Avis de décès 2 Destinée

Chapitre 13

"Starting today, I'll cook dinner for him," Ayako thought, sipping her coffee. Dinner at his house was always a makeshift meal; she'd initially thought it was because of her and Tamami's presence, but now it seemed that wasn't the case. Kiko probably didn't cook because she thought it was a "troublesome task." If that's the case, then it would be better if they didn't get married. Ayako thought angrily. Poor Mr. Ando…

Who are you calling pitiful?

Startled by the sudden sound, Ayako turned around and saw that it was Kanda Hatsue who had entered.

"Huh? What is it?"

"Didn't you just say that some people are really pitiful?"

Ayako realized that she had blurted it out without realizing it. "It's nothing, that... it's about that person."

"Who is it?"

"Ah. It's that person we were talking about last time. He worked here and was murdered..."

“Ah, Junko Mizuguchi.” Kanda Hatsue said while taking out paper to make a copy, “Why are you so concerned about her? Well, you’ve been tempted by middle-aged men too.”

Having her private matters exposed by the other party, Ayako hurriedly turned her attention back to photocopying.

“But dating middle-aged men isn’t so bad,” Kanda Hatsue, who was photocopying with him, said after a while. “However, it would be terrible if you got used to dating middle-aged men. Young men wouldn’t be able to satisfy you. How should I put it, it’s because middle-aged men are more experienced in sex.”

"Yes, really?" Anyway, when Ayako brought up this topic, by modern standards, she was only at a lower elementary school level. So she immediately blushed and panicked. Judging from her longing for Anton, it could be said that her knowledge of love and sex was disproportionate.

"—Speaking of which," Kanda Hatsue said, "I went to a hotel a while ago."

Are you going on a trip?

“Of course not. It’s a love hotel.” Kanda Hatsue laughed.

"Ah." Ayako also knew that such hotels existed.

“I’ve seen her at that hotel before.”

"she……."

"Of course it's the water outlet."

"So, is it with a man?" Only then did Ayako understand.

"Yes. I don't know if it's the man she's dating. But from behind, he seems like a very tall and strong man."

That's definitely not Dad, Ayako thought. Because Dad is tall and slender. "It's very convenient to get to that hotel from the company. A taxi only costs the basic fare, and it's a very quiet and inconspicuous place. The fare isn't very high either."

"Really?" Ayako wanted to ask where the hotel was and what its name was, but she was too shy to ask.

"So I think Mizuguchi might have been there too. Sigh, I guess I wasn't very interested in her affairs. Anyway, people who work at the same company are bound to run into each other or have disagreements." Kanda Hatsue stopped there and didn't continue.

After waiting a while and seeing that the other party didn't say anything, Ayako had no choice but to ask, "And then—what happened?"

"Huh? -- Ah, yes. I forgot what I was talking about. No, before that, we were talking about going to that hotel. Speaking of which, before that, we found the man who went with Mizuguchi. ...Hey, what's wrong? The copies are already done."

"Ah, this—" Just as Ayako was wondering whether she should reveal her real name so that she could ask Kanda Hatsue for more details, the door opened.

"Kanda, your boyfriend called."

"yes

2005-3-14 15:18:00

"Kanda, your boyfriend called."

“Yes. Well, if you want to meet soon, say something gentle. That will make you happy. It's very innocent with those men. Just ask if you remember.” Kanda Hatsue winked at Ayako while on the phone and walked out.

Ayako sighed softly. She thought she might as well just do as Yuriko suggested; it would be better to leave everything to her. Despite being the eldest daughter, it was quite self-aware of her own lack of ambition to say such a thing. Because, to date, there was almost no precedent for anything progressing smoothly based on her own judgment. Moreover, Kanda Hatsue was resistant to cooperating with the police. Right now, she only saw Ayako as a student working part-time, which was why she was gossiping so incessantly. If she knew the truth, she might say, "Don't mention that again."

"Let's leave it to Yuriko to handle."

Having made this decision, Ayako continued drinking her coffee. —Her thoughts returned to Anton.

Chapter Seven is finished!

Chapter Eight: The Meeting with the "King"

"That's really strange," the guard said, looking completely puzzled.

Yuriko sat in the guardhouse hut of the security personnel.

What's strange?

“It’s nothing, because such incidents rarely happen in that group,” the guard said. “Although everyone dislikes them and avoids them when passing by, most of them are actually very accomplished scholars, philosophers, and the like. Of course, they’re not exactly a high-class group, but first of all, they generally wouldn’t do the violent things that people usually talk about, such as snatching bags or raping women.”

“So, are you saying I’m lying?” Yuriko yelled at him.

"No, I didn't mean that," the guard said慌张地. "I saw the situation with my own eyes. It's exactly as you said. But I always feel there must be some reason."

“I’m sorry…” Yuriko exhaled and buried her face in her hands. “I didn’t mean to… I just haven’t gotten over the fear yet.”

"It's nothing, of course. But, detective, you're really slow."

Yuriko asked the guards here to call Kuniyoshi. She didn't even have the strength to make a phone call. During the attack, she was so focused on struggling desperately that the deep fear was only now slowly rising from the bottom of her heart. Moreover, the feeling of being groped and touched in her clothes and skirt was still vivid in her memory, and Yuriko couldn't help but tremble when she thought of it.

Guoyou pushed the door open and entered without knocking.

"Mr. Kunitomo..."

"Are you alright?" Guoyou asked, panting. "Because of the rush hour traffic, I got off halfway and ran here. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. -- I'm relieved to see you like this. Cheer up!"

Yuriko couldn't help but throw herself into Kunitomo's arms, and then remained there, motionless against his chest, for a while. But no tears came. Yuriko felt utterly incapable in this regard. If she could shed a couple of tears, perhaps she could win Kunitomo's sympathy and be held tightly... Yuriko had absolutely no ability to cry when she was in love.

