"…Get out!"
Though visibly reluctant, Detective Samezaki led the two officers out of the apartment.
Shuichi Hayashi stayed, stepping forward to check the woman's pulse.
Kanya Sada didn't stop him, simply downing his glass of sake.
As he set the glass down to pour another, Shuichi grabbed the bottle first, filling it for him. "Mr. Sada, this is your sister, Ms. Wakaba Sada?"
"Yes," Sada said, tears welling in his eyes, though a faint smile crossed his face. "Wakaba's been so calm lately, despite her condition. It's been a long time since she's been this peaceful."
"You killed Daiki Takashima to avenge her?" Shuichi pressed.
"What's the point of talking about it now?" Sada countered.
"There's always a point," Shuichi said firmly. "Last night at the izakaya, you warned Fujimine not to make bad choices she'd regret forever."
"The nightclub case will hit the news. If even one girl reads about Wakaba and Ms. Nishikawa's stories, it could prevent another victim."
"Ms. Nishikawa…" Sada sighed. "She was almost certainly killed by Takashima."
"You saw it happen last night?" Shuichi asked, frowning.
"No," Sada shook his head. "But after leaving the izakaya, I saw her arguing with Takashima on the street. I didn't know then that he was the one who ruined Wakaba."
"Passing by, I overheard Nishikawa confront him—why he deceived her, why he saddled her with a billion-yen debt."
"Takashima wasn't sorry. He bragged she was a fool, wasting her perfect figure instead of profiting from it. He said he dated her just to sell her body for a high price."
"Nishikawa, furious, tried to slap him, but he shoved her to the ground first."
"You didn't intervene?" Shuichi asked.
"Intervene?"
Sada gave a bitter laugh. "In my situation, I can't afford to meddle. Miss a day of work, and I can't pay the yakuza. Get caught in a brawl and detained by police—who'd look after Wakaba?"
"I was angry, but I pretended not to see and walked away."
"Looking back from a distance, I saw them struggling toward the river."
"The police found a button in Nishikawa's hand, matching the one missing from Takashima's coat," Shuichi confirmed. "You're right. He killed her."
"Isn't the law supposed to deliver justice?" Sada gripped his glass tightly, his voice low. "Why doesn't it punish scum like Takashima?"
"…The law isn't about justice," Shuichi said softly. "It's a tool to maintain social order."
"Social order?" Sada snapped. "So women like Wakaba and Nishikawa, who don't disrupt that order, just deserve to be deceived?"
"That's how it works," Shuichi said, expressionless. "That's the nature of society."
Sada downed several more glasses, calming slightly before Shuichi continued, "You said last night you didn't know Takashima was the one who harmed Wakaba?"
"Right," Sada nodded. "When I got to Tokyo and found Wakaba, she was already broken from our parents' suicides."
"For five years, I tried everything to get her to tell me about the man who deceived her, but I failed."
"Most nights, I had nightmares—my parents blaming me for not avenging her. Over time, I developed insomnia, relying on sleeping pills to rest."
"Tonight, I saw Takashima at the nightclub. Because of Nishikawa, I kept an eye on him. Then I noticed the pendant around his neck—the one my mother bought Wakaba at a temple to keep her safe when she came to Tokyo."
"Takashima was borrowing money, planning to skip town."
"I pretended to want to buy the pendant, luring him to my office, and asked about its origin."
"He bragged, shamelessly, that he conned it from a stupid woman and kept it because it was 'lucky.'"
"I asked if that woman was named Wakaba. When I saw his shocked expression, I knew—he was the one who destroyed her, our family."
"I grabbed the fruit knife on my desk and stabbed him in the neck and stomach, just like I'd imagined countless times."
"Until his last breath, he kept asking who I was. Hah…"
Sada laughed, pulling a blood-stained owl pendant from his pocket. "This pendant didn't protect Wakaba, but it led me to her enemy."
Gently, he placed it around the woman's neck. "Now that it's back, Wakaba can find peace and reunite with our parents."
"And you?" Shuichi asked.
"Me?" Sada gave a self-deprecating smile. "I'll probably go to hell. I'm a murderer."
"After killing Takashima, you framed Ichiro Ito," Shuichi said, curious. "Random choice, or because he's yakuza?"
"Bit of both," Sada said, clutching his stomach in pain, the lighter slipping from his hand to the floor. "Ito and his kind, like Takashima, are the scum who hurt Wakaba and Nishikawa."
"After killing Takashima, I was figuring out how to cover it up when I saw Ito heading to the restroom."
"I thought framing him would clear me and punish a guilty yakuza boss."
"I grabbed a bat, knocked Ito out from behind, and hid him in a bathroom stall."
"Then I used a trash bin to move Takashima's body to the bathroom, placing them together. I wiped the knife's handle and pressed it into Ito's hand."
"I thought it was foolproof, but the police saw through it."
"When I overheard Matsumoto asking a staff member about the carpet in my office, I knew I was exposed."
"If it were just me, I wouldn't care about prison or yakuza retaliation."
"But Wakaba—if I'm locked up, they'll hurt her again. I couldn't let that happen…"
"So you cut the nightclub's power, caused a distraction, and fled," Shuichi said, his gaze shifting to the motionless woman. "And gave Wakaba poison?"
"…Not poison," Sada coughed, blood spilling from his mouth. "Wakaba's always been scared of pain. Poison's too cruel. I… I gave her sleeping pills. But there was only half a bottle left…"
His strength failed, and Sada collapsed, writhing in agony.
Samezaki, hearing the commotion, rushed in with two officers. "What's—"
"Sada took poison," Shuichi sighed. "Wakaba's gone—sleeping pills."
"Get an ambulance!" Samezaki shouted.
An officer ran out, but before he returned, Sada went still.
"Damn it!" Samezaki kicked the table, his face full of regret. "Both dead. If we'd noticed sooner…"
"When we entered, I already sensed Wakaba was off," Shuichi said calmly. "After you left, I checked her pulse. She had no heartbeat."
"Why didn't you say something?" Samezaki demanded. "We could've saved Sada!"
"He was holding the lighter," Shuichi explained. "After sending his sister off, he wanted to die. If you'd stopped him, he'd have lit the room."
"He'd still die, in more pain, and the fire would've endangered countless others."
Samezaki calmed, realizing Shuichi was right. "Sorry, I got heated."
"It's fine, I get it," Shuichi said, unbothered, and recounted what Sada had revealed.
"Takashima's confirmed as Nishikawa's killer. He likely took her wallet because it had his photo or something identifying him."
"The carpet from Sada's office and the trash bin used to move the body should still be at the nightclub, uncleaned."
Stretching, Shuichi glanced out the window. The horizon glowed faintly with dawn, the night fading into day.
"Pity," he said softly. "The Sada siblings and Nishikawa never got their daylight…"
(End of Chapter)
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T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
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