"How was the trial?" Taylor was in the office with Jeffrey, in a chilly Monday morning.
"There were a few bumps here and there, but it went well." Jeffrey replied, "The victim's family had another break down, but they're fine at the end." He added, just before the door was opened.
"Bonjour," Chifuyu was in the doorway, with a grin on his face already dressed in his own warm clothing.
"Huh??" Jeffrey paused.
"Chifuyu??" Taylor jumped up from his chair, "You didn't run away, did you?" he questioned him as Chifuyu sat down on the sofa in the room.
"No, I didn't... I was discharged, Lucas picked me up." Chifuyu grumbled, "I'm finally out of that box of a room, liberté..." he sighed.
"Were you proscribed with anything? Did you take your medicine?" Taylor asked him.
"Calm, old man... I already had my pills, and I have my inhaler I bring everywhere." Chifuyu responded lazily, even showing his inhaler he pulled out from the pocket of his coat.
"You seem well..." Jeffrey said sarcastically, quickly noticing Chifuyu has returned to his usual arrogant and mischievous self.
"You too, Jerry." Chifuyu sneered.
"Je-"
"Anyways, what's in store for me for today?" Chifuyu didn't give Jeffrey the opportunity to be offended, and smirked.
***
It has been two weeks since Chifuyu was discharged, everything was pretty much running as normal. Eve was in her room in the chilly Sunday, she was turning on her fireplace to make her room warmer when she heard a knock on her window.
"Chifuyu-kun?" Eve saw Chifuyu wave to her from outside the closed window with a grin on his face, "It's really cold today, huh?" she smiled after opening the window.
"It really is, but I like it." Chifuyu jumped into her room, landing on the carpet under the window to clean his snowy boots while Eve closed the window. "I'm fond of winter," he snickered.
"Even though I live at a different house now, it doesn't seem to change Chifuyu-kun's habit of visiting me through my window." Eve thought as she smiled, "Were you doing something before this?" she asked him, since he was dressed in his Alabaster getup.
"Oh, absolutely nothing." Chifuyu shook his head, but sneered after.
"I don't believe you!" Eve was thrown off by it, quick enough to know he was lying. "What- Umph! H-Hey!!" Chifuyu threw his white cloak over Eve, she was caught off guard.
"Calm down, mademoiselle. I didn't do anything bad, okay?" Chifuyu was in front of her face when she removed the cloak from over her head, "I just went to have a little fun, that's all." Chifuyu took his mask attacked to his waist and puts it on his face as he smirked.
"And by 'a little fun' you mean..." Eve was already suspecting the one thing Chifuyu considers to be entertaining.
'The Alabaster's Most Puzzling Act Yet!' was the headlines of the news when Eve dragged Chifuyu downstairs to the television and turned it on, which Taylor eventually came in and watched the television also.
"I was actually called to take in this case," Taylor just came from his office to take a phone call, "They also recommended your assistance, isn't that ironic?" he sighed.
"Well, I'll leave this puzzle to you, vieil homme. It wouldn't be fun if I joined in, wouldn't it~?" Chifuyu sneered as he took off his mask to attach it back on his belt.
"Fine..." Taylor deflated.
"It would be worth it, I promise." Chifuyu snickered as he patted Taylor's back.
"I'll go and start working on it then," Taylor turned to walk out of the living room, "See you two later," he waved to his daughter and Chifuyu.
"Later, Dad." Eve waved back before her father was out of sight, "You really love messing with people, huh?" she turned to Chifuyu, who sat down on the sofa.
"It's fun, you should try it sometime." Chifuyu sneered, and Eve puffed her cheeks. "Mph," she threw Chifuyu's cloak back to his face.
"Can't you find an entertainment that doesn't trouble other people?" Eve sat next to him with a pout on her face.
"Don't worry, this would be the last time The Alabaster would appear on the headlines." Chifuyu ruffled Eve's neat blonde hair, making it messy but she blushed. "I have to go change and visit someone now, au revoir." Chifuyu puts on his cloak after he stood up.
"Ng? Who?" Eve was curious.
