Chapter 5

If you spend your time hoping someone will suffer the consequences for what they did to your heart, then you're allowing them to hurt you a second time in your mind. - Shannon L. Alder

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Lightning flashed across the dark skies, and not a moment later, thunder rumbled threateningly in the distance.

It sure fits the mood. Miki thought sourly to herself as she closed the windows of her bedroom, before turning towards her best friend who was leaning with her back against the headrest of the spare bed in her room which Yuri had used during the few occasions when she had stayed over.

Yuri’s mother, Hitomi Kirisawa was the closest thing to a mother that Miki had ever known, not having known her mother, and she had practically grown up together with Yuri. Thus, Miki knew for sure that Yuri killed no one, least of all her own mother!

But Miki also knew that not everyone would feel the same.

She knew for sure that Michio would also feel the same that she does, but she’s not so sure about Michiru. Lately, it feels like she had been drifting away from her eldest brother, and her two brothers have been arguing on a daily basis. Furthermore, Yuri never did like Michiru much for some reason. When asked, all Yuri would say is that she feels that he’s too ‘pompous’, whatever that meant.

It had been hours since they left the police headquarters, and Michiru had driven the lot of them home in his car. The ride back home had been eerily silent. Michio who was in the front passenger seat had glared at his brother who was driving, before casting worried and concerned looks at Yuri and Miki.

It was now nightfall. Yet none of them could find it in themselves to have dinner, as they had no appetite for it, given what had just happened.

Miki looked at Yuri and sighed.

The woman lawyer had told her and her two brothers everything about what they were supposed to do for this particular case regarding Yuri. One of them must be with Yuri at all times, and Miki was actually half-inclined to take off from school for a week or something, had Michio not stopped her, stating that he had just graduated from the Polytechnic, and he can hold off looking for a job for the time being and stay with Yuri.

“Yuri, are you alright?” asked Miki softly so as to not startle Yuri as the girl literally jumped at every sound and every little thing, that it pained Miki to see her once cheerful and vibrant friend reduced to a scared little mouse.

Yuri flinched slightly away from Miki as the latter sat on the bed that Yuri was on, her knees drawn up to her chest, her hair ruffled and untidy, a far cry from the usually neat and tidy look that Yuri always kept.

“I didn’t do anything…” Yuri muttered like a mantra from the time when Yuri was finally released into the Ishigawa family’s care until now. “I didn’t do anything… I didn’t kill my mother… Why didn’t they believe me?”

Miki didn’t say anything, but her eyes were downcast as she took one of Yuri’s hands into her own, ignoring the slight flinch from her best friend who acted like Miki is about to hit her, finding it awfully cold.

Whether it is from fear or from the shock of finding her mother’s body, Miki had no idea. It had taken every ounce of her persuasive skills to get Yuri to enter the bathroom, and for Miki to clean her up, as Yuri was still in a severe state of shock.

“Don’t worry,” said Miki softly. “They’ll find the real culprit. Your name will be cleared in no time.”

Yuri shook her head, slowly regaining her senses as Miki managed to get through to her.

“They won’t,” said Yuri in a voice that sounded like she was about to cry, pulling her hand out of Miki’s grasp. “I know who killed my mother. I told the police officers who were interrogating me earlier at the station. But they refused to believe me.”

Miki didn’t say anything.

The lawyer had told Miki and her brothers that Yuri had claimed that a woman by the name of Alice Kwok, the owner of a rather famous boutique had murdered her mother. Thus, the police had taken the woman in for questioning, only to have her claim that she was shopping with her daughter during the time of the murder. Jessica Kwok, Alice’s daughter, had confirmed the claim, and thus, Alice was released.

And because the claim of one Alice Kwok being the murderer of Hitomi Kirisawa came from the main suspect in this case, the higher ups had refuted Yuri’s claim, causing the girl to nearly snap earlier in the station.

Miki believed Yuri.

She knew all about Yuri’s problems with Alice Kwok and her daughter Jessica. The latter had been a senior in their school who took delight in making Yuri’s days in school a living nightmare, until Jessica had graduated about a year ago, and was currently in her first year in some unknown secondary school.

But is the problem between Jessica and her mother with Hitomi Kirisawa that serious that Alice Kwok will actually resort to murder?

A pair of muffled arguing voices reached Miki’s ears just then, and she turned towards her closed bedroom door, sighing, as she recognised the voices as both her elder brothers’, and had a faint guess as to what the two were arguing about.

“Get some rest, Yuri,” said Miki reassuringly, patting Yuri’s hand before getting up from the bed and walking towards the door, slipping out of her room quietly and closing the door behind her.

And almost immediately, the silence that had surrounded her ever since taking Yuri back to her home was immediately destroyed.

Both her brothers – Michio and Michiru were standing in the middle of the sitting room, barely inches away from each other, and snarling at each other. Miki was afraid of the look on Michio’s face for a second, as her brother looked like he would like nothing better than to tear his older brother to pieces.

“Why wouldn’t you help Yuri-chan[1]?!” Michio yelled at his brother in Japanese for what seemed to be the umpteenth time, and he had such an expression of fury on his face that Miki was strongly reminded of a dragon breathing fire at everything that dared come near him.

“It’s like what I’ve been telling you, Michio-baka[2], it’s not that I won’t, it’s that I can’t!” Michiru snarled back at his brother, both hands curling into fists, trying to prevent himself from attacking his brother right then and there.

“Can’t or won’t?” Michio snapped back. He glared defiantly at his brother, his breaths coming in heavy pants because of all the shouting that he’s been doing for the past half hour. “…you seriously think that Yuri-chan killed Hitomi-obaa-san[3], don’t you?” He said dangerously.

Michiru didn’t say anything, and Michio’s famous temper came to the surface just then. “How could you?! Don’t you know Yuri-chan well enough by now?! We fucking grew up with her! Are you so blind that you couldn’t see the truth?!”

“When it comes to the law and justice, I’ll give way to nothing,” said Michiru at last. “Not even to my friends or my siblings.”

Michio glared defiantly at his brother, clenching his hands into fists by his sides. “You’re going to make the same mistake that you did when otou-san[4] died, aren’t you?” he hissed, and Michiru jerked back like he’d been slapped, and Miki could only stare.

‘Huh?’

“You’re just running away!” Michio shouted. “You ran from reality! You ran from the truth! You ran from yourself! That’s why you chose to be a police officer, didn’t you?! But look at yourself! You’re making the same mistake again! You’re running away again! You daren’t face up to the truth!” Michio’s nostrils flared in anger. “Can you seriously tell me that you’ll willingly let them punish an innocent girl who didn’t do anything wrong?”

“If she didn’t do it, she has nothing to fear,” said Michiru stubbornly.

“Even the law is not omnipotent.” Michio stated.

Miki finally found her voice. “Niisan!”

Both Michio and Michiru turned at the sound of Miki’s voice, and saw their younger sister standing at the door of her bedroom staring at them. “Why are you both arguing again?”

Michio and Michiru exchanged glances before looking away.

“It’s…nothing,” said Michiru, refusing to look at his younger siblings. “I’ll be going out. Don’t wait up for me.” And without even waiting to hear his younger sister’s reply, he walked towards the front door and opened it before walking out, slamming the door shut behind him.

Miki could only stare.

What was that all about?