?"

"Exactly. On the surface, it's an Infant Center institution. Under the guise of charity, a disappearance incident occurs every few years. So far, it's happened twice."

"Have any officers investigated the anomalies at this Infant Center?"

Seito Tetsu asked.

"Someone high up is shielding them. We can't make a move at all. And look—it's not just the Infant Center. When I conducted undercover investigations afterward, several gynecology hospitals showed the same pattern! It seems a gang is involved. We can only investigate in secret."

"What about the mothers of those children? Don't they care?"

"Those mothers all had accidental pregnancies..."

"What?"

"Students, victims of unfortunate love, assault victims, and even those who simply didn't want the child."

Sezaki Kawakami pretended to be a follow-up staff member, using fragmented questioning and fake forms to slowly piece together clues. He even paid out of his own pocket for the investigation.

"So the power behind this deliberately targets babies likely to be abandoned?"

Seito Tetsu slammed the table in anger.

"Those scumbags—they're just infants!"

"The force behind this case is no small matter..."

Because Seito Tetsu and Sezaki Kawakami had stirred up too much noise.

"This case is not something you two can touch! Do you understand?! Sezaki Kawakami, you bastard, I told you to put those files through the shredder. Do you want my badge taken away, or do you want to see how the two of you end up at the bottom of Tokyo Bay?!"

Sezaki Kawakami had already privately investigated and compiled most of the information before handing it to Seito Tetsu.

Just as the two were about to make their move, they were called away by the Section Chief. Without a doubt, they were doused with cold water.

"But we can't just stand by and do nothing! Those children have gone missing! It could be some trafficking organization—that's extremely vile!"

"You two idiots. You think you cracked a big case by luck and turned yourselves into heroes? Or detectives? We eat by watching others' faces! In short, stop investigating. Shred those files, or better yet, burn them to ashes."

It was the first time Seito Tetsu had seen the Section Chief so tense, even cursing them out.

"Damn it! Are we just supposed to give up on the leads we worked so hard to get?"

Seito Tetsu punched the wall of the stairwell.

Sezaki Kawakami just smoked his cigarette and said slowly.

"If it were Kazami Shiro, he wouldn't look the other way."

(The protagonist of Kamen Rider V3)

"You really love those special effects shows, you overgrown kid."

"Yeah, that's just who I am. You've known me long enough."