"Nobody," Chifuyu was too lazy to give a proper respond, knowing he had to explain and just left Eve in confusion as he walked up the stairs to leave from Eve's bedroom window.
Chifuyu changed into his turtleneck under his fur-hooded duffle coat, walking in the cold to a small house he was taken into 3 years ago. He took a deep breath before knocking on the door, he quickly heard someone responding and coming to the door.
"Who is it?" a young African American girl answered the door, her familiar face quickly turned surprised when she saw Chifuyu.
"Hello, it's been a while, Little Sara." Chifuyu bowed and gave her a smile, while the girl quickly recognized his earring.
"A-Are you Mr. Tsuguha?" Sara was in shock.
"You were only 10 back then, right? Look how tall you've grown," Chifuyu bent down to her level.
"Sara, who is it?" Hannah came to the door, "Tsuguha? What are you doing here?" she was surprised to see him.
"I just thought I'd stop by; I was going to head somewhere else." Chifuyu replied with a smile that hasn't faded away from his face, "I'm heading to visit your husband," he told her.
"My husband??" Hannah gasped.
"Wait, I understand you want to visit him also, but the weather conditions are difficult and the location is far away." Chifuyu explained, "I'm planning to go there and give him a proper burial somewhere more accessible for your family, so you can visit him during more suitable weathers yourselves. And of course, I will let you know the new location after." He continued.
"Oh, I-I see..." Hannah nodded.
"If you like, I would bring flowers from you to him to put on his fresh burial." Chifuyu offered.
"Ah! Certainly, wait for a moment." Hannah rushed back into her house to grab flowers.
"You're nothing like I remembered, Mr. Tsuguha." Sara scratched her cheek.
"How come?" Chifuyu tilted his head slightly, curious.
"W-Well, y-you're so much more handsome..." Sara hid her blushing face by turning around.
"It's called puberty..." Chifuyu thought as he rolled his eyes, ignoring the fact that he's given the same comment most of the time growing up.
Chifuyu went to the old facility building by feet, sighing lightly when he arrived at the front of the gate. He stepped inside, his footsteps making a noise on the snow that filled the hallways of the abandoned facility. He finally reached of the hallway of bedrooms, where the sunlight shining through a hole on the roof highlighted the skeleton at the end of the hallway. Chifuyu took out a small felt bag he folded and stored into his coat, then picked up the remaining skeletons after wearing warm gloves. He travelled back to Paris but stopped close to the town, buried the remains of Adam on a small hill with his own two hands and placed the flowers in front of the tombstone he carved himself.
"You're finally out of the facility, old man. Sorry I took so long to get you out," Chifuyu patted the freshly dug grave before he stood up with a smile on his face, "Are you happy? You told me once before that this place is special to you," he looked out to the view of the town.
"I gotta say, you have good taste." Chifuyu snickered as he took off his gloves to put them in his coat pocket, he looked down to the tombstone. "I have to go now; I have a case I need to take care of." Chifuyu huffed lightly.
"Despite all of that, I was just given a little more time. Those doctors don't know or they don't care, but my strength is waning little by little. And my time is slowly running out..." Chifuyu thought, averting his eyes as the cold winter breeze blew his hair. "Looks like, I'm still destined to die..." he sighed.
"À bientôt, old man." He smiled as he walked away, leaving footprints on the snow.
"Tsuguha??" Emma was surprised when Taylor arrived to the police station with Chifuyu following behind him.
"It's the first time you acknowledge me first when we come to the station," Chifuyu snickered.
"Where is Samson Whale?" Taylor asked Emma, referring to the criminal arrested and intended to be interrogated.
"He's in room 014-" there were gunshots suddenly echoed down the hallway, a man suddenly sprinted out of the room and towards them.
"Out of my way!!" the man was armed with a pistol and aimed it at the three in the hallway.
