(July 05, 2017)

Since Takemitchi was deemed stable, Naoto had decided on letting the guy stay with him. His reasoning? Well, Naoto wanted Takemitchi to learn about the gang that killed his sister, and possibly many others.

It was already nighttime. Naoto was on his laptop, typing in a few things before showing it to Takemitchi. "I don't understand why you wanted to look this up." He says to him.

Takemitchi was reading an article about an old bikeshop that was open in his neighborhood back then: S&S Motors.

He didn't tell Naoto about Kokuō or the gift he received from him. It wasn't that important for this... whole thing he has to look into now, which was the current Tokyo Manji Gang. "I just wanted to see if there was any importance. You know, some sentimental value?" Takemitchi says and Naoto just gives him a look. "Takemitchi, I doubt that criminal syndicates are sentimental."

"They could be!" Takemitchi defended. "Shouldn't you be arranging files or something?"

Naoto sighed as he turns to his own desk of piled up paperwork. "We're staring the review after you come back from the hospital." He reminds him. "Don't stay out too long."

Takemitchi just responded with a nod as he begins to read through what was on the website. 'There has to be something with this. There's no coincidence that he gave me this tag...' He thinks to himself, scrolling down to see what other information he could find. Just as he was about to scroll further, he sees something on the screen that makes him stop.

Imaushi Wakasa and Akashi Takeomi were the co-owners of S&S Motors, however it was revealed by an anonymous person that Imaushi Wakasa was the one who was keeping the shop running even after the owner's absence.

This led to arguments, according to some neighboring shops that witnessed Imaushi and Akashi having discourse on how they run the business. One witness account stated that Akashi instigated a fight by mocking Imaushi, which led to an all-out brawl out on the streets, which was only stopped by Sakurai Mina and Kira Hitomiko, who happened to pass by when the incident was taking place.

Since then, Akashi Takeomi has never set foot in the motorbike shop and Imaushi Wakasa has the business under his name.

'Imaushi Wakasa...' Takemitchi stared at the name, making a mental note about this for later. Though, he was surprised to see that two of the wealthiest people in Japan were... connected to the shop?

Takemitchi turns around, seeing Naoto still fixing up some paperwork. He figured... why not look into this more? Maybe he could even find something related to Toman! Or maybe he's just overthinking it and he'll probably go down a rabbit hole that he can never get out of.

But it was worth a try, right? Right.

So, Takemitchi decided to go from wealthiest to... middle-class. He types in "Sakurai Mina" and immediately more articles come up. But most of them revolve around her involvement with Akashi Takeomi and someone named Arashi Keizo. He clicks on one of the articles and begins to read.

Sakurai Mina was involved in a scandal last year regarding Arashi Keizo's involuntary admission to one of the mental institutions in Tokyo. Both Akashi and Sakurai have denied having any involvement with the situation, but a witness account that goes by the name of "Tatsu" had seen someone named Sanzu Haruchiyo being the perpetrator of the incident.

'Akashi Takeomi... he keeps popping up...' Takemitchi furrows his brows. He types in "Kira Hitomiko" and most of the articles revolve her being the heir to the Kira Company. But one article caught his eye; An article involving the engagement of her and... Akashi Takeomi. There was even a picture of the two of them, and they both looked like... like they didn't want to be there. Not to mention that Takeomi looked like he was despising this more that Hitomiko did.

Kira Hitomiko was said to be engaged to Akashi Takeomi, who is a prominent businessman in promoting luxury brands. This engagement was arranged by Kisaki Tetta, Akashi's partner, and Kira Seijirou, Hitomiko's father. They got engaged on May 27th, 2016, according to some sources.

There is no set date on the wedding and both Akashi and Hitomiko have said that they would be focusing on their work and on their relationship off-camera. Hitomiko handles Kira Star Pharmaceuticals, which is one of the many businesses owned by the Kira Company, while Takeomi is the co-owner of Moonlight Electronics.

Takemitchi then types in "Sano Shinichiro". Nothing comes out, unsurprisingly. He types in "Imaushi Wakasa", and multiple articles come up on him. He scans through the titles of the articles, and one caught his eye.

A Friend or a Murderer? Imaushi Wakasa under investigation for the murder of four (4) victims, including one of the pilots named Matsuno Chifuyu.

