On a Knife's Edge

by Nerdlinger1

Ren Amamiya is starting his first year at the Police Academy, and Makoto is ready and waiting to welcome him to campus. With the baggage of his past still dogging him, Ren will have his hands full managing his classes, his new peers, and Makoto's complicated new life. Things get even more difficult for him when a series of suspicious deaths puts him in the crosshairs once again.

14. Chapter 14: Tuesday, May 10th, Morning

—Chapter 14—Tuesday, May 10th, Morning—

Naomi arrived at the house around 9:15am, and the four of them had breakfast together while they talked. Ren had cooked, glad to have something to do to take his mind off things. They finished off the pot of coffee that Makoto had brewed while they ate, talking about what had happened. It wasn't news to Naomi that there had been another stabbing—she had already heard rumors circulating around campus—but she hadn't known the victim was Tetsuo. They hadn't gotten to talking about who else was involved yet.

"Wow… Oh, Mako-chan… How do you feel?" asked Naomi, cradling her coffee mug in her hands.

Makoto cocked her head. "I… sort of think that maybe it hasn't totally hit me yet. There's a crisis happening, so right now I'm… I'm not sure how to put it…"

"You're in your zone," said Ren. "When there's a crisis to be handled, you handle it, and you put all your own shit aside until it's been dealt with."

Makoto looked down at her empty plate. "I think maybe you're right. I feel… sort of bad that I… that I don't feel bad…"

"You feel bad that you don't feel bad?" asked Jiro, looking for clarification. "Well… There are a lot of mitigating factors to consider here, so… don't. Don't feel bad."

"I'm going to start another pot of coffee," said Ren, getting up from the table.

"Sounds good," said Makoto.

"What was Tetsuo doing in the alley next to your dorm, Jiro-kun?" asked Naomi.

"Okay, so…" Jiro started. Ren and Makoto were watching him, curious how he would describe what had happened. "So this is the part of the story where things get pretty fucked up, okay? So just listen, and wait to get to the end before jumping to conclusions. 'Kay?"

"Okay, Ji-Ji," she said, leaning forward. "I'm listening."

"So, Tetsuo was in the alley… to attack Ren. He'd been waiting for Ren to come back from his date with Makoto. Ren and I had actually spotted his car across the street from our dorm before they left, and Tetsuo had followed the two of them to the restaurant. On the way back, he laid in wait behind the dumpster, looking to attack Ren when he came home."

"Oh, jeez… Are you okay, Ren-Ren?"

Ren looked up from the coffee maker and caught Naomi in the eyes. They were perfectly clear—unassuming, and completely without suspicion. He smiled sadly at her. "I'm fine. Thanks for asking."

"What then, Jiro-kun?"

"Well, he did attack Ren… Tetsuo told Ren that he was going to kill him, to make it look like the serial killer had done it, but then Ren disarmed him, and tossed Tetsuo's knife—because Tetsuo had a knife, I forgot to mention that, but I guess that's obvious if the idea was to make it look like the serial killer," the words came rambling out of his mouth, but Naomi just nodded her head, listening intently, "—so Ren tossed the knife into the dumpster, and he eventually knocked Tetsuo down and got away. He came upstairs and called Makoto, then, a little while later, the cops were there and Tetsuo was dead."

"So after Ren left, the real killer must've got him," she inferred.

Jiro's jaw dropped. He glanced at Makoto, who just shrugged and smiled at him. He had expected that to be harder. "So… you understand that it wasn't Ren who did it?"

"Oh, no way was it Ren," she said. "He'd never do that. Tetsuo was a dick—I mean, I'm sorry he's dead and everything—but he was a dick, and even still, I can't believe Ren would kill him. Certainly not on purpose anyway, and if he says he just knocked him down, then I believe that's all he did."

Ren had just finished setting the coffee maker. He put the coffee beans down next to the machine and rounded the counter, heading to the table. He walked up to Naomi, took her by the hands, and lifted her to a standing position so he could hug her.

