Kidnapping and human trafficking cases fell under the jurisdiction of the First Investigation Division. Naturally, the officers who arrived on the scene were Hayashi Shuichi's long-time acquaintances: Officers Sato and Megure.
As the seven delinquents were hauled into the police cruisers, the woman with the lip piercing and the group's ringleader were still screaming profanities at one another, their voices raw with spite.
Shuichi and the other two joined Officer Sato in her car for the drive back to Beika. As for Akane Koizumi, she didn't head home either. Instead, she straddled her broom and soared through the night sky, tailing the police car all the way to the Metropolitan Police Department.
By the time the statements were finished and they stepped out of the precinct, it was already past nine o'clock. The sky had turned a deep, obsidian black.
Officer Megure insisted on personally driving Shuichi and the girls home.
After the ordeal of the kidnapping, the blonde girl's attitude toward Shuichi had undergone a stark transformation. Her previous defiance had been replaced by a mixture of profound gratitude and a lingering touch of fear; she no longer dared to snap at him as she once had.
When it came time to part ways, she bowed deeply to Shuichi, her voice barely a whisper, thin as a gnat's wing. "Thank you... thank you so much for this time..."
Orikasa Midori, worried about her friend's state of mind, decided to stay and keep the blonde girl company for the night. Left to his own devices, Shuichi made his way back to his Izakaya alone.
With the head chef away, and Yukiko busy filming on location, the Izakaya was naturally closed for business. However, the lights inside were still burning bright—likely Eri Kisaki and the others waiting up for his return.
Just as Shuichi was about to step inside, Akane Koizumi, who had been hovering in the sky, suddenly descended on her broom.
"You're still here?" Shuichi asked, a flicker of surprise crossing his face.
"Hmph. If I leave now, what if you try to back out on our deal? Don't forget, you still owe me three favors," Akane huffed, her face flushing with a mix of lingering anger as she recalled their earlier encounter. Her hands tightened around the handle of her broom. "I haven't decided on the other two yet, but I'm definitely getting my revenge for that... that spanking tonight!"
She paused, her stomach giving a traitorous growl. "Besides, I'm hungry. This is your Izakaya, isn't it? Hurry up and make me something to eat."
Without waiting for an answer, the witch leaned her broom in a corner and marched into the shop as if she owned the place.
As Shuichi had suspected, Eri and the others had stayed behind. Though they hadn't opened the shop for customers after hearing that he had gone to help Midori find her missing friend, they hadn't gone home either, choosing instead to wait for news.
When Akane pushed open the door and walked in, Reiko, who didn't recognize her, assumed she was a late-night customer. She began to offer an apologetic smile. "I'm so sorry, we aren't open today—"
Before she could finish, Eri's voice cut through the air, sharp with impatience. "What are you doing here?"
"Miss Koizumi," Kogoro Mouri added, stepping forward with uncharacteristic gallantry. "Is there something we can help you with?"
Akane ignored him entirely. She scanned the room with a haughty gaze before picking out a seat by the window and making herself comfortable.
"The shop is closed," Eri repeated, her annoyance plain. "You—"
The bell chimed again, and Shuichi walked through the door.
"Shuichi!"
"Onii-chan!"
At the sight of the man of the hour, the three inside immediately swarmed him. Seeing that Shuichi was unharmed and without so much as a scratch, Eri and Reiko both let out visible sighs of relief.
Kogoro, ever the curious one, asked, "Well? Did you find Midori's friend?"
"I did. She was being held in Haido. The kidnappers have already been taken to the station..."
As Shuichi explained the situation, Akane, sitting by the window, began tapping impatiently on the table. "I said I'm hungry! Hurry up and cook!"
"Hey, don't push your luck!" Eri's face darkened as she moved to escort the witch out.
"It's fine," Shuichi said, gently catching Eri's arm to stop her. "She was a huge help today. Treating her to a meal is the least I can do. I'll go get started."
He headed toward the back to change into his chef's whites.
Eri, who shared a deep level of intimacy with Shuichi, didn't bother with formalities and followed him into the back room. "What could she possibly have helped with? Don't tell me you were just swayed because she's pretty..."
"Eri, she really did help," Shuichi explained with a wry smile. "She was the one who divined the exact location where Midori's friend was being held."
"Hmph. Trying to fool me again, are you?" Eri's expression was one of pure skepticism.
"I'm serious this time." Shuichi held up his hands, his gaze sincere. "Her divination is actually quite uncanny. Midori can vouch for me."
"...Uncanny?" Eri pouted, the memory of Akane's previous reading surfacing in her mind. 'The fates of you two have no connection at all. You won't just fail to marry; you shouldn't even know each other...'
"Hmph. Her 'divinations' are nothing but nonsense," Eri muttered under her breath. "How could we possibly 'not know' each other?"
In the main dining area of the Izakaya, Reiko watched Akane sitting by the window and gave Kogoro's sleeve a little tug. "Kogoro-niisan, who is she? Does Onii-chan know her?"
"She's a transfer student who joined our class a few days ago," Kogoro explained. "She caused quite a stir on her first day... Oh, and Miss Koizumi does fortune-telling. A lot of the girls at school say her readings are incredibly accurate."
"Really?" Reiko's eyes sparkled with interest.
Seeing that Shuichi hadn't come out yet, the young girl poured a glass of barley tea and set it on the table in front of Akane. "Um, excuse me... can you really tell the future?"
"Of course. My divinations are never wrong," Akane replied with a proud nod.
"Then... could you do one for me?" Reiko asked, her face flushing a shy crimson as she lowered her voice. "When will Onii-chan and I get married?"
"Your 'Onii-chan' being...?" Akane took a sip of the tea.
The moment Reiko uttered her brother's name, the witch clicked her tongue. "Another girl infatuated with him. That bastard certainly has a way with women."
"What was that?" Reiko blinked, not quite catching the comment.
"Nothing. You wanted a reading, didn't you?" Akane reached into her pocket and pulled out her deck of divination cards. With practiced grace, she shuffled them and began to lay them out across the table.
As the cards were arranged in a precise pattern, Reiko's expression grew tense. "Well? What does it say?"
"...It's just as strange as everyone else around him," Akane whispered, her brow furrowing in genuine confusion. "The thread of fate between the two of you... it should have snapped over a decade ago. Forget marriage—you shouldn't even know he exists..."
Akane was halfway through her explanation when a dull thud echoed through the room.
Reiko's face had turned dark. She slammed her hand down on the table, her voice trembling with anger. "What kind of nonsense is this? How could I not know my own brother!"
"Because," Akane said, her voice dropping an octave as a chilling realization struck her, "he was supposed to have died before you were even born..."
The witch froze.
Wait... why didn't I realize this before?
The exact moment my own destiny began to shift... it aligns perfectly with the time that bastard was supposed to have died.
Could it be that because he—someone who should be dead—is still walking this earth, the fates of everyone around him are being warped?
Before Akane could finish that train of thought, Reiko—her face pale with fury—grabbed the glass of barley tea and threw the contents directly into Akane's face.
"Shut up! Don't you dare say such horrible things! Nothing is going to happen to Onii-chan!"
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