"Thank you." Akiko expressed her gratitude to the taxi driver who helped her with Kyoko, then waved as he drove away.Akiko was grateful that they had a kind taxi driver, so there was no trouble getting Kyoko out.“Huh?” Akiko turned around to help her, but Kyoko was already stumbling her way inside. Kyoko’s apartment was on the ground floor, so it was still simple for her to enter.“Are you okay?” Akiko asked.“Yes, just go home.” Kyoko responded as she shut the door. Akiko could imagine what she would do next. Kyoko would throw herself onto the bed and sleep until the next morning. As usual, Akiko will bring her some soup tomorrow to help ease her headache.After ensuring that Kyoko was safe, Akiko crossed the street toward her own apartment. She carefully avoided several puddles and soft, muddy patches in her building's front yard. The rain earlier that afternoon had left a lot of water in the uneven yard.Akiko then climbed the stairs slowly. Her head wasn’t clear yet; she still
Akiko's scream halted, and she looked in astonishment as Kenji grabbed Endo by the neck, pushing him backward with one hand.Amid the chaos, Kenji still managed to catch Akiko's body, which nearly fell as she lost her balance.“Kenji…”Akiko wanted to speak and ask, but all of her words were swallowed by relief. Tears fell from Akiko’s eyes without her realizing it, as she continued to look at Kenji in disbelief.“What…” Kenji’s question trailed off as he saw Akiko’s bruised cheek and torn clothing. There was no need to ask what had happened. Kenji's lips thinned as he suppressed his emotions, slowly standing straighter.“Can you stand?” Kenji asked.Akiko nodded and wiped her tears. Without needing to be told, she moved behind Kenji, who now stood facing Endo.The man was standing, rubbing his neck. The force of Kenji's push made his neck feel like it had been
"Here."Ryu handed over the katana he had been carrying to Kenji, who had just stepped out of the car."Later. I want to talk first."Ryu nodded and followed him into one of the abandoned buildings on Tokyo's outskirts. Of course, the building belonged to Shingi Fusaya. It was an old, disused factory that had been vacant for more than five years and was scheduled to be demolished next month."Who is he? Does he have a family?" As Ryu caught up to walk beside him, Kenji asked."Kouki Endo is unmarried. He's the second of three brothers. All male. His parents are still alive, but they live in Aomori. They rarely have contact, though. They're just ordinary people," Ryu relayed, providing Kenji with the information he wanted to know."Good. They still have other sons to replace him."Kenji’s flat tone sent a chill down Ryu’s spine. He had been friends with Kenji for a long time, but seeing him in hunting mode like this was sti
Akiko woke up, but she stood up too quickly.“Aahh…” Akiko straightened her back. There was a sharp pain as she bent down. Endo’s rough handling still left her sore.And as she groaned, Akiko still felt the pain. Her cheek ached as she opened her mouth. The bruise still hurt.Akiko sighed, grateful it was Saturday. She wouldn’t need to apply heavy makeup to cover the bruise.Akiko frowned. She wanted to report Endo to the police for what he did, but it would cause a big scandal.Akiko couldn’t imagine how her coworkers would react. At worst, someone might call her a flirtatious widow who seduces men. That thought made Akiko doubt whether reporting him to the police was the right choice.Perhaps the evidence of abuse on her face and back could strengthen the case against Endo—especially with her uncle as a witness. But Akiko wasn’t sure she could handle the uproar her report would create.
