Nozomi Ono

**Nozomi Ono** (小野 希, *Ono Nozomi*), also known by her nickname **Komachi** (コマチ, *Komachi*), is an assistant inspector from the Kyoto Prefectural Police First Investigation Division.

## Background

Ono is assigned to the First Investigation Division at the Kyoto Prefectural Police in the wake of the random street assaults, most likely from a different department.

## Personality

Komachi takes her occupation seriously, initially preferring not to have civilians such as Hideo Himura and Alice Arisugawa interfere during investigations. However, as time passed by and after working with the two, Komachi later admits their capabilities and competence in helping them solve cases. Nevertheless, Komachi's procedures sometimes clash with Himura's unorthodox methods of deduction.

## Plot

### Night Prowler Assaults

During the investigation of the third case in the random street assaults, Ono introduces herself to Hideo Himura and Alice Arisugawa, but is immediately cut short by Himura who hurries to the crime scene. Alice instead introduces himself and exchanges pleasantries with Ono. He tries to explain Himura's methods to her as a "clinical criminologist".

Upon investigation, the police find out that "Night Prowler" is a character from a video game called *Screaming Castle*, and crime lab results reveal that the three murders were conclusively performed by the same person. As per the police's instruction, Alice ends up playing the video game all night.

The next day, Ono, Hisashi Nabeshima, Keiichi Sakashita, and Himura visit Simbalinx, the software producer of the game, for interrogation. Due to the media's and the police's relation of the game to the recent assaults, its producer and director find it confusing and disappointing to blame a mere game into a heavy speculation such as actual murder. Outside, members of the Shangri-La Crusade stage a rally to express their desire to free their leader, Sanae Moroboshi. Ono wonders how the members of such organization, not far from her age, grew up quite differently from her personal sense of justice and ethics. Himura replies that the difference might be because they have met Moroboshi and she did not.

Later, despite not being a Tuesday, a fourth murder victim has been found, identified as Yukie Ōwada. Himura rushes to the crime scene, finding the fourth and final message in her mouth being "Game Over". As Himura tries to deduce what had happened to the fourth case, Ono spots Sada and asks him to be subdued. Moreover, Ono, Himura, and Alice question Yukie's friend, Reimi Komuro. Back at headquarters, the team struggles to comprehend how Night Prowler was able to escape them on the night of the fourth crime.

The next morning, they search Yukie's residence where they try to uncover clues about her, during which Alice smells bird faeces and apparently finds a trace of a bird cage on top a cabinet. Just then, Himura asks Ono to ask Komuro if Yukie had a bird, to which Komuro answers that the victim had a java sparrow. Himura pieces the information he has on the case, after which he declares that the crime is not beautiful. He and Alice then visit Eiji Ōwada, Yukie's brother, at the hospital and accurately pinpoint him as Night Prowler. Ono, Nabeshima, and Sakashita later arrive to detain the suspect.

## Trivia

* Ono is seemingly based on the novel character Machiko Takayanagi and bears similarities with her:
	+ Takayanagi is transferred from Abeno Police Station to the Osaka Prefectural Police, while Ono is transferred from another department to the Kyoto Prefectural Police.
	+ Both of them are nicknamed Komachi.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 *Screaming Castle Murder Case*