"Ooooh, Ren-Ren, you're so sweet, but our lovers are watching!"

He laughed, putting some distance between them. "Are you this trusting of everyone?" he asked her, squeezing her shoulders affectionately.

"No way, some people are just bad news, but other people you can just tell are good. You're a good person, I know it."

"So, you said something interesting, sweetie," said Jiro, pulling her into his lap. "… 'The real killer must've done it'?"

"Yeah, the real killer… What? Didn't you guys consider that? We know he was stabbed, but if Ren didn't do it—and we know he didn't—then it must've been the serial killer, right?"

"'Once you've eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth'?" said Jiro.

"Is that Sherlock Holmes?" asked Makoto.

"Yeah, or Spock… But I think there was a remake, and then a remake that referenced the other remake—and then sort of a time loop thing… So I'm a little fuzzy on who said it first…"

Ren was at the table mulling over Naomi's suggestion. "Could it really be the case that the serial killer came and finished off Tetsuo right after I left? That would be an incredibly narrow window of opportunity…"

"Well, it's like she said," said Makoto. "Is there another explanation that makes more sense?"

"If that's true, it'll probably be on the surveillance footage, right?" he said, feeling cautiously optimistic.

"Oh, hey, yeah! That'll resolve everything!" cried Jiro.

Makoto's phone pinged. "That's Emiko. She just got out of her class and is on her way over. She should be about twenty minutes."

"Well, the coffee will be ready by then," said Ren.

"I don't know if there'll be any left by then," said Makoto.

"What, is Ren some barista extraordinaire?" asked Jiro. "All coffee is terrible," he said, shaking his head. "Anyone who drinks it black is either a hipster or a millennial—don't think that just because I didn't say anything, that I didn't notice you'd switched to those nerd-glasses," he said, pointing an accusing finger at Ren. "Milk, and sugar, and lots of it, or it's crap," he added, with finality.

Naomi snuggled into Jiro's neck—clearly also a cream-and-sugar-taker. Makoto and Ren exchanged a look, chuckling.

They passed the time until the coffee was ready watching more local news. There'd been no developments on The Midnight Blade, but they were putting in a roundabout at the intersection of Honmaru-dori and Icho-dori, and the Hanabusa Golf Club was making controversial changes to their membership agreements. A pleasant viewing experience was had by all.

And then the coffee was ready. "I'll take your cups," said Ren, and he headed into the kitchen. He poured each of them a cup of black coffee and returned to the table with all four cups at once. He set his and Makoto's cups at one end of the table, but stopped just short of setting Jiro's and Naomi's down. "Promise me," he said, withholding the cups, "that you'll at least taste it before you fuck with it."

"We're Gen Z, Ren… Sigh, but I'll do that for you, just because I like you."

"Just taste it."

Jiro brought the cup to his lips and took a hesitant sip, bracing himself. At the taste, he raised his eyebrows, and he glanced up at Ren. He took another, slightly larger sip.

"Well I'll be damned," he said, putting his cup down. "This is actually drinkable. Did my mom lie to me, and my actual birthday was in 1996?"

"This is just the difference that is made when someone who knows what they're doing prepares the coffee," said Makoto. "He did work in a cafe, after all."

"This is all him?" asked Jiro, pointing at Ren as he looked at Makoto. "Ren, are… are you a bang maid?"

"Am I a what?" asked Ren.

"A bang maid. You know, a maid that you bang. Makoto, is he your bang maid?"

"Please stop saying 'bang'," said Makoto, looking uncomfortable.

"I'm shocked you guys don't know what this is. Do you guys watch any TV at all?"

"Do you ever do anything else?" asked Ren "Also, do you have any filters?"

"You're not talking about coffee filters, I'll bet," said Jiro. "I'll have you know that a lack of adequate filters is very common in people who play a lot of video games and watch a lot of TV—but it's correlative, not causal, so don't go thinking I'm gonna quit doing either of those things just because I don't know when to stop talking sometimes."

"Heaven forfend," said Ren, taking a drink.