“What doll?” Akiko dodged the question, and that was a disastrous move."There's a rabbit doll in your room. I bought it for..."He stopped. Kenji still couldn’t talk about it, and Akiko immediately busied herself with chewing, avoiding eye contact with Kenji altogether. Talking about that loss felt like confronting a large, unavoidable obstacle.“That doll shouldn't be with you.” Kenji changed his direction, concentrating solely on the information he was seeking.“I bought it myself. It’s not yours.” Akiko was defiant.This was because she couldn’t explain how the doll had changed hands. It was all too wrong.Akiko believed that her actions that day, such as hugging Kenji, were wrong, as her feelings had changed from those of a child seeking comfort. Back then, she had been too weak, and now she wanted to forget it.“Where did you buy it?” Kenji inquired, clearly
"I think you should report this to the police! And that alone isn’t enough. That bastard deserves to be castrated!"Kyoko didn’t bother filtering her words; her hands mimicked the motion of breaking something in two. There was no need to ask what Kyoko wanted to break, especially after she mentioned the word "castration.""That’s my plan too, but I’m hesitant if it turns into a big scene," Akiko said, as attaching her name tag at the entrance after waiting in line for quite a while.Mondays made the lines a bit longer. Everyone chose the same time to arrive—five minutes before work started."But it's disgusting that he's still in the office with you. Who knows what he’ll try to do next?" Kyoko replied, shuddering.Akiko sighed. Of course, she agreed with that sentiment. She didn’t know how she was going to face Endo after this. She wasn’t even sure she could bear to meet him. Just thinking about it ma
"Kouki Endo? Wait!"The police officer writing Akiko’s report furrowed his brow and stared at his handwriting. Akiko was just as confused."I feel like I’ve heard this name before, but I can't remember where. Sorry, give me a moment."Akiko nodded, watching as the officer sifted through his files.She glanced over at Kyoko, who could only shrug, equally clueless. Akiko had planned to report Endo herself to HR, but for the police, she asked Kyoko to come along.Even though this was a police station, the place still felt unfamiliar to her. And now, halfway through the report, there was another oddity."Are you reporting Kouki Endo, who works here at Shingi Fusaya? A real estate company?" The officer finally pulled out a file and read the data.Akiko nodded."Heh... hah..." The officer suddenly smiled and nodded his head."What’s going on?" Akiko asked.The officer looked satisfied, as i
Ryu paced back and forth in front of the ER, his hands constantly wringing together. Kenji was taken to the ER an hour ago, but nothing has been reported."Here," Inoue, who had arrived ten minutes earlier, handed her phone to Ryu."What's his name?" Ryu asked."Yato Maeda," Inoue replied."Maeda-san?" Ryu pressed the phone to his ear."Who are you? Why are you calling me at this hour?"A slightly harsh reply came from the other side. It was ten o'clock at night. Being forced to take a call from an unknown person was understandably annoying."Ryusuke Sato. Kuryugumi.""Who… Oh?" There was a commotion on the other end, and Ryu clicked his tongue impatiently. He had no patience left at this point."Sato-san, I apologize for not recognizing you. How can I help you?" Maeda quickly corrected his tone, becoming very polite."There's been an incident, and Sandaime is in the ER at Saiseikai right now. Your hospital
Kenji gazed at the paper he was holding, pondering over its potential use. He remained deep in thought until Ryu suddenly burst into the room.“It’s out! The results are in!” Ryu exclaimed, waving a white envelope.“You could have sent it to me. Why did you come all the way back to Osaka?” Kenji asked, surprised.“I had some business here, so I figured I’d drop it off. Hurry! Open it!” Ryu urged him, gesturing toward the envelope he handed Kenji.“You didn’t open it?” Kenji reached for a letter opener and tore through the sealed flap. He had assumed Ryu would have peeked at the results.“No, I wanted to see it with you. Hurry up!” Ryu said, growing impatient.“I told you, I was right,” Kenji said as he unfolded the paper inside and smiled after reading it.His confidence was fully justified—the envelope’s contents confirmed his suspicio
The sound of the choir on stage echoed melodiously through the spacious room at the Nakamura Foundation’s event hall.It was a special event to celebrate the retirement of the foundation's chairman. He was retiring early to assume his new role as the Minister of Education, so it was a well-earned celebration.No one in the room or on stage wore a gloomy face. Everyone was filled with joy because the chairman’s achievement represented a new level of success. Kaname Nakamura had successfully brought the Nakamura family and the foundation to greater heights.This achievement garnered widespread praise and brightened the future of the foundation, especially with Kaname’s successor, Yuto, who was expected to surpass his father, bringing fresh ideas to the field of education.Yuto had already made the school the most prestigious, with more than two-thirds of its students excelling academically. No dark clouds loomed in their future.
