I followed Ryota down the deserted streets, his pace quick and confident. Behind him, I tried to keep up even though my weak body felt almost incapable of doing so. The small streets in this neighborhood were dark, lit only by streetlights that flickered like they were about to die.
"So, you really don't know anything?" Ryota broke the silence, looking back as he walked.
I nodded slowly. "I swear, I don't know what happened. I don't even know why I'm in this body."
He let out a long sigh, as if he was still unsure whether to believe my words or not. "Then you have a lot to learn," he said simply.
Our steps took us further and further away from the apartment and the crowded street. Ryota finally spoke again, his voice sounding softer this time. "I feel sorry for you. I mean, if you really aren't Shinichiro, you're stuck in a very bad life."
I turned to him. "Why are you saying that?"
He gave me a quick glance before returning his gaze to the road in front of him. "Because in this place, everyone knows who Shinichiro Ito is. They know what he did, and they will never forget that."
I swallowed, feeling my chest grow heavy. His words made the atmosphere even more tense, but I knew he wasn't trying to scare me. He was just telling the truth.
We walked for quite a while before finally stopping in front of an old, worn-out-looking building. Ryota opened a small door on the ground floor, motioning for me to enter.
"My office is upstairs. Be careful with the stairs," he said as he stepped inside.
I followed him up the narrow stairs that creaked with each step. His small office was located on the second floor, with a wooden door that had a sign that read Ryota Nakamura - Private Detective.
He opened the door, turned on the light, and motioned for me to sit on the wooden chair in front of his desk. "Have a seat. We'll start from here."
I walked into the office and Ryota sat down in his chair that creaked quietly, then began to open the drawer of the wooden desk in front of him. He took out an old newspaper that looked yellowed.
Ryota placed an old, shabby-looking newspaper on the desk. "This probably explains most of your questions," he said as he pushed the newspaper towards me.
I took the newspaper with trembling hands, reading it slowly. The big headline on the front page caught my attention immediately:
"PRIVATE SCHOOL TEACHER SCANDAL: DARK TEENAGE PAST REVEALED."
I looked at Ryota in confusion. "What does that mean? What really happened?" I asked.
He leaned his body against the chair, looking at me with serious eyes. "Shinichiro Ito probably didn't know about what happened when he was a teenager. But after he grew up and started working as a teacher, an incident revealed everything he did in the past."
I re-read the article. The news revealed that when Shinichiro was 17 years old, he was unknowingly involved in an incident of abuse against a 7-year-old girl. A big mistake he made in high school-perhaps due to ignorance or environmental influence-haunted his life.
However, the case was never prosecuted as Shinichiro's prominent family managed to cover it up. The incident was lost to public memory until years later, when someone from his past shared the information with the media.
"When Shinichiro finished college and started working as a teacher at a private school, everything came to light," Ryota explains. "The media discovered the connection between him and the case. The news spread quickly, destroying his career and his reputation."
I stared at the newspaper, reading further. It said that the parents at the school where Shinichiro worked protested his attendance. They demanded that he be fired, and eventually the school had no choice but to terminate his contract.
"This... really happened?" I asked in a trembling voice.
Ryota nodded. "Yes. At first, I didn't believe it either. From what I've learned, Shinichiro really had no idea that what he did in his teenage years could have this much impact. But once everything was revealed, there was no turning back for him."
I felt like I'd been hit by a boulder. "So... he didn't know? I mean, she was a teenager back then, right? How did this all happen?"
Ryota shrugged. "Ignorance doesn't erase what happened. People don't care whether he knew or not. All they see is a grown man with a dark history, and that's enough to ruin his life."
I rubbed my face with my hands, trying to digest all this information. Disgust washed over me, but more than that, I felt devastated knowing that this body carried such an ugly history.
I sat quietly in my chair, the old newspaper still clutched in my hand. Ryota's words kept spinning in my head, making it harder and harder for me to breathe. Shinichiro's past-or rather this body-felt like an endless black hole.
However, there was something that still bothered me. The photo of the woman I found in the apartment. The warmly smiling figure in that old frame kept popping up in my mind. I looked up, staring at Ryota who was resting his elbows on the table.
"Ryota," I called softly.
He raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"
"The photo in Shinichiro's apartment... that girl, Akiko Nakamura. Who is she? Does she have anything to do with all this?"
Ryota was silent for a moment, his face turning serious. "Akiko Nakamura," he muttered, as if confirming the name. "She was Shinichiro's ex-wife. They lived together in that apartment for some time. But... their relationship didn't end well."
I swallowed, feeling something bad in her tone of voice. "What happened to her now?" I asked cautiously.
Ryota let out a long breath, looking at me with a pitying expression. "Akiko is currently in the hospital. She's undergoing rehabilitation."
I frowned, confused by his words. "Rehabilitation? Why?"
Ryota shifted his body forward, his eyes looking directly at me. "After Shinichiro's past scandals came to light, he began to lose control of himself. Akiko tried to hold on, but their relationship became increasingly toxic. Shinichiro, in his chaotic mental state, ended up hurting Akiko."
I felt my heart stop for a moment. "He... hurt Akiko?"
Ryota nodded slowly. "Yes. He attacked Akiko during a violent argument. Akiko suffered severe physical and mental trauma that required her to undergo long-term rehabilitation."
I didn't know what to say. All this information felt like a heavy blow that didn't give me time to breathe.
"So, she not only destroyed her own life, but also the lives of those around her," I said quietly, almost as if speaking to myself.
Ryota nodded again. "That's the truth. And now, you have to live with all this burden."
I looked down, trying to digest everything. Shinichiro's past, his self-hatred, and how he ruined the lives of those around him... it all felt too much to bear.
I raised my head, looking at Ryota with eyes full of confusion. "So, what should I do now?" I asked quietly.
Ryota let out a long sigh, leaning his body against the chair. "That's up to you. But one thing's for sure, you have to find a way to make up for all this, or you'll never be able to get out of Shinichiro Ito's shadow."