"It's Samson Whale-!" Taylor was pushed aside together with Emma by Chifuyu to the edge of the hallway as the criminal was rushing towards them, Chifuyu jumped down to lower his body and dodge the bullets. He dashed forwards in a low stance to increase his speed, tilting his head to dodge a bullet that scraped his cheek and he placed his arms in front of his face to throw himself against Samson's body. Samson crashed to the ground with Chifuyu on him, who quickly punched his stomach to knock him unconscious.
"Chifuyu! Are you alright?!" Taylor was immediately concerned, the Japanese just got discharged from the hospital.
"Ouch..." Chifuyu had hit his head against the wall when body slamming Samson, it was scuffed and blood was oozing from the graze of the bullet he dodged a moment ago.
"You just got discharged! Why can't you stop shoving us out of the way and let us help you??" Taylor scolded Chifuyu unconsciously, while Emma went to secure Samson in handcuffs.
"Maybe if you two know how to dodge bullets, I probably will stop shoving you out of the way, old man." Chifuyu grunted, "I'm sick and tired of-" he stopped abruptly.
"Hm? Sick and tired of what?" Taylor was confused by his abrupt pause.
"Nothing, forget it." Chifuyu looked away and stood up, but Taylor took a handkerchief to wipe the blood off of Chifuyu's wounds. "Quit it," he lightly pushed Taylor's hand away as he looked away, embarrassed seen from the redness on his face.
"We lost two officers; I have to get someone to take care of this." Emma saw the two officers shot dead in the interrogation room the criminal was in, "You can go to a different room to question him, I'll take care of this mess." She walked pass Taylor and Chifuyu.
"Thanks, Emma." Taylor thanked her, he looked away for one second and Chifuyu had Samson on his shoulder the next second he looked back. "H-Hey, let me take him." Taylor was still making a fuss about the fact Chifuyu just got discharged.
"I'm fine, old man. I only have breathing issues and that's it, it doesn't affect my physical endurance and strength, I can still fight just fine." Chifuyu told him as he carried Samson into a different room, putting him on a chair and stepped back to wait for him to wake up as Taylor followed him into the room.
"Chifuyu, you took in crazy amounts of intense drugs and it already damaged your system. You told me yourself, those drugs affected your immune system and nervous system, affecting you psychologically too." Taylor had a serious tone in his voice.
"Bizarre, right? After all of that, I still have my intelligence and mobility intact." A small smile surfaced on Chifuyu's face.
"Have you ever thought of the worse? You might become paralysed any second," Taylor told him, "You can't underestimate your health, Chifuyu. Can't you tone down your physical activities?" he continued, but Chifuyu remained silent and his smile faded away.
"This is exactly why I hate telling others the truth..." Chifuyu gritted his teeth lightly, his coldness at the moment made Taylor pause. "Which is why all that I said to you before was a lie," he suddenly sneered.
"Huh??" Taylor was caught off guard by his mood swings yet again.
"I made all that up, old man. I only have breathing problems, none of the drugs affected my immune system or my nervous system." Chifuyu smirked, "I'm perfectly fine, I just need an inhaler and that's all." He showed Taylor his inhaler he pulled out from his coat, playing with it in his hand as if it was a knife.
"It was all a lie...??" Taylor was still so confused.
"Exactly, did I not say it clear enough for you?" Chifuyu sighed, "I'm fine, okay?" he placed his inhaler back in his coat.
"For some reason, I'm doubt what he said was a lie was actually a lie..." Taylor thought, still confused. "I don't get him, if it was a lie, why would he say all that in the first place?"
"Nice call, me. Better than having this old man worry about me too much," Chifuyu turned away to approach the criminal as he thought so, "I would rather continue telling lies, I don't want them to pamper me because they know I'm actually losing my strength..." his eyes were dull and an emotionless expression was on his face, out of Taylor's sight since he had his back facing the senior detective.
"We're home,"
"Welcome back," Eve welcomed her father and Chifuyu who returned from the police station.
"What would you two like for dinner? I'll order something," Taylor asked the two teenagers.
"Anything is fine, I don't have any allergies either." Chifuyu shrugged.
"I'm actually craving some Japanese food right now, but I'm up for some pasta." Eve scratched her cheek as she smiled.
