TW: Referenced Suicide

Saihara's POV:

I left the house in the early afternoon, sleep still calling me and the warm humid air didn't help in that regard. Tucked into my bag was a folder with photocopies of the letter, the original was being fingerprinted by one of my new assistants at the station and I had set another one to begin looking into the claims made by Otome the day before. Usually, I preferred doing it myself, the busy work but eventually I realized that the department for how well we might have been trained on talking with the family of either suspects or murder victims that there was always a disconnect.

So for when I do know the people involved, I'd rather do it myself. Because that would be the only reason at times I could sleep at night. Sometimes it set them at ease, and sometimes eyes full of daggers and venom stared back at me. They would curse me and wish me a life full of suffering and...I still heard their voices. If I ever allowed myself a minute to relax, I hear the voices that want nothing more than my end. The victims who survived cursing me every time I didn't do enough in a short enough time. The family members of the unsolvable cases wishing me well, all the while eyes filled with resentment.

It made me want to run, run away from everything and everywhere to get the sight of my head. To forget the words they said and how clear they rang to my soul, but...I need to be brave. For their sake. Though I hope no one would be upset if I chose to retire, even if I was not even in my thirties, from the life of a detective once everything was over. It'd be nice to go to college with other people, even if my experience with public school...

...

Maybe I'll get some hobbies instead. 

I approached the cafe, it gave off a pleasant aroma of cocoa the second I entered which was countered with the bitter yet refreshing scent of coffee as I drank it in allowing it to relax me. From the corner of the room, I saw a group of three people waiting for me, as the blonde-haired woman quickly noticed my arrival and with a wide smile gave me a tiny wave to come over. "Am I late?" I asked worried as I approached the trio, "no you're right on time, we just decided to come early. We actually haven't gotten together since graduation" Akamatsu assured me, she was wearing a white shirt with a woolen light purple jacket on top, with a bottom pink skirt with music notes, her hair had been slightly curled at the ends. "You've been busy" Amami commented with an amused tone as he moved aside allowing me to sit next to him in the booth seats.

"I'm sorry, it's just with the casework...well I can't actually say much, but it's just a lot of work to do" I apologized, "no it's no problem, we're glad to help you and it's nice for you to go gather us all here...but it wasn't just a meetup, was it?" Akamatsu asked, a knowing look in her eyes as she looked at me with a concerned smile. Guilt filled me slightly but I regretfully nodded as I hesitantly reached into my bag and took out the photocopies. "It's about Kiibo," I told them, deciding to break the ice. Like a spell had been washed over, the previously calm group froze in place, Akamatsu glancing down at her hands a thing I never saw her do as she closed her eyes tightly taking a few deep breaths. Iruma on the other hand looked frightened and then angry, gritting her teeth and muttering things I tried to block out, Amami just nodded in silent affirmation as if he suspected this all along. That might have been what stung the most.

"What the fuck does Kiibo have to do with the god damn serial killers?" Iruma asked clearly agitated, this let me get a better look at her. Over the years she had clearly been disheveled, her hair was messier and not well taken care of and she had deep eye bags underneath her eyes and a large oversized sweater something that was the complete antithesis of the Iruma I knew. "That's what I'm trying to figure out, I just...I know it's not going to be a comfortable conversation, but could you tell me how Kiibo acted before his..." I stopped there, a dark thought crept in the corners of my mind.

What if...what it's a repeat of what happened to Ouma?

"He was quieter, he had been quiet for a while before you left. He seemed upset about something, I tried asking him what was wrong but he kept changing the subject, when you left he didn't spend a lot of time around us anymore...he said he finally realized what he might've been doing wrong when it came to Ouma. I stepped back, he seemed happy for a while, or maybe not happy just content. He began telling me he had ideas for things he wanted to do later..." Amami started before covering his mouth and seemed to be trying to compose himself. "I can't understand it I'm going to best, why he did what he did. He didn't have any of the signs, I didn't think he had any of the signs" Amami kept insisting to me, or maybe it was to himself as he continued to keep mouthing out the words to himself.

