Amuro Tōru was happy.
After so long without a trace, 'Satan' was finally in the police's sights again, and even if it was a poisoned apple with an appealing color, it was still something to be happy about.
And he's even got his code name: Alsace.
But not happy.
He maintained his expression, standing still and coldly watching the car leave, glancing at the bank again before pulling down the brim of his hat and turning to walk elsewhere, quietly thinking: 'Satan', 'Alsace', and...
"Ku, jō, Mi, rai."
Amuro Tōru pronounced the name word for word.
A man who was supposed to be dead, but wasn't. Why? Was the death faked? Did the police know about it?
During the investigation some time ago, Amuro Tōru only confirmed that Ichijō Mirai was indeed 'Kujō Mirai', and that it was not a disguise, but he was not sure if the police knew about it.
...And did Morofushi Hiromitsu know?
When this thought came to him, Amuro Tōru lowered his eyes and stopped at the side of the road where the traffic was passing, and in his mind's eye he saw himself rushing up to the rooftop, only to hear the deafening sound of gunshots and see the body of Morofushi Hiromitsu.
Morofushi Hiromitsu's body had a cell phone that was used to communicate with the police, and it contained many things that the organization could not know, such as the liaison officer and Amuro Tōru, who was working undercover with him.
He died trying to protect the secrets in the cell phone.
Was there a message in that secret about Kujō Mirai not being dead?
They were close, Amuro Tōru knew that, and Morofushi Hiromitsu was the one who knew Ichijō Mirai the best, and Amuro Tōru knew that.
But before his death, Amuro Tōru did not know whether Morofushi Hiromitsu knew that Ichijō Mirai had faked his death and was still alive, and he did not receive even the slightest hint.
Also, if the police knew about Ichijō Mirai's death, did he receive any information about Morofushi Hiromitsu's death?
Did he pay his respects to Morofushi Hiromitsu?
What about Matsuda Jinpei? What about Matsuda Jinpei, who was on good terms with Ichijō Mirai and knew about the faked death, Kenji Hagiwara and Wataru Date?
With all the complicated thoughts flying through his mind, Amuro Tōru walked across the street with the crowd, his eyes dropping to the road.
There was a small TV hanging in the convenience store by the side of the road, broadcasting the news, he looked over at the sound of it, paused for a while, pulled down the brim of his hat, and resumed his steps, "...Faking your own death in the brightest of moments, you're the one who played the biggest game of them all."
'Savior under the bright lights' and 'dead without a trace', when the two choices are juxtaposed, the one who chooses the latter is either a fool or a madman.
Crazy people always play big.
Amuro Tōru took a deep breath, organizing his thoughts and calming himself down, and walked towards the dessert store while thinking about today's new amount of information.
Is it a coincidence that Ichijō Mirai appeared at a place where 'Satan' has been frequenting lately?
No, it's not.
Amuro Tōru might not have been so sure if it was anyone else, any other ordinary police cadet in his class, but with Ichijō Mirai, he was pretty sure.
Anyone who knew Ichijō Mirai, any ordinary police cadet of the same class, could answer without thinking: it's no coincidence that Mirai-san is so powerful, he's chasing 'Satan'!
He's been chasing 'Satan' for a long time, and maybe he faked his death just for 'Satan'.
During a special training session shortly after the start of the school year, he had announced his title 'Savior', which Morofushi Hiromitsu had noticed and pondered over from time to time, but Amuro Tōru hadn't paid much attention to it, but now that the combination of 'Kujō Mirai is near' and 'Satan is near' had made him realize that he was 'Savior'.
Savior' and 'Satan' were rivals.
When he arrived near the sweet store, he naturally looked at it as if he was passing by, and saw Suzuki Sonoko, who had been coming to the sweet store so often lately that she had almost made it a regular refreshing spot.
Suzuki Sonoko and Mouri Ran were sitting by the window. The winter sun wasn't too hot, but the midday sunlight had a golden luster, and it was especially bright on the smiling faces of the two young girls.
They were whispering and laughing, and they looked youthful and energetic, like people who live under the warm sun.
Amuro Tōru, the non-existent person in charge of guarding this warm sunshine, tugged on the brim of his hat and quietly looked over, thinking of Ichijō Mirai, whom he hadn't had the chance to meet.
...What does he look like now? I'm sure he's still full of mischief, sometimes he'll make a serious remark about someone else, but he'll still smile dashingly at his companions and hold out his hand with determination over and over again.
As long as he is there, all his companions will be determined to work together, without any doubt that they will be abandoned by the group, or fail.
Only a man who shines like this can attract a lovely girl under the sun and make her jump and flutter to love like a moth to a flame.
On the table were brightly colored desserts and steaming hot coffee, the heat of which was a somewhat false white color that snaked upward in the air, giving the dessert store a warm and inviting atmosphere.
Suddenly, Suzuki Sonoko's bright smile froze, and her eyes slowly rounded out to reveal a sparkling light that looked like stars, "Mr. Mirai!"
She whispered, got up and left her seat, jogging towards the counter of the dessert store.
Behind the counter was the visible kitchen, and by the kitchen door were the stairs.
When Suzuki Sonoko's eyes lit up, Amuro Tōru guessed that she was crouching on Ichijō Mirai's refreshment, so he averted his gaze and left the street at a quicker pace.
Suzuki Sonoko had indeed spotted Ichijō Mirai's refresh.
Ichijō Mirai stops at the last set of steps, absently rubbing the back of his neck, his fingers brushing over the reddish mole that's burning a little.
He looked out the window at the street.
The street was crowded with people, almost all of them in a hurry because it was the end of the day, and some of them casually glanced over as they were hurrying on their way, and met Ichijō Mirai's eyes for a moment, then froze and subconsciously glanced at him for a few more moments.
Near the source of the peeping line of sight, there was an office worker who frequently looked over.
"A party?" Ichijō Mirai retracted his gaze and smiled politely, "Can I join a party among friends?"
The tone of the conversation was in favor of agreement.
Suzuki Sonoko: "!"
"Of course!" Without blinking, she said firmly, "The stalker last time was a misunderstanding, but thanks to you comforting Ran and I, otherwise we two weak girls would have been even more scared."
"We've been friends ever since!"
Her eyes sparkled, and she added an uncertain ending, "...Right?"
High school students who haven't yet experienced society are the most irritating and adorable creatures in the world, like a handful of soft white snow that's both dirty and beautifully soft and clean.
Ichijō Mirai smiled, "Of course."
He rubbed the back of his burning neck a few times, walked down the stairs, and found a pen and paper under the counter, "When was it? I'll write it down."
As if remembering something, he inquired, "By the way, that kid from last time..."
"Shouldn't he be there too?"