"How are the people who did this doing?" Guoyou asked the guard.

2005-3-14 15:21:00

"I just checked. There are three people, all familiar faces in this area, so I think I probably know them."

"What rude guys! How could they be so disrespectful to a girl like that!" Kuniyu gently stroked Yuriko's hair. Yuriko moved away from Kuniyu's chest and smiled. "You're smiling now. Are you alright?"

"Yes. I won't back down."

"Okay. That's more like you."

"Mr. Kuniyoshi, I'm sorry, could you lend me some money? It was all stolen from my bag..."

"Sure. Do you want it now?"

I want to buy some things.

"Okay, tell me. I'll go buy it for you."

“No, that’s…” Yuriko blushed, “It’s underwear… I want to change. It feels disgusting.”

"Oh, I see. —Is this enough?"

"Excuse me. Could I use the restroom to change?"

“Ah, if that’s the case—” the guard said, “there’s a duty room here, and showers over there. How about taking a nice shower there?”

"I'm so happy! Let's do it that way." With the money in her hand, Yuriko ran out of the guardhouse.

After buying underwear and a shirt, Yuriko went into the guardhouse, a small Japanese-style room with six tatami mats. After taking a hot shower and changing her clothes in the changing room, Yuriko had completely recovered from the shock. Having calmed down, she carefully considered what the guard had said, and Yuriko felt a sense of shared experience. Why did those three people suddenly attack Yuriko? Of course, it could be considered an accident. But what if it wasn't an accident…?

Smoothing her slightly damp hair, Yuriko stopped in surprise as soon as she returned to the guardhouse. A strange-looking man sat in a chair. How old was he? He looked somewhere between sixty and forty. His shoulder-length, graying hair fell to his shoulders, and a beard covering the lower half of his face reached his chest. He wore a suit—no, an old suit, worn-out clothes, the fraying fibers gleaming. A blanket draped over his shoulders like a cloak. His shoes were also old, their original color indistinguishable, and upon closer inspection, the left and right shoes were different. In other words, he was unmistakably a homeless man, but without the utter filth that evoked a sense of depravity. His tattered clothes didn't conjure an image of squalor. Especially his eyes, so different from those of other homeless people. They weren't lifeless, bloodshot eyes, nor were they piercingly bright; instead, they possessed a calm and intellectual quality. Those eyes were looking at Yuriko gently.

"Ah, are you feeling better now?" the guard asked.

"Yes, thank you."

"Your complexion has returned to normal. That's great," said Guoyou, who was standing next to him.

“Ah, let me introduce you.” The guard gestured to the seated man. “This is the ‘King’.”

Yuriko nodded naturally in greeting: "I am Sasamoto Yuriko."

"This man is known as 'King' among the homeless in the underground district. No matter which gang it is, they will all obey his orders obediently, and they will all go to him to resolve any disputes. He knows exactly how many people are in this underground district. If a new homeless person comes from afar, it is up to him to decide whether or not they can join. — The title 'King' seems to have been given to him without him even realizing it. He has lived here for nearly ten years since the underground district was built."

Yuriko's curiosity was piqued, and she stared intently at this 'king'. In fact, he was not tall, nor did he seem particularly remarkable, but he exuded an aura of rebellion and the majesty of a leader.

2005-3-14 15:23:00

"Are you the young lady who was attacked by that gang?" the "King" asked, his gentleness and directness surprising Yuriko.

“Ah, yes, it’s me.” Yuriko nodded.

"I'm so sorry." It was a gentle and emotional way of speaking. "It's all because of my poor supervision. I will have them all come and apologize to you."

“No, no need… thank you,” Yuriko said awkwardly.

“It’s all my fault. Arresting me or putting me in jail is not wrong, but we are the kind of people who would be happy to have a home even if we were in jail. That’s unfair to you.”

“Never mind, it’s fine,” Yuriko said. “Just give me back my money and bag. But—I still want to ask them if the attack was impulsive or orchestrated.”

"Being instructed by someone? Then, you..." Guoyou said.

“I called Mr. Kuniyoshi about that matter,” Yuriko said, explaining that she had asked Uematsu to write a receipt, which she planned to give to Kuniyoshi for authentication.

"So that's how it is. So the receipt was stolen even though it was in my bag?"

“It seems there’s something very complicated going on here,” the “King” said. “In any case, we should find those three people and find out the truth first.”

"We should be able to find him, 'King'," the guard asked. "Do those three people usually stay in that lounge, and even sleep there?"

“It was a failure of mine to allow those three to join.” The “King” shook his head. “I said long ago that if a problem like this happened, they would be expelled from this underground district, but they were doing it knowingly, so they must have already planned to escape from this underground district.”

"So, it's already from here—"

“No,” the “King” interrupted, “they are the kind of money-grubbing gang who probably won’t leave empty-handed. The shops they usually eat at don’t open until after midnight, and they’re busy at one o’clock. So they won’t get their stuff until after that.”

"So—it's 1:10 now."

“If we issue an arrest warrant immediately—” Guoyou said.

“No need, it’s fine,” the “King” said. “While we’re talking, the people in the underground district are looking for them. Even if they plan to leave from somewhere, they should be notified immediately.”

The sound of footsteps came from outside. The door opened, and a homeless man who looked quite young poked his head in.

"The King! He's been found!"

"Where? The exit behind the M Building?"

"Yes. How did you know?"

"We'll know immediately once we understand what those guys are thinking. So, have they gone out?"

"The 'doctor' used alcohol to restrain them."

“Alright. Let’s set off immediately.” The “King” stood up and said to Yuriko and the others, “If we’re quick, we can catch them soon. So, Miss, you’ll stay here—”