For the Untrained Eye

    Every moment is fleeting and the mind can only remember so much that it discards or stows away the rest. Every emotion, every breath can be over within seconds, wiped from the world and the memory of those around you.     "Inspe-...inspector..?" Yamashita Mari snapped out of her blank stare as she gazed upon the new team she would be joining.     “I’d like to introduce you all to our new inspector, Yamashita Mari. She’s made quite the impression on us as of late.” A young, petite woman stood beside the section chief. Her smile was almost sickening as Akahoshi Sugawara and his team listened. “Mari here was the one responsible for the capture of the culprit of the recent murders down in sixteenth precinct.”     Yamashita Mari grinned with glee at the mention of her accomplishment. She had been working on catching the culprit for no more than a week. It was a new record for her and she had yet to be beaten by anyone she had worked with.     Her eyes meet with Suga's. Catching a look of what almost seemed like disgust. The others around him however clapped and awed at her work. “I look forward to working with your team, Captain Akahoshi.” She reached out her hand for him to shake and he took it reluctantly. “Don’t worry, I don’t bite.” Section chief Tanaka laughed happily and clapped a hand onto Akahoshi's shoulder.     “I have a feeling you will work well together.” Mari’s cold, unwavering gaze scent shivers down Suga's spine. It was almost as if she was staring at her next prey. Like a hawk waiting to sweep down and scoop up a rabbit it had it’s eyes on.     Before he knew it, Sugawara was showing the new girl to her desk. Right between his own desk and Inari Hanako’s desk. Mari greeted and formally introduced herself to everyone as she began to get settled. Akahoshi Sugawara's team consisted of himself, the captain, and two other police officers, Inari and a man named Aoyama Hiro. “I’ve heard quite a lot about you. Yamashita Mari, a former detective in the eighth precinct up in Kantou. Known for your professional demeanor and large success rate with cases.”     “You flatter me, police officer Aoyama. Not all of my cases are successes.” Mari smiled, but Suga could see the way she forced herself to brush off the comment.     "How are you settling here in Kansai?" Inari asked. Mari stared at Inari's nails. Unfilled and the nail polish chipping piece by piece.      "Quite well, actually, I came here a week prior to today in order to get settled and work out any issues with my relocation, should any issues arise." Mari gave Inari another smile. Suga merely gazed as she interacted among others. He was curious to know if he had just been sensitive or if something really did feel off about the new girl.     On the other hand, Mari seemed to be quite disinterested in Akahoshi Sugawara. Although he was quite a handsome man with a good build due to his training, Mari paid him no special mind. "I'm actually quite curious, how did you solve the Watanabe case?" Aoyama muttered as he sat back in his chair and kicked his feet up onto his desk. Inari, too, raised an eyebrow and leaned forward into her desk to hear.     "Watanabe Kaito?" Mari stated simply as she moved the files on her desk to sit in front of her. She began looking through them and sorting out the cases as she continued. "His wife, Watanabe Yuki, had gone to the hospital a couple of times claiming she had hurt herself while cooking. This happened on multiple occasions, but the wounds seemed to always be too severe for a middle aged woman to inflict on herself." Mari eyed a file that was in her hands as she tried to organize it on her desk. "Watanabe's coworkers had also filed multiple complaints to HR, saying Watanabe sometimes seemed like a completely different person." Mari snapped the file in her hands closed and peered over at Aoyama and Inari who listened closely. "What would you say was wrong if someone who was completely docile, for the most part, sometimes had violent episodes?"     "Impulse control problems?" Suga tuned in. He had been listening, but had refused to speak until he got engaged into the discussion.     "Not quite. You see although impulse control could be a factor, in Watanabe's case, it was not a constant loss of control over his emotions and behavior. It was more sudden and without notice." Mari sighed. "Watanabe's wife hid the fact that her own husband kept having episodes of terrible violence. Although, she was paying the price, she cared about him deeply. Watanabe was a severe case of intermittent explosive disorder. If he was not home during his episodes, he was acting violently towards his victims, if he was at home, his wife became the victim."     Mari remained emotionless as she continued and finished explaining her thought process when capturing Watanabe. Even as she flipped through the case files that held terrible photos of victims of all sorts, she never flinched once. "It's all in the way you control your emotions.If Watanabe Yuki had gotten her husband the help he needed or maybe even just reported the violence he displayed on her, he wouldn't have committed so many murders. It is part of the reason she was also taken in for aiding and abetting even though she too was a victim."     "You don't sympathize with her as a victim? Many people did." Inari sighed as she looked down at her feet. It was true, society didn't take the fact that Watanabe Yuki had also been imprisoned very well, but Mari wasn't one to sympathize with anyone.     "No. I was the one who brought her in of course." Mari stated simply.                                                                                                ...     It had taken Akahoshi's team a while to adjust to Mari. They had begun to learn that she was extremely quiet and always in her own world. As Aoyama had once joked, Mari was like a cat in a dog park. Inari had taken a liking towards the rather aloof inspector, but had yet to learn anything about her. In fact, no one had learned a single thing about Mari except what was already on her file.      Yamashita Mari, twenty-six years old, formally living in Ibaraki, Kantou and now living in Kyoto, Kansai. An inspector with great marks in police academy and schooling in general.     "Inspector Yamashita, you're coming with me. We got a call from Muko." Akahoshi sighed as he waved the petite inspector over to him. Mari brushed of her pants as she stood from her desk and followed after Suga.      "So, Suga-san....is it okay if I call you that?" Mari rambled as Suga started up the car.      "Captain Akahoshi is just fine." Suga sighed.     Mari nodded and looked out the windows as they sped past all sorts of buildings. "Suga-san, do you know of a good place to eat tayaki?" Suga glared and gripped the steering wheel tighter. He was sure that he had just rejected her request to call him so informally.      "No, I'm not much of a sweets person myself."     "Really? I didn't pin you to have such a straight cut persona." Mari expressed her thoughts openly. "Then..do you know any good tsukemen shops?"         It was going to be a long drive and Suga could already feel the irritation creeping in on him. He had wondered why Aoyama and Inari could get along so well with such a vexing person. It was almost as if she wanted to push his buttons. "Do I annoy you, Captain?"     The question caught Suga off guard making him swurve slightly. Other cars beeped in unison and one man even yelled for Suga to learn how to drive. Mari merely stared out the window waiting for a response that didn't come. There was no way Suga would say that Mari annoyed him. At least, not verbally. It would be too much of a burden to deal with the aftermath of that kind of statement. Especially, when Mari was being received so well by all the others.     "I don't mind you know." Mari enticed a response. "I'm quite used to it actually. People always seem to avoid me. I'm quite unsympathetic myself so I don't mind." For some reason as the words came out of Mari's mouth Suga had felt a sting in his heart. It was almost as if he had just heard that his younger sister was being bullied. Yet, as he glanced over at Mari, it all washed away. Her eyes were emotionless and her gaze didn't waver. "This is it."     Sugawara stopped the vehicle and they both stepped out. The crime scene was an apartment complex at the edge on of Muko and Kyoto. It wasn't until they reached the ninth floor of the apartment complex that yellow tape could be seen making sure no one without clearance could get through. Mari simply showed her badge and put covers over her shoes as she walked onto the scene. She slipped on some gloves as well once she was inside.      The scene was a scene that would make any person alive vomit, but for Suga and Mari it was their job and a regular sight to be seen. "Hamada Kaori, twenty year old, lives alone. Suspected suicide." An officer on the scene began to inform them. Mari bent down to get a closer look at the body on the floor. She had been shot in the head and the blood had made its way onto the carpet and wall behind her.     "The entrance wound is on her forehead." Mari spoke aloud.     "Yes, we assume she held the gun against her forehead and just pulled the trigger." Mari analyzed the exit wound on the back of the woman's head. It seemed as if she had been shot from a far.      Suga sighed as he too looked down at the body. She was far too young to be found in this manner. A young girl with so much too learn and see. "Do you just need me to verify?" Suga muttered. The officer who had informed them nodded and handed the case file over to Sugawara.     "Wait." Mari pulled the pen from Sugawara's hand. "Aren't you going to check each detail?" Sugawara glanced at the small female in front of him. He shook his head slightly as he glanced around the crime scene.      "There's one bullet wound,one body, and she lives alone. No sign of anyone breaking into the apartment either. I don't need to check much of anything. It's a suicide case." Sugawara scoffed. "I've been doing this for a while now. I think I can see a suicide case when I see one."     "Your wrong." Mari sighed.     Sugawara glanced at Mari who no longer paid him any attention. Instead she grabbed the file from his hand and began reading off of it. "One bullet wound, shot by victim. This is partially true, but this woman didn't shoot herself." Mari moved the victims head slightly to see the bullet wound better. "Tell me, Captain, if you were going to shoot yourself would you hold the gun away from your head or against it? And while we're at it, would you hold it to your forehead or your temples?" Sugawara gazed at Mari confused.     "That doesn't excuse the fact that there were no signs of breaking in." Sugawara smirked as if he could shut down Mari's impulsive thoughts.     "Did Hamada Kaori have any family, a boyfriend? Any one she would share an apartment key with?" Mari muttered. "Have any of her neighbors seen anyone else enter this apartment with Kaori? Did you even look or ask around? Or did you think that if you signed this off as a suicide case that you would get to go home earlier?"     Mari's words shot straight through Sugawara like a bullet. Almost as if she was punishing him for not answering her question in the car although he was sure she knew the answer. It was true that if this were to be a suicide case that it would make it a lot easier for him, but he didn't do it in order to get home just a minute earlier. But, Sugawara had looked all around and he had honestly not thought of any other reasoning. It wasn't like he was some all knowing devine creature who could see the past.     "Mari, do not forget that I am your superior." Sugawara glared. He was not going to allow her to speak to him in this manner especially around other police officers. Mari, too, glared at the tall male in front of her. She was petite and aloof, but was also very headstrong in her beliefs. "This is a suicide case. One. No one has reported that they have seen any one, but Hamada Kaori entering and exiting this apartment. Two. She also has no family left to come and visit her. Three. There are no signs of any one else coming into this apartment. And four, you are not a forensic medical examiner. Sugawara held up a finger for each of his points before motioning for Mari to hand over the file.     Reluctantly, Mari handed over the case file to Sugawara who signed it without another word. The car ride back to the station was quiet and Sugawara seemed quite thankful that it was. Mari, however, stared listlessly out the window as she thought of Hamada Kaori, the girl who had just been written of as a suicide victim.