"Alright, if the mademoiselle wishes so." Chifuyu smirked and bowed, "I'll be right back," he left the house again, without letting the other two react.
Chifuyu returned fifteen minutes later, he took off his coat to hang it over a chair and he rolled up the sleeves of his black turtleneck up to near his elbows after placing the paper bag he returned with on the kitchen counter.
"You're back," Taylor was sitting on the dining table with Eve.
"You're going to cook for us?" Eve seemed excited; she adores Chifuyu's cooking.
"Of course. Homemade is always superior, right?" Chifuyu was taking out the ingredients he bought from the market, "It does come with a downside of being criticised and gossiped when shopping for ingredients in a market at Paris where there is a lot of assholes, but that's okay." He spoke quickly, guilt-tripping with a sneer on his face.
"Right..." Eve sighed heavily.
"So, what are you treating us?" Taylor was curious, asking with a smile.
"Curry Doria, rice gratin to be clear." Chifuyu started working on the food.
A few hours later, they had finished eating dinner and Eve was asleep in her room while Taylor was at the doorway of the exit when Chifuyu walked out to head home.
"Thanks for dinner, Chifuyu." Taylor thanked him with a smile as Chifuyu was fixing his coat.
"No problem, it's nice to cook for others once in a while." Chifuyu smiled back.
"It was like watching a grown son, and having dinner with the entire family." Taylor chuckled, and Chifuyu pursed his lips.
"You already have a grown son, geezer." He blushed by looking away.
"He's adorable when he's embarrassed, it's like seeing a totally different side of him." Taylor averted his eyes to avoid laughing.
"Whatever," Chifuyu pouted and turned away, "See you tomorrow, old man." He turned his head to give the senior investigator a grin.
"Be careful on the way home, don't freeze to death." Taylor waved as he joked.
"I'm not a little kid, okay?" Chifuyu replied as he walked away, but left Taylor smiling before he went inside to shelter from the cold weather.
"Oi, Lucas." Lucas was walking down the sidewalk carrying a big basket in the freezing weather under the twilight sky, he stopped when he heard a familiar voice call his name.
"Fuyuchi?" Lucas looked up to see Chifuyu on the roof of the house closest to him, Chifuyu grinned and waved to his friend. "What's up~? Do you need something?" Lucas called out from the lower ground.
"It's late at night, you going somewhere?" Chifuyu asked him, he didn't bother jumping down and simply squatted at the edge of the roof.
"Oh, I'm going to see my mother." Lucas responded and smiled.
"Tsk...You're going to go see that whore? Why?" Chifuyu clicked his tongue and grunted, sitting down on the edge of the roof to have his legs dangling.
"I guess it's the first time for you, but I do this every year for her. I would leave her warm clothes and some food," Lucas responded, Chifuyu rested his chin on his hand and stared down at Lucas before sighing.
"I'll come with you," Chifuyu finally jumped down, "I'm not letting you see that woman alone," he added.
"Okay..." Lucas shrugged and let Chifuyu follow him to the bar, not far from the previous Anderson residence, so Chifuyu could see construction taking place from a distance.
Chifuyu entered the bar after Lucas, following him in as the music in the bar blasted loudly. Drunk men and women were in the room reeking of alcohol, which was making Chifuyu sick.
"Excuse me," Lucas approached the counter, and the barista's smile faded into a questioning look.
"Here to give gifts to your mom again?" the barista seemed half-hearted talking to Lucas.
"Yes, is she here?" Lucas nodded with a smile, while Chifuyu was standing next to him and looking at the other direction, scanning the room.
"This place is sickening as ever..." Chifuyu simply despises crowded places.
"Your woman is in the room on the left down the hallway," the barista pointed to the hallway at the back of the bar.
"Thank you," Lucas bowed with a smile, and he went to the hallway with Chifuyu following behind him. But Lucas stopped when they were a few steps away from the room, "Fuyuchi, wait here, okay?" Lucas turned to Chifuyu with a small smile.
