Miko touched my right shoulder and said, "Do you think this is really true? I mean, it could be a farce."
"No, I do not think it is. The shot seems pretty real to me."
"Yeah, that's true."
"What do you think we should do now?" said Ryu from behind us as he walked laboriously toward us.
He was pretty badly banged up.
"Now we are not going to do anything. You go to your house and we will see what happens tomorrow."
"But tomorrow will already be too late. The note said there will be another dead body from our school tomorrow."
"Yes, I know, Ryu, but there's nothing we can do now. And we have to get out of here right now. I do not think we want to be there when the police come."
"Tch fine."
With that, the three of us quickly left the scene.
I could see in Ryu's face that he was still angry. I can not say I blame him. The one who killed his sister is still alive and planning to kill another student. But at least the one who molested his sister is now dead. Not the best ending for the case, but better than nothing.
Miko and I dropped Ryu off at his house and continued walking. We had no particular destination at the moment, so we just walked around.
I guess Miko wanted to figure out how she could stop this person from committing another murder. And I thought about what was on the note. Tomorrow there will be another dead body and we will have to solve the case.
Wait, what if we have not solved the current case yet? What have we missed?
Let us start from the beginning. Those five people saw Ryu's sister on her way and harassed her. And after four days, she was found dead in the schoolyard.
The cause of death seemed to be a blow to the head with a blunt object. But what if that was not the case?
She could just as easily have been shot by someone as the other boy.
And when the boy said that she seemed to have lost her mind, I do not think he was lying, but from Ryu's face at the time, I could tell that his sister hadn't any problems. So what is the case?
Hmm, I might as well call Ryu and ask him if there's anything new about the case.
Good thing I had gotten his phone number.
He picked it up right away.
"Hey Shinji, I was just about to call you."
"What happened? Anything new on the case?"
"Yeah... And you will not believe it."
"What is it?"
"She did not just die yesterday, she'd been dead for three days."
"What? That makes it even more complicated. Or... no, actually the opposite."
"What do you mean? Would you mind explaining that to me?"
"What I mean is that this clue has made the case simpler."
"And why is that?"
"Look, if she died three days ago, it means that the people from before gave us a clue. Remember how that guy said your sister was not in her right mind? That could mean that she had been drugged for some reason. And the person who did that could be the one who killed her."
"You are right about that."
"Wait, we will get back to you. We need to discuss things up close."
"Okay, I'll wait for you."
I flipped my phone shut, turned to Miko, who was still lost in thought, and informed her of our current situation.
She nodded, but said that she would sit down with the other members of the student council to find a solution.
She was right, she would have to find a solution in case I'll not succeed.
So I said "be careful" and walked towards Ryu's house.
I heard her call out behind me, "Do not worry, I'll be fine."
That was what I wanted to hear. I smiled and started walking faster. Even if she was in trouble, she could let me know right away.
I made a custom app for her, the student council, and my family, so they could notify me anytime they were in trouble by pressing a button.
When I arrived, I saw Ryu waiting for me right outside his family's garden.
He came up to me and said, "What do we start with?"
"Do you know where your sister was four days ago? Just before she ran onto those guys?"
"Hmm, if I am not mistaken, she had gone out for a drink with her classmate."
"I see, do you know exactly where she went and who this classmate was?"
"Um... her name was Nico and the place they went was near Reinseham High School. I do not remember the name, but if I see it I'll recognise it. My sister had taken me there one day."
I could clearly see that he was trying hard not to burst into tears as he recalled those moments.
I do not blame him. He lost someone very close to him. I would feel the same way and even worse if something happened to Hoyo. And I probably would have killed the person who would do something like that because I still can't control my personalities.
"Alright, let us get started."
Ryu nodded without saying a word. I guess he was still trying to forget those memories.
Some memories are unforgettable, always remain vivid and heartwarming!
We do not want to forget them, but as time goes by it becomes harder and harder to remember them, and then we understand that some of our memories are not eternal. And that's what really scares us, just the thought of losing something so important.