"Anyway, all I'm saying is that you're good at a lot of domestic stuff—plus you're easy on the eyes. Breakfast, coffee… pantries… You'd make a good bang maid."

Ren looked at Makoto, but she just shrugged, offering a tentative acknowledgement of Jiro's overall thesis.

There was a knock at the door. "Thank god," said Ren, grateful for the diversion. Makoto went to open the door, and Emiko stepped inside.

She saw everyone else at the table, and was instantly concerned. "Makoto, what's going on? Has something happened? Why are none of you in class?"

"Did you hear about the death?" asked Makoto.

"Was there another one?" she asked, aghast. "I heard people talking about it on the shuttle, but I just assumed it was the one we heard about two days ago! This was last night?"

"Yeah," said Makoto. "Come in. You need to sit down."

Naomi was still in Jiro's lap, leaving an empty seat for Emiko at the table. Makoto went to the kitchen and poured a fresh mug of coffee for Emiko.

Emiko looked around cautiously as she sat down at the table. Her eyes were on Ren, who was keenly aware of her doubts about him. He wasn't sure how well she would handle the news that Tetsuo was dead, mere minutes after fighting him.

Makoto sat down at the table and handed Emiko her coffee. As the person who had the best combination of facts about the case and relationship to Emiko, she took it upon herself to explain what had happened. "So, the death occurred in the alley just outside their dorm," she said, glancing at Ren and Jiro.

Emiko's eyes widened a bit, and she shifted in her seat, nervously looking between Makoto and Ren. "Another one in that part of town?" she asked.

"Yes. And they haven't released this publicly yet, but we know who the victim was."

Emiko sat quietly, waiting for Makoto to continue.

"It was… Tetsuo." The name caught in Makoto's throat.

Emiko gasped, bringing her hands to her mouth. After taking a few seconds to absorb this new information, she tried not to look at Ren, but from her question, it was clear he was the intended audience. "What do you know about it?"

At that moment, the 'Breaking News' banner flashed once again across the screen, and Naomi grabbed the remote to unmute it, turning it up.

"There has been a significant development in the investigation surrounding The Midnight Blade serial killer. The Capital News Four team has been provided with the following stills, courtesy of the Capital Police Force, obtained from the surveillance footage of the alley in which the latest victim was found."

Onscreen, there was a grainy black and white image of Tetsuo and Ren struggling, a black bar over Tetsuo's face. It appeared to be the moment when Ren punched Tetsuo in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Everyone, even those who were already prepared to see who was involved, gasped at the sight of the image. It was very incriminating.

"In this still, you can see what appears to be the victim struggling with his attacker, moments before the victim was killed."

Onscreen, the image changed to moments later in the footage.

"In this second still image, you can see the profile of the man seen engaging with the victim. You can see, it appears he is concealing a knife in a holster on his right leg."

The image then zoomed in on the profile of Ren's face.

"Police believe that the man seen in this image may be The Midnight Blade. The suspect is believed to be between five foot eight and six feet in height, slim build, with black hair and glasses. The Capital Police are asking anyone who may know the identity of this man to contact them at the number onscreen. The police can also confirm that they have distinguished two distinct sets of fingerprints on a weapon found at the scene, and they are comparing those prints to their police database as we speak. They hope to have a name for their suspect within the next few hours. This has been Takeshi Kobayashi with Capital News Four, live, in the Academy district."

Naomi turned off the TV and everyone got quiet, looking at Emiko. She appeared to be steadily losing her composure, her breathing becoming deeper and more frequent. "That was…"

"Now Emiko, before you freak out…" cautioned Makoto.

"That was taken completely out of context!" cried Ren, baffled by what he'd seen. "Where was the struggle? Where was the part where he jumped out and slashed at me?"

"And do they think they have the murder weapon?" asked Jiro, confused. "You can see Ren putting his knife away, so the one he was using is obviously not the one they recovered at the scene. Wouldn't that imply that the weapon belonged to the victim? Or at any rate, not to Ren? Are they just conveniently ignoring that little inconsistency?"