"Yeah," Chifuyu furrowed a brow and Lucas peeked into the room through the gap of the unclosed door, then placed the basket he was carrying next to the door before walking back to Chifuyu. "Is she busy?" Chifuyu suspected the woman had shooed Lucas away with a hand gesture.
"Yeah, she has a client right now." Lucas replied, his nonchalant tone made Chifuyu clench his fists.
"You see your mom like that a lot, huh?" he looked down as he spoke with an upset tone.
"I was scared at first, but I've visited her enough to get used to it." Lucas scratched his cheek.
"Whatever," Chifuyu rolled his eyes, decided to drop the topic. "Can we get out of here now? The smell of tabaco and alcohol is going to make me wheeze," he complained.
"Then why did you come with me if you know you're going to suffocate??" Lucas was panicked.
"It was exaggeration, ami... I just plenty hate the smell of tabaco and alcohol," Chifuyu sighed as he turned to walk out with Lucas following behind him, but the door ahead of them opened.
"Thanks, ladies~" a man walked out of the room, then walked away ahead of Chifuyu and Lucas to exit.
"No worries~"
"Come again~" two women stood at the doorway dressed in lingerie waving good-bye, while Chifuyu had a disgusted look on his face.
"I want to get out of here!" Chifuyu gritted his teeth and continued his pace.
"Oh mon Dieu~!" one of the women jumped to hug Chifuyu's arm, "Aren't you a cutie~ I haven't seen an Asian as handsome as you~" she touched Chifuyu's cheek with her index finger, lightly poking it.
"Excuse me-"
"You're right, he's got charisma~" the other nudged him.
"His arms feel so firm," the two women were all over Chifuyu.
"Aren't you popular, Fuyuchi..." Lucas mumbled, doesn't know how to safe his friend from the situation.
"He's wearing an earring too, comme ç'est magnifique~" the woman reached to touch his earring, but Chifuyu smacked her hand before she could lay a finger on it. Chifuyu emitted a cold atmosphere so intense that even Lucas could feel it, scaring the two women to tremble lightly.
"Please, can you let me leave?" Chifuyu smiled, the coldness he was emitting also disappeared in that instant.
"O-Of course,"
"S-Sorry," the two women backed away and sprinted back into the room they were previously in.
"What was that? Fuyuchi was so scary just now, and I didn't even see his face." Lucas gulped, but then saw Chifuyu deflate in front of him. "Fuyuchi??" Lucas gasped.
"I'm fine, I was just holding my breath since those two women reek so bad..." Chifuyu grinned to Lucas, "Let's head home to my place, I can cook up something for us. I also want to see your progress on using chopsticks~" he sneered and nudged his friend playfully.
"Chopsticks are harder than it looks, you know..." Lucas playfully whined.
"Lucas," a voice made the two turn their heads, it was Lucas's mother who had dressed herself in a coat. Chifuyu's expression changed into a solemn one fairly quick, standing next to Lucas as if ready to defend him.
"Y-You called me by my name..." Lucas was shaking in surprise; he had a small smile but took a step back.
"What do you want?" Chifuyu questioned the woman, giving her a cold glare.
"Calm down, chérie..." the woman grunted, "Lucas," she called to her son.
"Y-Yes?" Lucas flinched.
"I'm sorry and thank you," the woman thanked him, before walking back to the room.
"Fuyuchi," Lucas made Chifuyu turn his head, "Do you think, I might be able to get along with my mom?" he asked his friend curiously, with a hesitant smile.
"You never lose hope, huh?" Chifuyu sighed, "Maybe she will change soon, I hope the best for you." He ruffled Lucas's hair.
"Merci," Lucas grinned.
"But if she mistreats you again, promise me you'll leave her." Chifuyu hissed at him suddenly.
"I-I promise..." Lucas was frightened for a split second, but he knew Chifuyu was just defensive of him. "Oh, can we stop by the orphanage for a little? I want to pick up some treats I want you to try," he suggested as he exited the bar with Chifuyu.
"Fine by me," Chifuyu agreed.
"The kids were worried about you; you should tell them you're okay." Lucas told him.
"You told them...?" Chifuyu groaned as his head slumped.
