The sky had been gloomy for several days and finally, it started raining heavily.
A police cordon was set up downstairs at the East Sugamo Apartment, with a rain cover tautly spread over the yard, crackling as raindrops hit the plastic.
Minamoto Tamako rushed to the scene immediately after receiving the call. Kujo Yua, in uniform, personally oversaw the operation. The identification officers and the forensic doctors were ready. The criminal police held shovels, awaiting Kazama Tatsuya’s identification of the location.
"There," Kazama Tatsuya pointed towards the Womb of the Earth Bodhisattva against the wall.
Minamoto Tamako clenched her garment tightly, biting her lower lip, desperately resisting the urge to question Senior Feng. At this moment, she felt like a gambler, putting everything on the line, waiting for the results, knowing she might lose, yet could not help but harbor a sliver of hope.
What if—what if it’s not grandpa?
Maybe Senior Feng made a mistake?
Kujo Yua wasn’t as naive as her daughter, nor would she be lenient. She had her subordinates put handcuffs on Kazama Tatsuya, with a look as if she couldn’t wait to execute him right then.
Kinosaki Shoujin lit a cigarette, dispersing the onlookers. He couldn’t help but frequently glance back, eager to know the final outcome.
Two criminal police officers wielded shovels, digging into the soft soil.
The sky was dim, and thunder rumbled like a drum, echoing in everyone’s hearts.
They fixed their eyes on the Womb of the Earth Bodhisattva, oblivious to the flickering lightning and the pouring rain, intent on unearthing the truth buried underground.
The tip of the shovel hit something hard, and everyone’s expressions changed slightly. Kazama Tatsuya’s gaze was filled with more confusion. Under Kujo Yua’s instruction, the officers unearthed a coffin-like long wooden box.
The identification officers took photos and evidence, prying open the wooden planks with crowbars. Everyone leaned slightly forward, their eyes transfixed, only to see a sheep’s carcass covered in mold inside the box.
"What’s going on?" Kujo Yua demanded.
Kazama Tatsuya was equally bewildered. Could that night really have been an illusion? He had smoked countless cigarettes on the balcony, each time seeing the Womb of the Earth’s Bodhisattva statue, his conscience tormented... Yet now, how had the old man’s body turned into a sheep?
This matter should have been unknown to anyone else...
A cheerful ringtone shattered the silence. Minamoto Tamako fumbled to fetch her phone, assuming it was an insurance sales call, ready to hang up directly when she saw Mr. Fushimi’s name on the caller ID... Concerned that there might be an emergency, she hesitated for a moment, turned around, cupped her hand over the mouthpiece, and whispered, "What’s up? I’m in the middle of something really important..."
"Ah, what is it?" Fushimi Roku feigned ignorance.
Minamoto Tamako gave a brief account of the situation. Behind her, Kujo Yua’s voice resounded with questions, as two officers had already grabbed Kazama Tatsuya, preparing to drag him into the apartment building and perform the Great Memory Recovery Technique in a secluded place.
"Isn’t there a possibility that Kazama Chihime deceived her own father?" Fushimi Roku said unhurriedly, "By blackmailing her father, just like how Kamei Yuusaku uses a pet dog to blackmail his mother, constantly exploiting the soft spots of close relatives, trying to turn parents into puppets obedient to every command..."
"But, but Senior Feng said he saw the corpse with his own eyes, saw grandpa’s face..." Minamoto Tamako gripped her phone tightly.
For a moment, she wished Fushimi Roku could convince her.
"So where did the body go? If Kazama Chihime didn’t trust her father, she wouldn’t have asked him to help with the body from the start; if she did trust him, she wouldn’t carelessly move the body, increasing the risk of exposure."
Fushimi Roku paused, then uttered the ghostly tale he had concocted long ago: "Therefore, I speculate... Just speculate, mind you! It might not be correct! Back then, Minamoto Naoaki was just knocked out by Kazama Chihime and buried in the soil. Afterward, he woke up and crawled out by himself and ran away..."
"Then why didn’t grandfather come to find us?" Minamoto Tamako found it ridiculous.
Fushimi Roku’s nonsense came fluently: "Objectively, Kazama Chihime attempted murder but failed; thus, Kazama Tatsuya cannot be considered an accomplice, and since he turned himself in, potentially he could be convicted but exempt from criminal punishment... Of course, this is just a reference; believe it or not, it’s up to you."
This time, Minamoto Tamako heard the subtext in his words.
Either pursue the matter to the end, uncover the truth, confirm Senior Feng’s identity as an accomplice, and determine the fact of her grandfather’s death;
Or let it go, embrace ambiguity, give Senior Feng a chance at redemption, and hold onto the hope that her grandfather is still alive;
The shattered truth, the gentle lie.
Choose one of the two.
In the past, Tamako would have ignored the subtext in Fushimi Roku’s words, insisting on uncovering the truth... But after going through so much, she finally understood the strength of compromise and reconciliation amidst internal conflict and self-examination.
Not everyone can easily reconcile with the past;
Not everyone can easily compromise with the world.
Minamoto Tamako knew which path was the ’right’ choice, but it turned out to be more difficult than she had imagined.
She slowly put down her flip phone and looked up at Kazama Tatsuya. The two locked eyes, as if separated by a lifetime. She suddenly recalled the scene when she first met Kazama Tatsuya—at that time, he immediately recognized her, took her to investigate the scene, and suggested her involvement in the investigation internship.
Watanabe Shun also remembered how the boss had forgotten Kujo Yua’s name but remembered Minamoto Tamako’s face back then.
"Maybe, maybe it was a mistake."
Minamoto Tamako forced a smile uglier than crying.
Kujo Yua, commanding the on-site evidence collection, turned her head, ready to scold her daughter for throwing another tantrum. Seeing Tomoko’s expression stopped her in her tracks, a pang of pain striking her heart.
"Mom, maybe we made a mistake."
Minamoto Tamako took two steps forward, tugging at Kujo Yua’s clothes. The latter wrapped her daughter in her arms, lowering her head, feeling her daughter’s body tremble.
"Are you sure?" Kujo Yua asked, unwilling to relent.
"Yes, let’s go home," Minamoto Tamako said.
Kujo Yua remained silent for a long time, gently patting her daughter’s back. Everyone held their breath, with varied expressions, watching the embracing mother and daughter. The rain-blurred scene outside the plastic curtain, the melting snow on the eaves, and the desolate early spring silently arrived.
"Stand down," Kujo Yua said.
The identification officers exchanged glances and softly inquired with Kinosaki Shoujin about what to do with the sheep’s corpse. The latter wished he could kick this oblivious guy to death, grumpily suggesting he take it home and roast it himself.
An investigation with a promising start but disappointing end dispersed hastily. The police retracted the rain cover, uncuffed Kazama Tatsuya, and left in their vehicles. Kujo Yua took a secretly sobbing Minamoto Tamako home to rest. In Tokyo, she had a detached villa, plenty of space for ten daughters.
No one saw Kazama Tatsuya off. He stood alone in the yard, letting the heavy rain drench him thoroughly.