With these thoughts in my mind, I did not notice when we arrived.
In front of us was a two-story building painted red.
Ryu and I took a deep breath and got in.
With a few exceptions, there was no one inside. I guess the place is not crowded in the morning.
As we entered, a man stood in our way. He was a head taller and much more muscular than me.
"How can I help you?" he said in a deep voice.
Before I could say anything, Ryu walked in front of me and said, "We'd like to inquire about a girl named Akari Sara."
As soon as the guy heard the name, he turned his head to the left where four other guys were standing who had almost the same build as him.
I saw him signal them to come here and they followed his order and surrounded us.
Then one of the four guys said, "Do not you know that little boys should not be in places like this?"
Ryu continued answering before I could respond.
"I just want to ask about my sister. Do you know anything about that?"
Then the big guy spoke up again.
"We know, but there's no way we are going to tell you. Get out of here if you want to keep your life."
"But..."
"Ryu, stop talking. Leave it to me." I said to Ryu, whispering.
I pushed Ryu behind me and said, "Hmm, I do not think it will go like that. But if you go now and tell your boss to come down, you will all get away with your lives from here."
Everyone started laughing and continued to laugh for almost a minute.
I was starting to get annoyed.
Ryu told me to leave now since they were not paying attention to us, but I just patted him on the head and said, "Do not worry, everything is under control."
The five of them were still laughing. Now no one can say I did not warn them.
I punched the one in front of me in the throat so that he could not breathe, and knocked him unconscious with a kick.
Suddenly the other four stopped laughing.
I turned to them and said with a smile, "I warned you, but you did not listen to me."
The four of them all came at me together.
I hit the first one on his leg, causing him to fall to the ground.
I ran to the bar and rolled to the other side of the bench. I stood up, grabbed a whiskey bottle and smashed it on the head of the first guy standing in front of me.
Then I saw a steel chain on the floor next to me. I picked it up and threw it one side to one of the other two who had left and as the chain wrapped around his neck, I pulled it toward me so that he hit his head on the bench.
The last one pulled out a knife and ran toward me. I wrapped his right arm with the chain to disarm him, then kicked him to put some distance between us. He grabbed a chair and rushed at me, but I wrapped the chain around his leg and when I pulled it, he fell to the ground. I walked up to him and kicked him in the head, knocking him unconscious.
I have to say that I like this chain. I think I will keep it since no one here will need it.
I turned to Ryu and saw him staring intently at me intensively. I think I went a little overboard with my performance.
I turned to him to tell him to follow me upstairs.
But I guess he was impressed with my fight, because he did not even listen to me, but asked if I could teach him how to fight too.
Damn, he was too persistent. But I guess I have no choice but to say 'yes' for now.
Anyway, it's good to have someone I can count on to protect my friends. And now that he has lost his sister, for some reason, I feel responsible for seeing him as my little brother.
It's honestly a weird feeling, but what can I do?
We both went upstairs. I guess the boss saw everything because he was standing in a corner, holding a knife and shaking all over.
"W-what do you want from me?"
"Tell us everything you know about Akari Sare," I said in an angry tone.
"Are you subordinates of that person? I already told him that I'll not tell anyone his name. Stop bothering me."
Ho I did not expect that. It seems that our little suspect passed from here too. But as much as I want to ask him about the name I'm sure that he will end like the other guy.
"I told you tell us everything about Akari Sara. Do not make me repeat myself." I said and kicked the desk in front of me.
"Ok, ok, I'll tell you. She was here with another girl four days ago. They had sit in front of the bar and as I was watching from up here I saw a person who was wearing a hood giving the other girl something weird which she put it in that girl's, Sara's, drink. I didn't gave much attention but then that person came up here and revealed himself to me. He said that I'll take part in a game or something like that. Then he told me that if I told his name or how he looked he would kill me and left. That's what happend, can you please leave now?"
Hmm the other girl surely has something to do with the Sara's death. That's for sure. Oh God what else will happen.