"He was going to fucking come over to my house..." Iruma mentioned, I looked up towards her a bit shocked as Iruma shrugged and took a drink from a silver flask. "Well, I don't know what to tell you. Cops came about this too, and I gave them the same story, Kiibo texted me asking if he could come over...he said he wanted to ask me something? Fuck if I know, but he said...he said he had to stop by somewhere first...I don't even know what was going through my mind when I got the call from Kaede here. It was just, well it was a lot..." Iruma elaborated as she wiped her now tinted red eyes, "damn it...I knew I shouldn't have come..." she cursed as she got up from the table and quickly turned to Akamatsu.

"Wait! He texted you?" I asked shocked, "Uhm...yeah. I think the police got like pictures and shit for the records or whatever" Iruma told me with slight annoyance in her eyes. I sighed in relief yet pangs of disappointment also remained in my mind. Another thing my Uncle hadn't told me in the years-long growing list. "I called you here because...you can't tell a soul, because it might affect what happens. But there might be more to what happened to Kiibo, I still don't know what happened so please don't get your hopes up. But Iruma that message alone might help give the push to reopen the case" I told her as she paused surprised.

"He...he didn't...?" Iruma asked as she began laughing, "god damn it...did I really fall for the same fucking trick twice?" she asked in dry hysterics. "Miu..." Akamatsu mumbled as she helped Iruma sit down as she looked down to the table clearly tired. Akamatsu glanced back to me, "sorry...but Miu was right. We all got interrogated about what happened by the police, so you should probably ask them...if it turns out you're right though..." Akamatsu started before a look of conflict came on her face as if considering which would be the worse pill to swallow. That Kiibo had in fact tragically ended his own life, or if he had been murdered and just like DICE before him, having his death covered up.

"They convinced Ouma too..." Akamatsu whispered, "he lost the rest of his family that day..." Amami added. 

...

Twin cases...Ouma's family...the sub...THE SUB

My eyes widened in surprise as I quickly got up from the table, the breakthrough finally reaching. It was the same trick, the same trick and at that the same fake cause of death. It was right in front of me the entire time! Not only did it connect to a suspect but it could even connect to Ouma's disappearance-maybe they were trying to get Ouma alone? If Kiibo had been hanging around Ouma, then that meant the substitute could have seen Kiibo as a threat to their plans and eliminated Ouma's family to get rid of any complications, unlike last time...

Ouma hadn't just been kidnapped by a random Themis member then.

Ouma might have been kidnapped by his own attempted murderer.

"Saihara...?" Amami called as I stood up and before I could make some sort of excuse I heard a buzzing from my phone. Quickly I got it out and checked the caller ID, it was my father as I quickly raised a hand as I took the call. "Hello?" I greeted, kind of hoping it would be short considering everything that I had just discovered. "Shuichi I need you to get to the station as soon as you can, or just tell me where you are so I can pick you up. The mayor must've gotten word, our stationed agent has been reporting him making odd movements throughout the day. Likely, he's about to flee and this might be our only chance to get a confession from him before he leaves the district and possibly the entire country" my father quickly brief. "Wait-what? But I have just figured out the case with Kiibo-" I argued.

"Kiibo's case can wait. This can't, now where are you?" my father repeated his desperation more evident than usual and he seemed to be ready to plead if it meant I would forget this...I glanced back at the trio. They must've caught a few words, Iruma looked pissed at the very least.  

I'm so close..."I'm ten minutes away, at Cafe Neko" I told him, "make it three, stay there I'm coming over" my father told me, and before I could argue further he hung up on me as I turned back around towards the group. "I'm going to finish this" I promised again, my words seemed to ring empty however to the three. At least Akamatsu and Amami gave me looks of encouragement, but Iruma...

"Good luck" Akamatsu wished as I left the room hanging on that hopeful look in her eyes.

