Osaka's nights aren't as glittering as Tokyo's; there was a different kind of heaviness in the air here. Sitting in Kenji's cabin, Yamato slowly placed his coffee cup on the table. A faint, mysterious smile—the one that never seemed to leave him—played on his lips.
"So... Naea hasn't returned yet?" Yamato asked casually, as if he already knew the answer.
Kenji looked up from the file, "No, she's been quite broken since her father's passing. She's staying in Osaka for a few days. Yumi is there with her as well."
'Yumi'... the moment that name reached his ears, Yamato's fingers froze against the cold rim of the coffee cup. A blurred memory from the past flickered through his mind. Yumi—the name he wanted to forget, yet could never truly erase.
"Osaka..." Yamato repeated softly.
Kenji then spoke up, "So, should I consider our deal finalized?" Yamato hummed a brief "Hmm" in response. Shortly after, he took a flight and returned to his home in Osaka.
From his house, he went straight to meet Naea. Professor Sato's house was a prominent landmark, making it easy for Yamato to find his way there.
Due to the rain, the weather was pleasant, though a slight chill had begun to settle in. Yamato's black car pulled up in front of Naea's house. Naea was standing on the porch, deep dark circles beneath her eyes—a clear sign of exhaustion. The pain of losing her father was still etched vividly across her face. Yumi was there too, along with her children, Sui and Shuzo.
Naea watched him approach, her voice laced with surprise. "Yamato? You're here?"
"I only came to see you, Naea. To share in your grief," Yamato said, stepping forward. However, his gaze wasn't fixed on Naea; it was locked onto Yumi, who stood behind her.
Suddenly, a voice came from behind—a voice that made Yamato's heart skip a beat for a split second.
"Naea, are we going inside?"
It was Yumi. She was dressed in a white casual dress; her face was pale, yet her eyes held that same old spark. She was holding a glass of water. As soon as her eyes met Yamato's, the glass of water in her hand trembled slightly.
Their gazes locked. Naea stood between them, completely unaware of the deep 'malignancy'—the hidden poison—buried between the two people standing before her.
"Yamato..." Yumi whispered his name. It was hard to tell if her voice carried fear or hatred.
Yamato took a step forward, that calm yet dangerous smile returning to his face. "How are you, Yumi? A lot of time has passed... but you haven't changed at all."
Watching them, Naea felt she understood. She assumed that these two liked each other, but simply wouldn't admit it.
Hearing this, Yumi remarked, "You really are good at joking. We just met last month, and here you are saying it's been a long time..."
Hearing her words, Yamato stepped forward. He lifted Yumi's son, Shuzo, into his arms and said, "Still, it has been 31 days." With that, he headed inside, calling out, "Come on kids, let's go inside."
Naea and Yumi remained standing there. Yumi muttered to herself, "What a jerk..."
She then turned to Naea and said, "Come on, let's head in too." Naea nodded, and they both followed him inside.
Upon entering...
Iyuzi and her daughter . Natsuki, along with Saeko and Hikari, were all in the hall. Everyone was occupied with something or the other; some were working while others were busy elsewhere.
Hikari was busy with her drawing. Natsuki was playing with Iyuzi's daughter, while Iyuzi was talking to her husband. Saeko was quietly scrolling through her phone.
It's often like that—after someone passes away, people tend to throw themselves back into their routines. Sitting idle only makes the memories more painful, so they were all trying to keep themselves busy.
As Yamato walked in, Saeko was the first to notice him. Seeing such a good-looking man, she stood up. Since Yamato was coming in with Yumi's children, Saeko assumed he was Yumi's husband. She walked over to greet him.
Yamato responded with a cheerful greeting, which drew everyone's attention toward him. As the others gathered to meet him, Naea and Yumi stood behind, watching the scene unfold, wondering what exactly was going on.
With Yamato's arrival, the atmosphere in the house turned somewhat cheerful. Yamato inquired about Mrs. Sato, to which Hikari replied that she had taken her medicine and was resting in her room. Everyone was talking pleasantly now. Iyuzi's daughter, Rei, was with Naea; they shared a very strong bond, even though Rei was still quite young, only three years old.
Just then, Iyuzi received a call. To attend to it, she stepped out into the garden since everyone was talking inside. The call was from a friend who lived outside Japan; she had learned through her mother that Iyuzi's father had passed away and had called to offer her condolences.
Earlier that morning...
Around the time Yamato would have reached Osaka, Akira was in her office analyzing other cases. The Mr. Sato case had been solved, but she hadn't disclosed this to anyone yet. The killer was still locked in a room at Akira's house.
Akira wanted to present the killer to the Sato family first before handing them over to the police. After finishing her work, she drove to the Sato residence, arriving just as Iyuzi was talking in the garden. Akira stepped out of her car and walked straight toward the house.
She spotted Iyuzi and gestured that she needed to speak with her. Realizing it must be something important, Iyuzi quickly ended the call with her friend. Once the call was over, Akira approached her.
Seeing her, Iyuzi asked, "Prosecutor, what brings you here? Did you find out something?"
Akira replied in a cold voice, "Yes."
Before Iyuzi could say anything more, the sound of her daughter Rei crying bitterly echoed from inside. As a mother, Iyuzi apologized to Akira and rushed toward her, mentioning she would send someone else out. Inside, she saw that Naea was unable to comfort Rei. Iyuzi quickly went to Naea and said, "I'll handle Rei; you go out to the garden. The Prosecutor is here to share some information." Following her sister's lead, Naea headed toward the garden.
As soon as Iyuzi left, Akira pulled a cigarette from her pocket, turned her back, and began to smoke. Just then, Naea arrived. Noticing the smoke, she said in a low voice, "You shouldn't be smoking here."
Akira froze; she was well-acquainted with that voice. Without a word, she dropped the cigarette to the ground, crushed it under her shoe, and turned around.
The moment Naea saw Akira, she showed no expression or reaction, as if she were forcefully controlling herself to remain stoic. She stepped toward Akira and asked,
"What was it that you wanted to tell "?
Looking directly at her, Akira replied in a cold, piercing voice, "The killer has been caught."