Reika's words leave Ryoma staring at her, suddenly unsure whether the images that had flashed through his mind earlier were really nothing more than uncontrolled fantasies or fragments of an actual memory.
A mild pain pulses through his head again, and when he briefly closes his eyes, another image appears: his lips pressed against Reika's, the sensation so vivid that it feels almost real.
Ryoma's eyes snap open, his breath catching as one foot instinctively shifts backward. Tachibana, however, does not notice his reaction, his attention already fixed on Reika.
"You said you were together the entire night," he says, raising an eyebrow as he looks at her.
"We were," Reika answers, her eyes sharpened.
Tachibana opens a fresh page in his notebook. He does not seriously suspect Ryoma of being the killer, but protocol is protocol. Reika has offered an alibi, and that statement still needs to be recorded.
"When?"
"After the celebration."
"And when did you part ways?"
