Kirigiri Novel Book 5

Chapter 2- 'Goodbye' BAR - Yaki Hajiki

A street in the business district is lined with tightly closed rolling shutters. From about 30 years ago, this place began to decline gradually, and these days only few shops remain. Starting at the street entrance, count down the shops on the right to between the seventh and eighth, where there is a narrow alley that barely fits for one person.

Walk into this path, turn left then right then left again, and you will see a sign that reads 'Kuroi Clinic'. Directly below the sign is an old door, that's the entrance to the 'Goodbye' BAR.

This store had been opened and closed, again and again, with different managers, names and styles each time. From a simple cafe that pursued quality coffee, to a bistro with karaoke and girls, I heard that it was also a Mahjong parlor and a dart bar once that engaged in illegal gambling.

I heard that the name of the last bar that opened in this place was named 'Goodbye', which is a very suitable name to end the day at. The bar had a great atmosphere, with the non-verbal bartenders mixing up a variety of colorful cocktails. There is no record of where the bartenders are now. As for 'Goodbye', there didn't seem to be anything illegal about it.

After the bar closed, street thugs and gangsters secretly used it as a base for their underground deals. The residents here have also expressed their desire to have this place demolished, but there are thousands of buildings on this depressed street that needs to be demolished for that to happen, so the administration must be in a headache about it. However, they say that even hooligans and homeless people are reluctant to go near this place recently, so maybe no one knows how to get to this place anymore.

After separating from the other detectives, Yaki spent half a day gathering information about 'Goodbye'. The location's history of illegal gambling had been deftly tapped into Yaki's information network.

January 11th, after 10 PM—

Yaki and two men are taking a taxi to 'Goodbye'. "Sorry for calling you out suddenly, Ōba."

Yaki said to the man sitting next to him. The man is wearing a flashy T-shirt and a down jacket, with a hat on his head backwards. His name is Ōba Ryō, he used to be partners with Yaki, and raided gambling casinos together. He was also the one who determined the location of 'Goodbye' in detail.

"Nah, it's my honor to help you bro. This area's my hometown, so I recognized it immediately. So... what's the prey?"

"Nope, It's not gambling this time."

"What? I thought it's going to be another wild night with big bro, man I was excited for nothin'."

"Didn't you wash your hands from gambling?"

"Yeah, true, I already have a kid, and I've suffered enough. I used to think that in this world of luck, an idiot like me with a bad background and no education can climb it up... but now I know that even a kid who's a lot smaller than me can make me lose my shit..."

"Don't tell me– I heard that you were once rolled up by a strange gothic lolita girl. Is this true?"

"Not a rumor, it's real."

"Fuckin' pathetic. If it were me, it'd only take 5 seconds to get her on her knees begging for mercy. Where's the kid, where's she now?"

"I dunno, she appeared and disappeared in a flash." Ōba said with an exaggerated sigh. "Let's not talk about that, what's wrong with 'Goodbye'? If there's money to be made, count me in."

"That's the spirit. Make no mistake, this time it's a murder case." "Murder...?"

"Yeah, I'm no expert either, just to collect info." "It's not easy being a detective."