Regardless of the inconsistencies and missing information, what had been presented was very incriminating, and Emiko was visibly disturbed by it. Shakily, she pushed her chair out and started to get up from the table. "You killed…"

"No, Emiko, he didn't," said Makoto, vociferously. "Tetsuo was trying to kill him, and Ren knocked him out in self defense. That was a picture of Ren punching him that you saw, nothing more."

"How can you be so sure?" Emiko cried. "I mean, really, besides his word that that's what you're seeing, how do you really know?!" She backed away from the table, edging toward the door. Naomi promptly stood up and slipped into the living room, positioning herself in front of the door.

Emiko turned around and looked at her. "You too, Naomi? How can you all be so naïve?! This could be your own lives you're taking into your hands! And mine! What if you're all wrong?!"

"Come on, Emi-chan," said Naomi. "Look with your heart. Do you really think he's a killer?"

Ren sat still at the table between Jiro and Makoto. He had a staid, melancholy look on his face. His eyes met Emiko's and she paused to really look at him. He looked like a nice guy. He was handsome, he was clever. He said all the right things. But she was training to be a detective, and she needed evidence, and the evidence was not on his side. Staring into his eyes, she tried to penetrate the sympathetic veneer and see into his soul.

They stared at one another for only a few seconds, but those seconds passed like an eternity. Emiko's fists were balled at her sides. Ren's gray eyes glimmered under her penetrating stare. She tried to hang on to her skepticism.

Emiko's lungs deflated, and her suspicion cracked. Relenting, she let herself collapse onto the floor in a sitting position. Her antipathy had dissolved. "Oh, alright," she said frustratedly. "I can't believe I'm going along with this. Nothing about this is logical. I feel like I'm failing a class… and taking an incredible risk."

Makoto got up from her seat at the table and knelt down next to her friend. "Thank you, Emiko," she said, placing a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. "I promise you, you're not failing anything. We think we know what really happened, and we're going to prove it."

"Are those his prints they're going to find on that weapon?" she asked.

"Probably," said Makoto, "but what you didn't see in either of those photos is that Ren took that knife from Tetsuo and tossed it in the dumpster. Tetsuo wanted to make Ren's death look like the serial killer had done it, and Ren was just defending himself. When Ren left him, Tetsuo was still alive."

Emiko was floored. "Tetsuo… was going to kill Ren?"

"Yes," said Makoto. "Ren knocked him down, and fled. It's whatever happened after that that we need to figure out."

"I think it was the serial killer," said Naomi. "The real one."

Emiko shook her head in disbelief. "Jesus… This is nuts…"

"Yeah," said Makoto. "And you know that the minute they figure out it's Ren in that video, they're going to come for him, and if enough of the evidence they have points to him, that'll be it. He'll be done for."

Emiko looked at Makoto, sighing. "So, what do you have in mind?"

Before Makoto could answer, Jiro put voice to a thought that had been nagging at him. "I can't believe the cops would so cherrypick the elements of that surveillance footage like that…" he said. "If Tetsuo attacked first, wouldn't that be relevant? Why would the cops ignore a detail like that? I mean, shit… for all they know, Ren is a hero who killed the real killer…"

"I'd really like to see that footage in its entirety," said Ren. "Here we'd been hoping to see what happened after I left, but if they're not even going to talk about what happened before, then I'm not feeling very optimistic about that information ever seeing the light of day."

Jiro cocked his head. "The news said that they got their footage from the police, but the police probably got it from the Academy—the security cameras are all managed by the school." He pondered something. "You know, I bet I could hack into the school's servers and find the original footage…"

"You can do that?" said Ren.

"Oh, sure! Does it involve a screen? Then, dude, I'm all over that shit."

"Eeeeee!" squealed Naomi. "You're such a beautiful dork!" she cried, shaking her balled up fists.

"Stop, you're embarrassing me," he said, with a girlish flick of his wrist. "Sadly, I didn't bring any of my stuff, and I wouldn't want to use a weird computer to do this. It would risk getting caught, which is harder to avoid if you're using a machine you don't know as well or that doesn't have the right software."