"W-Well, I didn't want to... But I ended up telling everyone everything, because Madame Lucy noticed my restlessness and told me I'm terrible at hiding my real emotions." Lucas explained as he continued to walk down the sidewalk with his pal.
The two of them were sitting next to the small house on the rooftop where Chifuyu lives, eating warm food and drinking warm beverages while enjoying the cold weather. As Chifuyu expected, Lucas only made small progress on learning to use chopsticks but the two laughed about it together, they were having a great time.
"Fuyuchi, is there anywhere you want to go?" Lucas asked him.
"I might visit my homeland; I just want to see how much it's grown over the last 5 years." Chifuyu responded nonchalantly.
"The culture in Japan sounds interesting from your stories, can you take me with you when you decide to visit?" Lucas was curious of Chifuyu's homeland.
"Not before you master using chopsticks and stop breaking them~" Chifuyu sneered with a mischievous grin.
"Aww, come on..." Lucas whined playfully, "Wait, the chicken porridge should be done warming up now. Let me go fetch them," he remembered they were waiting for the chicken porridge to be reheated and stood up.
"Okay," Chifuyu smiled as Lucas walked away to get the food from inside the small house on the rooftop, leaving Chifuyu to wait. He leaned against the wall of the house and let out a light exhale, relaxed and comfortable enough to close his eyes.
"Thanks for the wait~" Lucas came back with the pot of porridge, "Aww, did you fall asleep? Were you tired? At least go inside, it's cold out here." He sighed as he placed the pot down on the carpet they were sitting on.
"Fuyuchi?" Lucas reached to place his hand on Chifuyu's shoulder, but he shuddered when he touched him. "You're cold... I'll carry you inside," he had a bad feeling when took off his coat to put over Chifuyu before putting his arms under Chifuyu's knees and back, but he froze when Chifuyu's head leaned against his chest. He hasn't seen a steam of Chifuyu's breath for a considerable amount of time and Lucas decided to put his ear against Chifuyu's chest, Lucas started quivering a moment later and turned pale.
"I didn't want this to happen again. I didn't want to go through this again... But here I am, running and panicking, trying to keep calm despite how terrified I am... I never thought that I would go through this feeling again so soon..." Lucas was sprinting towards the Anderson residence, in the cold and on the snow-covered sidewalk lit by the night lights, with Chifuyu on his back and covered by Lucas's coat that he was too panicked to need and keep himself warm. "Mr. Anderson!!" Lucas shouted at the top of his lungs when he reached the front door of the residence.
"Lucas?! What's wrong?!" Taylor burst open the front door immediately, closest since he was in his office.
"Fuyuchi! Fuyuchi is..." Lucas's voice was fading away as he tears started flooding from his eyes, while Taylor saw Chifuyu carried on Lucas's back, he was pale and unconscious.
"Come, come!" Taylor made way for Lucas to enter the house, Lucas laid Chifuyu down on his back on the floor after entering the front door and Taylor examined him. Taylor was in terrible disbelieve that he checked over ten times, he refused to believe the reality in front of him but deflated a moment later. "He's... He's gone..." those were the words Taylor never wanted to utter referring to Chifuyu, he held Chifuyu's hand tightly as he started to weep, curling into a foetal position on his knees as he cried.
"You hid it from me, didn't you...? Again, you refused to concern others with your condition..." Taylor was sobbing silently, "I didn't want this... I didn't want that to be your last smile..."
Eve was half-way down the stairs, slumped to sit down on the stairs and hugged her knees, already started crying together with Lucas and Taylor. She didn't need to ask questions to understand the situation, she understood quickly that Tsuguha Chifuyu had passed away.
***
A month have passed since the day of Chifuyu's sudden death, classified to be a natural death by the autopsy, where damages to his immune system and nervous system were also diagnosed. He was buried in a cemetery, the same cemetery where Nishimura Horie, Eve's mother and Taylor's wife was buried at.
