A truck's horn blows. Cashier lady goes along with them to this Kato man's house. Just by looking at it, Dazai knows he can create a four-room apartment out of it. Kato unlocks the door, yelling that he's home while letting them in.
Porcelain wood tiles, a comfy living room, a smart TV, and the cool air of an air conditioner. Dazai smirks. Anyone would die to live in a house like this. It's only the entrance... What more of the bedroom and kitchen.
"Welcome-" A voice halts itself in horror. "What is he doing here?!" The woman points her wooden spoon at Yamaguchi. She has been using it to mix the cookie dough in a bowl and now seems close to hyperventilating.
Kato blocks Yamaguchi out of her sight, trying to calm her. "Hanae, take deep breaths. Everything's going to be alright." He approaches her and takes her arms in his.
Hm. Her reaction is guileless. Dazai glances at Yamaguchi, but he's sincere as well. How will Hiyori solve this? Nevertheless, he can already see the problem.
Hiyori has her nail between her teeth as she stares at the couple. She removes it, "Hanae-san," then catches her attention. "Why are you baking cookies?"
Hanae recomposes herself. "I just wanted to eat some. Why?"
"Last time I checked, you're allergic to chocolate." Hiyori points out, making her eyes dilate. She laughs awkwardly.
"Right! Silly me. I forgot about it." She disappears then comes back without the bowl. "Thank you for reminding me. Would you like to drink something?"
"Earl Grey seems appetizing." Hiyori beams.
She dips her head in acknowledgment. "How about... The rest?"
Yamaguchi and him both decline while cashier lady asks for some water. She moves to prepare the ladies' order while Kato guides them to the couch. Minutes later, she serves the ice-cold water and the smoking, hot tea.
Hiyori places two fingers through the cup's handle — placing her thumb on top — then lifts it to her lips. She blows on it before taking a sip. An unreadable expression shows up on her face.
"Is there something wrong?"
"Who are you?" was Hiyori's only reply as she set the cup down. There's no hint of friendliness in her tone.
The woman becomes shocked. "Excuse me?"
Hiyori eyes her vacantly. "This isn't how Hanae-san prepares the tea she makes."
"I guess I'm becoming forgetful these days." Her pitch rises. "Don't mind it." She waves it off, but Hiyori perseveres.
"It's unlike Hanae-san to become forgetful as well. She's always the type to remind Kato-san if he forgot something."
Kato stands from his seat beside the woman, catching on to what Hiyori's implying.
"Where's Hanae-san?"
"Darling?"
Kato glares at her, making her flinch. Her eyes dilate as she lets her hair cover her eyes; tears stream down her face. It's over... Her playhouse is over.
"Alright, fine, you caught me." She curls her lips. "I'm her twin sister... The real Hanae's trapped in the basement." Kato immediately runs to their basement. "But," She glowers at Yamaguchi. "I wasn't lying when I said that man raped me. He really did!"
"Can you stop blaming him?!" The cashier lady defends.
"Believe me! I'm not." She asserts. "I'm telling the truth."
Hiyori seems conflicted this time. Dazai gets it... She's the type to be observant but not exactly intuitive. She flicks her eyes back and forth between the woman and Yamaguchi. She knows both are telling the truth... Fine, he'll interfere this time. It's getting tiresome on the sidelines.
"Now, now, ladies, can we get a moment of silence?" Dazai smiles when they turn to look at him. "I'll solve that mystery for you."
"Really?!" Yamaguchi blurts out.
Dazai hums. "However," it hangs heavily in the air as he points at the woman. "I need bitter lady to cooperate with me."
"Tch. What do you want?" She sounds defeated.
"Nothing difficult..." His tone lowers an octave. "Call that man you collaborated with."
"How–? Are you serious?!"
"It'll be a win-win situation." He forms a checkmark with his fingers. "You'll find out what really happened, and Yamaguchi-san over here can be proven innocent."
She bites her bottom lip then glares at him. He gives her a smirk. Cornered.
