However, when Aiko’s letter arrived at the Kazama Family, Kazama Keigo had already passed away years ago,
Kazama Tatsuya received the letter, and after reading it, personally asked his mother to confirm that his father really had such a friend. He then took a long leave, traveled by car to visit Watanabe’s house, traced his way to the hospital, met Aiko, listened to her requests, and promised to help. As he went downstairs to leave, he happened to see him sitting on the steps smoking.
"Are you Watanabe Shun?"
He was quite annoyed at the time and ignored Kazama Tatsuya.
To his surprise, Kazama Tatsuya directly showed his police badge and interrogated him about any involvement in illegal activities recently. He panicked, thinking the cops had caught onto his debt issues with the brothers, and quickly shook his head like a rattle.
Kazama Tatsuya didn’t ask further, turned around, and left.
He breathed a sigh of relief, entirely unaware of what would happen next.
Kazama Tatsuya contacted the local police station, requested cooperation in the investigation, went through the local violent gangs, and clarified what he had been up to recently.
Before he could react, his former brother friends and boss were all caught and taken to the police station. Everyone called him, begging for help with bail, but he couldn’t gather enough bail money. Only the boss managed to have his family pay, allowing him to bail out with difficulty.
The next day, while working at a grocery store, the boss sent someone to call him for a meal, claiming there was something important to discuss. He was happy to get a free meal and went eagerly.
He originally thought the boss would, like before, have him tell a few jokes to entertain or stand by for the atmosphere. Unexpectedly, this time the boss had him sit at the main table and personally poured him wine, constantly sharing his grievances:
"The new detective from the investigation department doesn’t play by the rules, arresting people without evidence, making everyone’s life unbearable..."
"You know, right? Ueda’s probably going to get ten years... And Koji, wasn’t he helping you with debt collection not long ago? He’s been arrested too..."
"Why? How would I know? That detective just arrests people without discretion, forces confessions in the interrogation room, and coerces everyone into admitting guilt—isn’t this corrupt policing?"
He knew well that his boss and friends did commit wrongdoings, and although the detective was violent, they were rightly caught.
However, the boss took good care of him usually, and the brothers had deep feelings for him. Although none of them had much money, they were willing to raise medical expenses for him, a kindness he always remembered in his heart. At this moment, after hearing the boss complain, he slammed the table and joined in cursing the detective.
"Since that’s the case, why don’t you go kill him then."
The boss drew a pistol from his pocket and placed it on the table.
He froze, his hand holding the wine glass stiffening in mid-air.
The boss continued persuading, claiming everything was arranged, and that afterward, someone would take care of his mother, ensuring she would be treated at the top private hospital, and he wouldn’t be sentenced to death. If lucky, he could be bailed out after a few years in prison.
From a sentencing perspective, less than 8 people per year in Japan are sentenced to death in the first instance since the Supreme Court announced death sentencing standards ("Nagoya Standards") in 1983, considering various factors like crime nature, motive, form, result, victim family feelings, social influence, criminal age, criminal record, post-crime behavior when sentencing to death.
For a first-time offender like him, even killing a police officer wouldn’t lead to a death sentence.
As long as he killed the detective from the investigation department, the boss could stabilize the district, and afterward, neither underworld nor police would dare to challenge them, making life much easier for the brothers.
"Anyway, you’re just scraping by outside, might as well make more friends inside..."
"I’ll treat you well when you get out, you’ll become a cadre in the gang by then..."
"Even if you don’t think for yourself, you should think for your mother..."
After the boss’s persuasion, under the influence of alcohol, he unwittingly took the gun.
That night, after returning home, he sat all night, unable to sleep. He stared at the gun, feeling exceptionally confused inside.
Perhaps Koji was right, as a man, he couldn’t be a coward, and killing someone for his mother was unavoidable.
Early the next day, before dawn, he went out wearing a mask.
Outside the police station, pedestrians were scarce; he squatted by the utility pole, guarding the intersection for two hours until Kazama Tatsuya finished work.
He reached into his pocket, clutched the gun handle, hesitated, and didn’t draw the gun, following Kazama Tatsuya for about ten minutes until Tatsuya stopped in a dead-end alley.
"Why aren’t you at work, following me for what?" Kazama Tatsuya asked.
He couldn’t think carefully, startled, drew the gun and pointed at Tatsuya. The latter turned around, asked him what he was doing, and he trembled, saying: "Don’t blame me... You went too far... Someone wants to buy your life... My mother has cancer, I have no choice..."
He seemed to be explaining or more like justifying to himself.
"No, that’s wrong; you’re just evading," Kazama Tatsuya said, "You don’t want to work hard anymore, don’t want to sit by the sickbed to take care of your mother, don’t want to bear the burden of the hefty medical fees, you’re just trying to escape responsibility through this... Preferring prison over supporting your mother, do you still count as a man?"
He remembered clearly, every word was vividly remembered, every scene etched in his bones.
Next, he flew into a rage out of humiliation and pulled the trigger.