"I haven't even forgiven you for giving me a panic attack, and now you're just giving more reasons not to forgive you... you're such a jerk... To be honest, it's plenty quiet without you around to cause chaos and arguments... I'm glad you're at piece, Tsuguha. Thanks a lot for keeping me company," were what Jeffrey first said when he visited Chifuyu's grave, "I never wanted to admit it to a jerk like you, but... I've been lonely all my life, ignored by my family and other people. You were the first friend I ever had and I never felt lonesome since, I also have others thanks to you." He placed down flowers near the tomb.
"You might not be listening to me, since you're so high and mighty." He smiled, "I'll come again, but expect nothing next time, okay?" he added as he walked away.
All of his comrades were affected by his death, yet they know Chifuyu would hate to see them weep for him further, which is the reason why Chifuyu hid his illness to begin with. He left a deep impression on his comrades without him knowing, all of them remember him as that cunning and mischievous Japanese fellow with strength and no fear, yet also considerate and kind.
"Hey, Fuyuchi. How've you been?" Lucas arrived and sat in front of his tomb, "I finally mastered using chopsticks, aren't you proud of me~?" he grinned, but slowly turned into a small smile.
"You've done so much for me and many other people, you're the coolest... I hope I can be as cool as you," he said, "I gotta scram now, there're things I have to take care of back at the orphanage. À bientôt, buddy." He added as he stood up, before jogging away.
When Lucas decided to explore Chifuyu's residence once again, it came to him that his friend has been living so long in loneliness. His residence was dim and silent, only filled with the memories left behind by his family. Whenever Lucas sees Chifuyu's smile, it always appeared mischievous and captivating. Yet it's so sad whenever he remembers that smile of Chifuyu's now, a mask in the form of a smile created from his will to not put his problems on others. Lucas never knew much about his friend, the guy doesn't even own a journal, he was just that kind of person... who keeps everything locked up inside of him, a life that will remain a mystery, as enigmatic as the person himself.
Chifuyu's identity as The Alabaster and cooperation with the Paris Police, the young man behind the spiked number of solved cases and the close of The Reaper's crimes were disclosed to the public, making his name very hard to forget. The last puzzle Chifuyu left as The Alabaster was solved by Taylor; from the locations where the stolen items were hidden and the instructions left on the clues, Taylor connected the dots of locations on a map and Japanese characters were the results from connecting the dots.
"What does it say, sir?" Jeffrey asked Taylor, who seemed stunned. Taylor is able to read a few Japanese, and it was written easily and clearly enough for Taylor to read and understand the message.
"'Sayonara'... As in 'so long, suckers'..." Taylor smiled as he spoke aloud the meaning of the Japanese characters, it has been a while since he spoke Japanese. "You definitely ended your career in style, huh, Chifuyu?" he could imagine Chifuyu's mischievous grin by closing his eyes.
Then there's Hannah and her daughter, who Chifuyu gave the map to Adam's grave. It was overwhelming for Hannah when she stepped onto the top of the hill with her daughter, in front of her was her husband's grave. But she burst into when she noticed Chifuyu had buried her husband on the hill where her husband took her for their honeymoon 3 years ago, before he left and never returned. Chifuyu's smile when he handed her the map to the location glimpsed again in her head, his warm smile triggers her tears whenever she remembered it, the smile of the boy showed how much her husband meant to him. The fact that he chose the hilltop made Hannah more heartbroken, she knew that Adam was close with Chifuyu, but she never once stopped to imagine what he went through after having no choice but to leave her husband behind.
Eve definitely felt the difference when there was no longer someone knocking to hang out with her, by her door but mostly by her window. Maru was kept in her room, has been in her care since Chifuyu was hospitalized and now in her care permanently, becoming that one thing that constantly reminds her of the young man.
"From our very first encounter, he was charismatic and enigmatic. But then, there's so much to him to discover... Chifuyu-kun the rest of his life in Paris knowing he's on his own, knowing that nobody would come to help him." Eve remembered the day Chifuyu first broke into her room at night, "It started from that evening...and it ended in winter..." she smiled when gazing out her window, to the white snow outside.
"Au revoir, et merci."
THE END