CHAPTER EIGHT
Around the same time Nozaki confessed, in the next interrogation room, Masaya Nakamura looked down expressionlessly when Tachikawa threw a bundle of paper on the table before him. "Why am I here?" he demanded.
"It turns out you're quite famous with teenagers, right? Especially high school kids who wanted fast money for themselves. Open it." Tachikawa gestured at the papers. When Masaya did nothing, the detective contemplated whether he needed to do something drastic. "Open it," he repeated, gritting his teeth.
Masaya obliged, and his eyes widened when he saw reports and the boys' photos printed on every pages. He knew all of them. They were the teenagers to whom he'd sold drugs. "They know what they'll be doing when they asked me for a favor."
"And you used them. All of them," Tachikawa declared. He threw himself onto the chair and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Pushed them to their edge with your so-called helpful offer. And when they can't pay you back, you forced them to rob a place, and then left them alone."
"They're all desperate. In need for money," Masaya defended himself. "They're all grateful towards me, saying that I was their savior."
Tachikawa picked the papers and opened a page. "And what about him?" he asked, shoving Yoshizawa's report to Masaya's vision. "He couldn't pay you back, could he?"
Masaya's expression changed and he spoke without thinking. "What are you talking about? That I killed him because he couldn't?"
A triumphant smirk crossed Tachikawa's lips. "Who said he was killed?"
Masaya paled.
"A witness saw you talking to Yoshizawa on the day he disappeared. And it wasn't in a pub, like you said it was."
"He was there! He went drinking and then left! That's the last time I saw him."
"No. You followed him, into that alley. You were also desperate, right? You needed money, but he didn't have it. You took advantage of a poor kid. Are you gonna talk? We can call the other boys to testify, you know."
Masaya was stubbornly silent. Tachikawa banged the table for real this time.
"Don't you know that he was robbed a few days before? He couldn't even buy something for his brother's birthday, and yet you still—"
"A flashy red plane," Masaya muttered, interrupting Tachikawa's rant.
Tachikawa leaned back. "So, you do know about that."
Masaya gazed at the detective with something between pity and regret. He then looked back down, at Yoshizawa's picture. Much to his dismay, Tachikawa had put the photo of Yoshizawa and his two little siblings next to the report. The happy smiles on their faces saddened Masaya even more. "Who doesn't? He talked about it nonstop. Said he finally got to fulfill his promise at last."
"And you took it away from him."
"I didn't." Masaya's voice had dropped into a hoarse whisper. "He shouldn't have backed off…"
"Nakamura-san, are you sure about this?"
"Of course I am. Don't worry, I've done this before."
Yoshizawa-kun hugged himself. Their surroundings were so dark it was hard to recognize where they were. But Masaya knew where they were heading, because he'd stalked a certain place as his next target. He liked to do this, after all, with all those stupid teenage boys he'd been with before this one. He'd take them together to rob the houses and stores and just left them there.
The scheme always worked perfectly. None of them would even think of reporting him; they were just as culpable as he was. Some of them even returned to him, grateful for such experience and thrill.
"We're gonna rob the place?" Yoshizawa-kun asked worriedly.
"Yes, silly boy. Don't you want some money?"
"But—"
"Just think of your brother's present. A big, nice present from his beloved nii-san."
It was enough to shut Yoshizawa-kun's insecurities. "Tomorrow is his birthday. He'll be ten this year. He's growing up." Yoshizawa-kun sighed. "I don't think he loves me anymore, especially after what I did earlier."
Masaya shrugged; he didn't know how to answer that. Instead, he looked around and spotted a familiar door. The reason Masaya chose this restaurant was the rumor he'd heard that the owner was some stupid guy who left his money unattended inside the cashier machine even long after closing hours.
"We're here," he whispered. I know how to get to the back door. C'mon, Yoshizawa-kun."
A while after, they found themselves standing before the back door. Masaya broke the key with the trick he'd mastered for years, and they walked quietly into the restaurant. The place was dark, but Yoshizawa-kun was able to spot the cashier machine quickly. He nudged Masaya, and soon after they made their way there…
…and the boy stopped.
"What is it?" Masaya urged in a hushed voice. "Why d'you stop?"
Under the minimal light of the dim lamps nearby, Masaya could see Yoshizawa-kun's eyes widening. He followed the teenager's line of vision, and saw something sitting next the cashier machine.
It was a flashy red plane toy.
"C'mon, Yoshizawa-kun," Masaya demanded, trying to snap Yoshizawa-kun out of it. "We need to hurry."
"No…"
Masaya stopped. "What?"
"I-I can't do this," Yoshizawa-kun stammered. "I'm sorry… but I can't."
"Hey, c'mon, silly boy. You can't just walk away like that." Masaya reached out to grab Yoshizawa-kun, but the boy stepped back.
"No. No. Izumi's right, I've gone too far."
"This is stupid!" Masaya half-shouted. In his anger, he almost forgot where he was. Yoshizawa-kun didn't seem to hear him, as he continued to walk backwards, muttering the same sentence.
"I've gone too far. I've gone too far. I've gone too far."
"Shut up!" Masaya turned to the cashier machine. "Shut up and help me!"
It seemed to snap the boy out his stupor. His expression hardened, and it was the first time Masaya saw that naïve boy looked so determined. "No, Nakamura-san. I'm outta here. I won't sell anything or get myself into your schemes anymore. I'll get myself away from you as far as I can. This is the last time we see each other."
With that, he turned and was going to walk away. Masaya acted fast, driven by his anger and fear that he would be reported. He pulled out his knife and stabbed Yoshizawa-kun's back, making the boy almost scream.
"Yes, this is the last time we see each other," Masaya hissed. He stabbed the poor boy once again and ran out the restaurant. He could hear Yoshizawa-kun's quiet groan as he slammed the door close. But the last thing he heard was a muffled voice that he couldn't recognize.
"Who's there?"
"Are you sure you saw that toy plane?"
A nod. "That's why he backed off in the first place. And, by the way, what I know is that he was still alive when I left him."
"You left him to die. That doesn't make any difference."
"Listen," Masaya hissed. "We weren't alone. I heard someone inside that place, and Yoshizawa was still alive when I left him. What do you think happened?"
"What I think happened is that he died from the stab wounds you inflicted," Tachikawa retorted dryly. "You're still going down, Nakamura."
Masaya glared at him. He was going to say something when the door was opened. Tachikawa turned to see a pale-faced Motoki, and knew there was something wrong. "What is it?" he asked in alarm.
"It's Mio Yoshizawa."
A/N: Still, still a long way to go. What's going on with little Mio? Find out in the next chapter!
For sd4ianto, do you know that the guy who threw curry in the 1st movie played Toshihisa in the 3rd one? It's interesting that they keep using the old actors, isn't it? :D
About Yoshizawa, yeah. He's such a nice guy, sometimes Takabayashi doesn't even deserve him.
Oh, and you can find the novels translated in mimiwosumaseba's LiveJournal. I'm sorry but I dunno about the manga. I read it in a random manga reading page so I can't remember.
Reviews are much appreciated! ^^