Ryu grabbed Kyoko's neck and kissed her passionately, without hesitation, feeling immensely happy. Kyoko didn't resist at all. Ryu kept pulling her body closer."You better let go of my hand right now. Before you lose your nose and lips."Ryu's eyes flew open at once, as the voice he heard was deep—not Kyoko's voice. What he saw was not Kyoko. It was Kenji, lying beside Ryu, staring at him in disgust.Meanwhile, Kenji's arm was in Ryu's grasp, slightly wet. It was clear what had fallen victim to Ryu's dream and lips—Kenji's arm."WHAA!" Ryu screamed in horror, pushing Kenji's face away and rolling away from him."What... Why are you..."Ryu sat up and looked around. They were in his room—not some strange place like a hotel or motel. Kenji was still fully dressed, whereas Ryu wasn't."Where are my clothes? Why are you here?!" Ryu asked, panicked, pointing at Kenji while looking for and finally finding his t-shirt lying not f
Kenji glanced around, squinting in the dim surroundings. A few people stared at him—understandably so, as he towered over the others. Those who recognized him bowed immediately, pausing their movements, ignoring the pulsating music.The club wasn't far from Kuryugumi's main house, so it was no surprise some people knew him. However, Kenji did not reciprocate their gestures or show any concern. His focus was on one person he had been looking for.That person stood surrounded by at least three women, laughing as they offered him drinks."I haven't seen you like this in a long time," Kenji said."Hey! You came! Look!" Ryu shouted excitedly, raising his glass—likely filled with brandy judging by its color. Ryu, walking unsteadily, rushed toward Kenji and clung to his shoulder."Look who's here, everyone! Isn't he handsome? This is one of my friends."Ryu proudly introduced Kenji to the women who quickly gathered around him. Some of t
"What's going on with them?" Kyoko asked Akiko, glancing at Kenji and Ryu, who hadn't spoken to each other during breakfast.Now that the breakfast table had been cleared, Kenji still hadn’t said a word to Ryu—or vice versa.Usually, even if it was just a question about work or plans for the afternoon, they would talk. They never stayed silent like this. Akiko noticed it too. Yui was as quiet as usual, but Kenji and Ryu seemed odd."Did you two have a fight?" Akiko asked, sipping her tea and looking back and forth between Kenji and Ryu."Yes.""No."Kenji said yes, while Ryu said no. The two contradictory responses only made it clearer that something was going on between them.Ryu angrily glared at Kenji, to which Kenji responded with a defiant look."What? I'm just being honest," Kenji shrugged."Since when have you cared about being honest?! Choose the right time to be honest!" Ryu snapped."I was ju
"Are you leaving?" Akiko inquired, observing that Kenji was still wearing his shirt, even though his jacket had been removed. He clearly wasn't ready to sleep yet.Akiko herself was already under the covers. Today had been exhausting for her, especially after experiencing such extreme emotional shifts from fear to joy."Yes, I need to talk to Ryu. There are some work adjustments I need to discuss with him," Kenji said, sitting beside Akiko."Should I stay with you until you fall asleep? I can postpone it," Kenji offered, noticing the disappointment in her eyes.Akiko thought for a moment, then nodded. She did want that."But are you sure it's okay? Whatever you need to discuss with Ryu, can it wait?" Akiko asked.Kenji nodded. "Of course it can. If it was something urgent that couldn’t wait, I'd ask Kyoko or Yui to come stay with you. But this can wait."Kenji grabbed a pillow and placed it beside Akiko, who was lying down
"But that’s a lie. I just pretended to be pregnant," Akiko replied, shaking her head. She sensed that the doctor in front of her was making fun of her because the outrageous lie was too much for her.“What?” Rin was, of course, confused by Akiko’s reaction. She understood Akiko might find it hard to believe, but the confession was strange. She had no idea Akiko had ever pretended to be pregnant.“Yeah, she didn’t ask for mochi or anything,” Kenji chimed in, expressing disbelief.“What?”Akiko and Rin asked at the same time because Kenji’s response was even stranger.“She wasn’t nauseous or anything; she looked normal,” Kenji said, still trying to steer the conversation away from Mochi.“Pregnancy without nausea is quite possible. It’s likely Tanaka-san is experiencing such a pregnancy. You don’t remember when your last cycle was; that’s prob
"Are you sure you're not experiencing dizziness or nausea?" Kyoko inquired, observing that Akiko was dismissing the symptoms."Not at all." Akiko shook her head and moved on to the next question.Akiko was sitting on a hospital bed, filling out a questionnaire to narrow down what was happening with her body. Akiko had already undergone several tests, including CT scans and more, with Dr. Hayashi earlier in the day. But the results were negative.Dr. Hayashi had confirmed there was no recurring tumor—for the second time. So, he concluded something else was causing the nosebleeds, though he didn’t yet know what.Hayashi asked Akiko to answer a series of questions to better understand her condition. It was a somewhat strange method, but necessary since Hayashi was still in Tokyo and couldn’t come immediately as Kenji had requested. He had a few surgeries to perform and could only fly to Osaka the next day.So, Akiko had been answerin
"Is this the last one?" Akiko asked as she stepped out of the car and looked at the building in front of her.The large building was shaped like a church, with towers and a European-style design in a reddish hue. But Akiko didn’t see the name of a church on the sign attached to the gate. The sign read "Akarui Hizashi," which roughly means "bright sunlight.""Yes, let's go inside." Yui opened the iron gate and entered as if the place were very familiar to her.Akiko understood the building's purpose after seeing its huge yard. Children were running around, playing with the fallen leaves scattered everywhere. Akiko noticed a broom lying near their feet; they were too busy playing to finish their chores."This... is an orphanage," Akiko finally understood."Yes, this is the orphanage where Ryu and I grew up," Yui said."Oh, Ryu was here too?" Kyoko stepped forward to observe the surroundings."Yes. This is one of the orphanages man