"Takemitchi,"

Takemitchi quickly closes the tab as he hears Naoto calling him. "Y-Yeah?"

Naoto looks at his watch, then back at him. "Aren't you going to visit the hospital? It's already six in the evening."

Takemitchi looks at the clock and he lets out a gasp, already standing up from his chair. "R-Right! I'll see you, Naoto!"

Naoto watches him rush out the door like a lunatic, and he could've sworn that he heard a crash and a cat meowing loudly.

This makes him chuckle. "Nee-san..." Naoto turns over, seeing the framed photo of his sister. "I can almost see why you chose him."

Kira Hitomiko inherited the Kira Company when she reached her 30th birthday. Back then, she probably wouldn't have accepted this offer since this position should belong to her younger brother. But he wasn't here.

The last time Hitomiko saw her younger brother... she was still dating someone at the time. She can remember that she was... probably around twenty or twenty-one at the time. Hitomiko saw him running away with a bunch of other kids and he never looked back since.

She told her father, but he thought it was all just a ruse because the day prior, he had grounded him for not being able to reach the expected grade he was supposed to get. But when a week had passed and the private school called asking about his whereabouts, that's where his concern started to show. Unfortunately, the same time her younger brother disappeared, a government official's son was involved in a scandal and also went missing.

In the end, Kira Hiroto was never found.

A knock on the door snaps her out of her stupor. "Hitomiko, we're going to see him in a bit."

Hitomiko let out a sigh. Right. She'll come back to this later. Right now, she'll be visiting someone... someone who she used to date. Someone who she considered a trusted friend.

Someone who broke her heart just to protect her.

"Can you give me a few minutes, Takeomi?" Hitomiko asks as she stood up, already grabbing her purse on the vanity table. She sees herself in the mirror, and even up until now... she could never get used to seeing her reflection.

People always say that fame and status changes people. Hitomiko didn't necessarily believe that. But over time... things changed. And now she believed in that statement more than anything else. She was... happier, back then. Even if she was under pressure back then, she was happy.

'Where did everything go...?' Hitomiko thinks to herself. This wasn't her, she knew that. This wasn't the Kira Hitomiko she knew herself as. This was a completely different version of herself, and she despised it with her entire being.

"Hitomiko?"

"I'm coming." She snaps out of her stupor, giving one last glance at the vanity table before leaving the room.

The wallet-sized picture of her and her boyfriend was there, smiling like they didn't have a care in the world.

"Oh, you kept your promise." Fuyuka says with a soft giggle as Takemitchi was panting heavily, putting his hand against the wall. "I'd be suggesting that you'd stay long, but two other visitors are going to see him." She says, hiding the concern on her face but she was still keeping a soft smile.

Fuyuka remembered when she was promoted to work in Tokyo. She never expected to receive a patient who has been in a vegetative state for fourteen years. While she got some information on how the patient turned out like this... none of the nurses who had him didn't give a clear response. Fuyuka did manage to meet with the patient's younger brother, and while she did information out of him, she never got the patient's name. Only a nickname that he was going to be called by.

Kokuō.

A name that meant "King".

It was saddening that Fuyuka only saw the younger brother once. Instead, the people that would visit would be three of his friends. Well, she made it four since she counted Takemitchi as one of the people who looked at Kokuō with no judgement. She always saw Takemitchi whenever he would pass by, and he would always give a small smile at Kokuō despite looking tired. Fuyuka was always grateful for that, and she was glad that she talked to Takemitchi. If she didn't, then she wouldn't have seen him respond at all. "S-Sorry... for..." Takemitchi catches his breath, looking at her with a smile. "A-Anyway, how long do I have before the other visitors come in...?" He asks her, laughing nervously.

"Will fifteen minutes do?" Fuyuka asks and Takemitchi nods. "Okay, his room is the last one down the hall. It's the only one with a window. You'll be able to see him that way."

"Thank you," Takemitchi says with a smile before heading off in the other direction.

As soon as Takemitchi left, Fuyuka's phone vibrated in her pocket. The caller I.D was always the same; Kira Hitomiko. She always wondered why one of the wealthiest people in Japan would have connections to Kokuō. She didn't question it, considering that the person that Hitomiko was always with was her fiancé... and he looked pretty threatening. Fuyuka picks up the phone, and answers with a, "Hello, this is Fuyuka speaking."