(However in a scene with just Shoto and Meiji, they discuss the work being done, and Shoto in a scene by himself glances at the picture of Chiasa on his desk. However, when he opens the frame and unfolds it, revealed is also Saihara at the same age. This showing his true shift.

~-~-~-~

Shoto's POV:

Meiji was louder than usual. He whistled an old tune under his breath as he kept going through the files in my small office, or I guess I should say my wife's office now. "You know, workspace organization isn't the hardest thing to do. It completes half the job...though I suppose you never did your job" Meiji insulted as I looked down to the floor. "I did my job, I always did my job. Maybe I didn't do the best job...but I kept the town safe" I argued. 

"Oh yes, a very safe place. Did you ever fix your window by the way?" Meiji taunted further, I bit my lip trying to take a deep breath and calm myself down. "You have no right to treat me like this, I'm sure if the tables were turned and you were the one with a dead child then you would've-" I tried to argue but Meiji shot me a furious glare.

"If Shuichi had been dead, then I would've had nothing left to lose" he stated, it was clear the amount of momentum from those words and his unmoveable stance. "If Hanako was still alive, I doubt she would've wanted me to allow dead children to suffer from further standardization if it meant protecting my own life." he told me, I glared back, "I think my sister wouldn't want to have her husband die for something easily preventable" I fired back.

"If she wanted something like that, she wouldn't have ever married a detective" Meiji finished off, as he glanced at his phone his eyes widening. "Case..." he mumbled to himself as he quickly seemed to begin dialing on the phone, "where are you going?" I asked concerned as he quickly turned away from the argument. Something he sometimes seemed he would rather die than do. "To do my job, Shuichi's still investigating what happened to Kiibo, we'll be at the town hall if you decide you want to join us" he invited, though his sarcastic and deadpanned tone made it clear how open that invitation was.

"Wait Meiji-" I started trying to reason with him but without another word, he shut the door behind him. 

I paused as I stared forward at the closed door, leaning my body weight against the mahogany desk. Glancing down I looked at the small picture frames I had scattered around the desk, from the wide family photo to finally...

I picked up her photo, her smiling eyes stared back at me with the youthful glow they always had.

"Dad, make me heir," she told me with the most demanding look a seven-year-old could muster. "What? Where did that come from? You know that being a detective is very boring don't you?" I teased. "But Shuichi doesn't wanna be heir anymore, so I'll do it instead" she insisted with her clear and perfect logic. Still it disturbed me slightly, "Shuichi looks he's really sad, and how Uncle Meiji is a jerk! So I wanna trade places? Can I? Please?" she begged to pull out her greatest weapon-the puppy dog eyes.

I paused shifting my weight unsure of what to say to her...an oxygen mask was wrapped around her face as she leaned back in her hospital bed. "Sweetie...you have a good heart, and while I think you would've been a great heir..." I started but stumbled over my words as her expression slowly dropped as she fisted the blankets in her hands. "Is it cause Mom says I'm sick? What if I get better? I can get better! I'll sleep and do all the boring exercises, and get all that stupid medicine, so when I get better I can be heir instead right?" she quickly bargained her enthusiasm growing with every bargain as she smiled brightly at me.

I can't deny her. "Sure...sure Asa, if you get better then you can be heir, or maybe both of you can be the heirs to the company alright? But don't worry about that right now. Just please focus on getting enough rest? If you don't get enough rest you'll be short forever" I threatened as her eyes widened in fear. "I don't wanna be short!" she screamed, "should've thought about that before I caught you watching Disney movies" I teased her.

"DAD!" she protested as I continued to laugh.

....

I grabbed the photo and flipped over the case, undoing the claps I took the photo out of its case...and unfolded the photo. Standing next to her was a young Shuichi, as I glanced between the two...

Kiibo Idabashi? That's what they were looking into...right? I sighed looking over the workspace. Meiji was right, organizing would make this easier.