The navy-blue Bugatti sped toward Saitama Prefecture.
After exchanging only a few words, both men fell silent. An inexplicable heaviness settled over the car.
Hiro sat upright in the passenger seat, turning his head slightly to the left as he watched the scenery rush by outside the window. His thoughts drifted back to the personnel file he had read while investigating Onizawa.
'If I remember correctly... Onizawa's file listed his mother. She lives in the United States. So why didn't she attend her own son's wedding?'
Hiro couldn't bring himself to ask such a sensitive question. It would have been tactless. The silence lasted until they pulled into the parking lot near Maruhakayama Kofun.
The moment he spotted the familiar white Citroën CX, he immediately turned to Ritsu.
"My car's here. Park next to it."
"Got it."
After parking in an empty space, Ritsu looked toward the dense forest to the north.
'This should be the right location.'
And Rei's car was parked in the nearest lot as expected.
He drew the pistol from his waist.
Knowing Hiro and the others would likely show up, he had deliberately brought the P230JP, the standard sidearm issued to Japanese police officers, instead of the Beretta BU9 Nano pocket pistol he normally used during Organization missions.
With an effortless burst of core strength, Ritsu kicked off a wall, vaulted upward, and landed atop a raised platform.
Suddenly, the roar of a sports car echoed from behind.
Turning around, he saw a pure-white Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI drift into the parking space with impressive precision.
Then—
Crunch.
A crisp sound of metal colliding rang through the parking lot. Hiro pressed a hand against his forehead with a helpless sigh.
'My poor car must've had the worst luck imaginable to end up suffering this.'
Walking over to the driver's seat, he pulled open the door and looked at the culprit.
"Jinpei, if you don't have Kenji's driving skills, don't try pulling off stunts like that."
Jinpei scratched his head awkwardly.
"Sorry. I'll pay to get it repaired later. But that's not what's important right now, we need to save Ken first!"
Wataru couldn't resist rubbing Jinpei's head roughly before glaring at him.
"Don't ever pull something like that again."
Ritsu hadn't expected Jinpei and their former class rep to arrive as well.
Standing above them with both hands tucked into his pockets, he forced Onizawa's trademark fake smile onto his face.
"They should be inside. We'd better proceed carefully."
The four of them headed deeper into the forest.
Fortunately, Rei hadn't bothered hiding his tracks, making it easy to follow the trail he'd left behind.
When Ritsu caught sight of the abandoned villa, he crouched down and adjusted his glasses.
Activating their telescope mode, he carefully surveyed the surrounding area for any hidden ambushers. After confirming the coast was clear, he said,
"It looks like everyone's inside the villa. Should we split up before going in, or...?"
Jinpei reached into his backpack and pulled out a miniature drone.
"Let's use the drone I modified to locate Ken first. If we rush in blindly, they might hurt the hostage."
Ritsu raised an eyebrow.
'Looks like Jin's becoming an inventor now. He's finally evolved beyond that human husky who only knew how to take things apart and put them back together.'
The four hid behind a patch of bushes.
After launching the drone, Jinpei took out a tablet computer. As soon as he started the software, the drone's camera feed appeared on the screen in crystal-clear quality.
Before long, the drone reached a corner window on the third floor. The image showed Rei holding a pistol against the head of a young man tied to a chair.
Meanwhile, Kenji was kneeling on the floor, covered in blood. His shoulder-length hair had become so disheveled that it was impossible to make out his expression.
No kidnappers appeared on the first or second floors.
Only one stood on the third.
...No.
As the drone slowly shifted sideways, everyone except Ritsu stared at the screen in utter disbelief.
The hostage Rei was holding at gunpoint... had a face they knew all too well.
"H-How... how can that be Ritsu?"
Wataru was the first to recover enough to speak. He simply couldn't believe what he was seeing.
He knew for a fact that Ritsu was dead.
Hiro recalled everything Rei had told him during the drive.
'Could this entire case have been orchestrated by Ritsu? Did he fake his death in front of Zero just to assume a new identity... and get revenge on us?'