***
Cashier lady, Hiyori, Yamaguchi, and Dazai all stay behind a tree while the woman waits by the house's entrance. The cashier lady probably's not noticing, but she has her arms clinging around Yamaguchi's. Kato has left to bring the unconscious Hanae to the hospital. She'll be alright, but she suffered from hunger and thirst for two days. With the cashier lady having called them earlier, the police are on their way.
Hiyori tugs on Dazai's sleeve. "Ne, Osa-kun."
"Hm?" He turns to her, only to recoil when her face is too close to his. Personal space! Give it back.
She smiles, "Thank you," then moves away.
Dazai blinks. He was expecting her to ask him about his plan. A thank you? What a weird girl.
"So, how's it going?" A voice asks, bringing him back to his duty. "Why did you call me?" A guy with blinding bangs traps the woman against the wall. They look like they're flirting, but their tone and topic say otherwise.
Yamaguchi inhales a quick breath of air.
"I just wanted to confirm something." That's his cue to sneak behind the man. "Why did you offer to help me in the first place?"
He becomes shocked both by the woman's question and when Dazai moves to touch him on his shoulder. He swats his arm away, but he is too late. Blue light escapes from his hand; the guy stumbles backward.
"What did you do?" He growls.
Dazai chuckles. "Bitter lady here can tell you."
The woman's covering her mouth as her whole body is shaking. She takes deep breaths, attempting to regain her composure. "How dare you!" She screams the second she finds her voice. "It was you!"
"Huh?!"
"You're the one who raped me!" Her eyes speak of betrayal. "No wonder you were so willing. I should have known better!"
The man opens and closes his mouth like a fish, clearly not knowing what to do. "Woman, there's a bit of a misunderstanding here."
"Yare, yare, there's no point in reasoning, mister. You have nothing left to hide." Dazai interposes; the man gives him a dirty glare.
"You... What have you done?!"
Dazai beams. "Your ability allows you to mess with people's memories, no?" He begins to emit an intimidating aura. "Take a guess."
"Tch." The man clicks his tongue then returns his attention to the woman. "Woman, I remember telling you it comes with a price."
His nonchalant behavior enrages the woman further. "If I knew the price was my body, I never would have agreed!"
Dazai flinches upon the volume, immediately tending to his dearest ears.
"Like I said, there's a bit of a misunderstanding here." The man grits his teeth. "My intent lies somewhere else."
Dazai slaps an ear with his hand. The apex of this mystery should start right about...
"Have you not learned your lesson, Ringo?"
Now.
Yamaguchi appears with disappointment plastered onto his expression. "I thought you might have reflected upon your actions all these years. Why do something worse?"
"Yamaguchi." The man, now known as Ringo, seethes as his eyes go rogue. He stays quiet for thirty seconds before laughing madly. "Reflected? Hahahaha! What reflected?" He stops. "You're the reason why I had to pick up trash along the streets!"
Yamaguchi stands his ground. "Stealing and scheming? Is that what you call a life?" Cashier lady and Hiyori also come closer to the scene. "I warned you beforehand, but you didn't listen. The bank had lost a considerable amount of money."
"You righteous wimp... I offered you a share to keep quiet... What good did it bring you to report me to our boss?! A pay that's barely enough for a living?"
"Integrity is better than any amount of money." Cashier lady turns away, fanning herself with a hand. Someone's swooning...
"Hah. This is going nowhere..." Sirens echo from the distance, inciting panic in Ringo. "If I'm going down again, I'm bringing you with me!" Time slows down when he pulls something out of his pocket. A shiny metal glints under the sun, gradually approaching Yamaguchi's neck. Someone pushes Yamaguchi out of the way, two thuds, then another metal clashing with metal. Time goes back to normal as a knife flies, landing on the ground far from them. Hiyori has her katana pointed at Ringo's Adam's apple. Dazai blinks and has his eyes wide upon the escalation of it all.
