Back in the base, Mai was rubbing her left ankle it felt sore. She was sure that it grabbed her right ones this time but bruise started to form in her left one. Naru pinched his nose bridge as he was thinking. And Ayako was aghast and so was the rest of them as they saw the replay of it.
"Mirror?" Takigawa pointed out.
"Ayako did you remember which side of my leg that got dragged?"
"Right," Ayako replied.
Mai took her sock off and let her see the bruise on her left leg. Naru expression changed with slight discomfort as he saw her bruise again.
"Hey, shouldn't you let Taniyama off this case?" Hirota asked as he just bragged into the base. "Seems like it is targeting her because of her age was the same as it's sister when she got married. There's no similarities between any other victims except for their ages."
"No, I'm staying!" Mai said. "And I think there's more to it."
"Then you need to stop being clumsy," Ayako said as she tended to Mai's bruised ankle.
"Mai, tea," Naru ordered.
"Aye aye boss," Mai sighed as she prepared to grab tea for the boss and the rest of them.
As the routine flowed she was more relaxed though she hated it but the scent of the tea was soothing her mind. She made 7 cup of tea for the team and the boss. She sat on the floor beside Ayako and she dozed off as she listened to them argue.
Naru noticed that and he carried Mai to the couch and covered her in the blanket before he went back to his seat in front of the monitor.
Ayako, Hirota and Takigawa was speechless. Lin was smirking and Yasuhara was taking a picture of them with a glint on his glasses. Tamura has already gone home and no longer needed to assist them.
===
"Keitaro," a soft giggle could be heard and someone's running ahead. "Keitaro, let's race!"
"But mother and father will scold us if they knew," Keitaro said as he popped his head from his room.
"I won't tell them, my dear brother," she said, wearing her sailor uniform her long straight hair was flowing loosely as if she had just taken off her bun. She's running to the corridor, the window was all opened and the wind blew the curtain, making it a perfect hiding place. And there his beautiful sister was running and he chased her.
The corridor was filled with laughter and lightness. Keitaro chased her but due to his short leg he always lost. And his sister would turn back and hug her.
As he grew older and bigger and taller, he could catch her but one day he fell from the window and his parents put a lock on his door. And one day he saw a beautiful woman.
"Sorry Keitaro, I miss you," that girl hug him like his sister used to do. "I'm getting married tomorrow but I'll take care of you."
===
Mai fell out of the couch and landed with a bump. "Naru?" she called him the first time she opened her eyes.
"Mai," Naru approached her.
"What's the name of the sister and her husband?" Mai asked.
"Higuchi and Reina," Lin said as he flipped the note Yasu made.
"What if that brother died a year before his sister got married and that was a doll on the wedding picture?" Mai said. "I saw him fell."