No.
Ritsu had no reason to do something like that.
But...
That face looked far beyond merely similar.
It was identical.
Jinpei clenched his fists tightly.
"...There's no way that's him."
His voice was strained.
"Something... something has to be wrong."
Sensing the three men's emotional turmoil, Ritsu immediately put on a puzzled expression.
"Wait a second."
He frowned.
"What are you talking about? Is that kidnapper someone you know?"
Wataru hesitated briefly before answering in a low voice.
"He looks exactly like a police officer who died in the line of duty."
"So you're telling me..." Ritsu said, displeasure creeping into his voice.
"...you're going to stop trying to save the hostages because of his face?"
"Come on. You just said that officer died in the line of duty. So how could he possibly be a criminal?"
"If you won't move, I'll go in myself."
His words snapped all three men back to reality.
He was right.
Ritsu would never become a criminal.
The man inside was nothing more than a violent impostor wearing the exact same face.
Hiro stood up.
Determination filled his grayish-blue eyes.
"You're right. He isn't that kind of person."
Turning to Onizawa, he asked,
"Onizawa, if I remember correctly, you're an excellent marksman. Can you provide sniper support?"
"No problem. I'll find a suitable vantage point."
"Good. I'll leave the shooting to you. Your target is the blond kidnapper at the doorway."
"The moment I give the signal, you fire."
Hiro turned toward the other two.
"You'll give me a boost so I can reach the third-floor windowsill and enter through the window. Once I'm inside, head into the villa and wait at the third-floor staircase."
"As soon as you hear the gunshot, subdue the wounded suspect."
"No problem."
Wataru rolled his wrists, a strange excitement creeping into his voice.
"...It's been a long time. I've missed teamwork like this."
'If only Ritsu were here too...'
Jinpei looked toward Onizawa.
For some reason, he found the white-haired detective much more likable now. Patting him on the shoulder, Jinpei grinned.
"If you miss your shot, I'm gonna kill you, Onizawa."
—"This is the perfect handgun. If you miss, I'll kill you, Zero."
'That line really hasn't changed one bit.'
The corners of Ritsu's lips lifted slightly. Waving a hand, he replied,
"I won't miss. You should be more worried about whether you can subdue a wounded suspect."
"Tch."
Jinpei kicked aside a pebble lying in front of him before laughing.
"Yeah... I still don't like you, White Hair."
Ritsu swiftly climbed a towering tree.
Finding a sturdy intersection of thick branches, he quietly switched the pistol into his true dominant hand, his left, making sure no one noticed.
His gaze shifted to Hiro, who had successfully climbed onto the third-floor windowsill.
After confirming his position, Ritsu focused solely on his target.
The sight reminded him of what had happened seven years ago during the rescue of Hachizō Onizuka.
Back then, he hadn't been the one pulling the trigger.
.
Perched on the windowsill, Hiro heard the kidnapper's cruel proposal.
Then he heard Kenji's desperate shout,
"Rei! Don't listen to him!!"
His fists clenched tightly. His eyes burned with anger. The kidnappers were forcing Zero to confront the deepest regret buried in his heart.
That was unforgivable.
"Zero! Get down!!!"
The instant those words left his mouth—
Bang!
Bang!
Two gunshots rang out from somewhere behind him.
One .380 ACP round flew with perfect precision through the blond kidnapper's wrist.
The second struck the fake "Ritsu," who had secretly slipped free of his ropes and was raising a glass knife to attack just as Rei dove to the floor.
Waiting by the staircase, Jinpei and Wataru burst into action. In a single instant, they tackled the blond kidnapper to the ground.
Moving with practiced efficiency, they drew the gleaming silver handcuffs from their belts and locked them onto his wrists.
Still kneeling moments before, Kenji staggered to his feet using the strength of his core. A grin spread across his face as he looked at the terrified fake "Ritsu."
Curling his lips into a cold smile, he said,
"Game over. Now let's see what kind of..."
He paused for just a beat before finishing with contempt.
"...irredeemable piece of trash you really are."
----
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