"Enough." She utters coldly, with her orbs matching her tone. Ringo raises his arms and shivers in fear, gulping as a bit of blood oozes from where the katana is pointed at his neck. On the ground are cashier lady and Yamaguchi, for she was the one who pushed him out of the way. Her body is angled in a position that shields him from the knife that almost got him, but, in this case, also her. She has her face buried on Yamaguchi's neck while Yamaguchi seems like he's still processing what nearly happened. Dazai glances at the police car that just arrived.
***
The police arrest both the woman and Ringo. The woman puts up a struggle at first, arguing that she was also a victim in the case. Dazai shuts her up by reminding her of the attempted murder involved. She bitterly cooperates, then.
When the police leave, the group stands in repose. Dazai flips his phone open — it's 3 p.m. — then flips it close again, inserting it in his pocket. The whole ordeal surely ate a lot of their time.
"Umm... Thank you, everyone..." Dazai turns when Yamaguchi breaks the silence. "For having faith in me and clearing my name." He bows down. "Truly, thank you so much!"
"It was unusual to learn Kato-san's angry at you all of a sudden." Hiyori smiles at him softly. "Don't mention it."
His face glows pink; Dazai internally grimaces. What's this? Another infatuation? Does he need a notebook to keep track of them all?
"Hiyori-chan... Actually, Hiyori-chan, I—" Yamaguchi clenches his fists on his sides, refusing to look anyone in the eye.
Hiyori's smile drops the longer he couldn't continue his line. She stares at him momentarily, observing the rest of his body language. She closes her eyes when the wind rustles a tree's leaves. With an unreadable expression, she opens them again as soon as the wind disappears. "Yamaguchi-san..." She waits for him to look up; he does so hesitantly. "I'm sorry." She says next, causing his orbs to dilate.
Dazai slides his hands inside his pockets, closing and opening his eyes himself. Poor guy... He shouldn't have confessed.
Yamaguchi stays frozen as he seems like he's trying to recollect himself. Afterward, his hair covers the upper half of his face. "I see..." He turns around, taking a step to leave. "I'll be on my way then."
Hiyori presses her lips together upon his lowered head. "Yamaguchi-san." She calls out to him again, stopping him in his tracks. "There's a right woman for you..." She pauses then glances at cashier lady, who has kept quiet this whole time. "There's a lady behind a counter you might not have noticed until now."
Yamaguchi stiffens, and a loud cough resounds. It didn't come from him, though.
"Ah! Look at that... I think it's time for me to resign after all." Cashier lady points at something far away.
Silence. Dazai doesn't see a thing...
"Goodbye!" She scurries away while Yamaguchi gazes upon her retreating figure.
"She is..." After a few seconds, his expression shifts into a determined one. "No, thank you once more..." He moves to chase after her before yelling, "Hiyori-chan, I hope you find the right person for you as well!" He disappears in the distance.
Hiyori retains her unreadable features as she remains rooted in her spot.
Dazai sighs, snapping his fingers in front of her. "Earth to Hiyori-chan, it's time to go back. The others might be looking for us already."
She doesn't budge.
Tch. "Earth to—"
"Osa-kun, do you happen to know what love feels like?"
He halts. Hm? His hand stays hovering in midair as he processes her question. Love? She doesn't know what it is? He lowers his hand, staring at her to see if she's bluffing. She remains silent for a few more seconds before shaking her head and reverting to her usual smiling self.
"It's nothing... You're right..." She fixes the bag on her shoulder. "We should head back... I'm sorry you had to endure a long day."
Dazai's the one who becomes rooted this time. Nothing makes sense... Bright, yet hollow? Fake, yet genuine? No records, yet popular? She's a living contradiction. An enigma akin to the galaxy.
She playfully takes the first step, bending down to peek at his face. "By the way, Osa-kun, what time is it?"
Just what is she hiding?
TO BE CONTINUED~
(a/n: there won't be any new chapters for two to four weeks after this, mun is taking a break + she's going to be busy with finals. till next time~)