"Fuyuka, we'll be arriving there in fifteen minutes. You're the only one on duty, right?"

"Yes, it's just me as usual." Fuyuka reassures. The night shift was quiet, so it was normal for a few nurses to be on duty at this time.

There was a sigh of relief from the other end. "Sorry. As you know I don't want to be on the headlines... after all, the paparazzi could be anyone..."

"Can I ask? How do you know Kokuō?"

There was slence. Fuyuka realizes that she maybe shouldn't have asked that. "Uh—right, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be prying for anything of the sorts."

"No no, that's fine. Just... just don't ask that." Her voice... it sounded scared.

Well, Fuyuka tried shooting her shot. "Okay. I'll just be waiting for your arrival."

"...how long does he have?"

"...a month or so."

"...okay. Thank you for doing what you can, Fuyuka."

She hung up, and Fuyuka stared at her phone. "This was the first time she ever thanked me..."

Kokuō was sitting on the wheelchair, eyes open.

Takemitchi could feel his heart breaking at the sight of this. Just how long was he even in this state? Days? Months? Years? He didn't know. What he did know, was that Kokuō was close to dying next month if he didn't respond to any of the medication. But there was a glimmer of hope; He responded to him, and even gave him a dog tag.

"Kokuō-san..." Takemitchi places his hand on the glass of the window. "I'm sure you'll be able to live."

While he knows that Kokuō couldn't hear him, Takemitchi could at least give him some reassurance. He didn't know if he was giving false hope. But maybe it wasn't.

'Maybe I can manage to save him when I time travel.' Takemitchi thinks to himself.

"Hey, are you even allowed here?" Takemitchi puts his hand away from the glass and turns around, and his eyes widen: Akashi Takeomi and Kira Hitomiko were standing in front of him. Wait, were they the other two visitors that Fuyuka mentioned? If they were, then Takemitchi was going to be screwed over a second time! 'This is bad, really bad!' Takemitchi panics in his head. Takeomi's arms were crossed and Hitomiko looked indifferent, then lets out a sigh. "Omi, he's the guy from that DVD rental. The one that Fuyuka told us about." She says to him.

The articles that Takemitchi read before coming here were starting to come back to him. His eyes were wide with shock as Takeomi was looking down at him with a raised brow. "Oh. You're... Hanataro? Or was it Hanamichi?"

"H-Hanagaki," Takemitchi corrected, clearing his throat. "I-I should go, sorry." He bows down and hurriedly passes them, but Hitomiko had grabbed his wrist in a fury. "Give it back," her voice was seething, like everything was going to pour out all at once. "Give the dog tag back."

"R-Right!" Takemitchi fumbles for his pockets before handing Hitomiko the dog tag. "S-Sorry! K-Kokuō-san gave it to me and I-I didn't know what to—!"

"Just go," Hitomiko takes a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. "If I ever catch you here again, I won't hesitate."

'Now's the time to leave and come back another time!' Takemitchi just nodded before heading off. Takeomi looked at Hitomiko, and places a hand on her shoulder. "Calm down, you already look tired enough." His gaze shows worry, but Hitomiko doesn't return the gesture. "I know, I know." She closes her eyes, rubbing her temple as she looks at the dog tag in her other hand.

"I'm giving this back then," Hitomiko takes off the dog tag around her neck and gives it back to Shinichiro. "I won't be needing it anymore anyway."

Shinichiro looks at her with the usual smile he has, but Hitomiko could see that the smile was forced. She had to give it to him though, he was handling it better than she did. "Thanks for the visit though. You can always come back any time."

Hitomiko didn't say anything to that. "...you're welcome. Just... don't sleep in the dumpster. Or get thrown into one."

"Miko-chan?"

"I said don't call me that—"

"I love you. Always."

"Shinichiro..." Hitomiko couldn't hold it in anymore and she just clutched onto the dog tag tightly as she falls to her knees. Takeomi didn't do much, trying to comfort her by rubbing her shoulders. But he knew it to himself. He always heard her crying every night whenever he stayed up too late. And he wouldn't know how to.

It was sad that their last memory of Sano Shinichiro was being brought to an ambulance and not being able to move.