"Can you get back into your dorm?" asked Makoto. "Didn't your neighbor say they were looking for you?"

"Well," Jiro sighed, "I'm sure I'm not a suspect or anything, but I'm a really terrible liar, so if anyone were to find me and corner me about it, I'd probably spill everything. Or at least make myself a target. Bad idea."

"One of us can go," said Makoto. "I got in there once just by having the R.A. scan my I.D. They wanted to know which resident I was attached to, but Ren didn't even need to be there for them to approve me."

"I got an email later asking me if 'Makoto Niijima was an authorized user'," said Ren. "I had to click 'yes' to approve you, but that was all there was to it."

"So what makes more sense?" asked Jiro. "Sending in Makoto, who just needs a scan of her I.D. and she's through the doors, or sending someone new, who can then end up on not-Ren's account?"

The group considered their options. "I think I should go," said Makoto. "I think it's more surreptitious if I go in, since I can do it without having to talk to anyone. The scanner just sits on the desk, and as long as a message pops up on the R.A.'s screen that says 'authorized', I don't really have to engage with anyone."

Jiro shrugged. "Think you'll know what to grab?"

"If I have any questions, I'll just call you. We should probably all exchange numbers. I have everyone's but yours."

"Speaking of cell phones, it would probably also be a good idea for everyone to turn off Location Services, if they're on, since two of us are effectively in hiding," he said, going into his own phone's settings. "Location Services has already created a timeline of where each of us has been, and it will still guide anyone looking for us to the last known location we were in when we turned it off—though, police need a warrant to access that history."

"Won't it be suspicious, us all turning it off in the same place? Should Naomi and I wait until we get home?" asked Emiko.

"I guess, yeah."

"Except for last night, when that kind of information would actually be incriminating, could a timeline of where he's been actually prove to be an alibi for him?" asked Makoto.

"I doubt it. Just because your phone wasn't somewhere somebody died, doesn't mean you weren't… Besides, what idiot brings their phone with them to go commit premeditated murder? —Never mind, I'm sure Tetsuo had his phone with him… Anyway, I doubt the cops will see a location signature putting you on the opposite end of town as much of an alibi. But they could use it to find you, if they wanted to."

"If they had a warrant," said Makoto.

"Right, if. And I don't know how long it will take them to get one. I'm better with the nerd part of this than I am with the law part…"

"I'm so glad we have an I.T. guy on the team," said Ren.

"I know, I feel so cool right now," said Jiro. "So important, like Chris Hemsworth in Blackhat."

"Never saw it," said Ren.

"You're missing out," replied Jiro. "He brings real sex appeal to hacking."

"Okay, so I guess we have sort of a plan at this point," said Makoto, summarizing things as much for everyone's benefit as to make sure it was all clear in her own head. "You two will hide out here for the time being, I'll go to your dorm and get Jiro's things, he'll hack into the school's surveillance system and get us a look at the full footage from last night. Then we'll go from there."

"Can Jiro stay with us instead?" asked Naomi.

Jiro sat up nice and straight, a smile plastered across his face. Emiko sighed. "Oh, I guess so…"

"Eeeee!" Naomi shook her fists in excitement one more time.

—Tuesday, May 10th, Midday—

Makoto deboarded the shuttle and tried to look casual as she walked up the pathway to the dorm. Off to her right, a couple students were looking out over the police barricade into the alley. Makoto's chest tightened and she swallowed hard, directing her eyes forward. Once she was through the doors and in the lobby, she took a breath.

Before she could be stopped by the R.A. on duty, she pulled out her I.D., preparing to pass it under the scanner at the front of the kiosk. At her approach, the R.A. smiled at her. Makoto smiled politely back, but did not pause to say anything after her card was scanned. She saw the R.A. glance at his monitor, and she continued walking forward. He did not stop her.

On the third floor, things were quiet. There was a pall over the residents, and Makoto stepped lightly. She passed a young man in the hallway who stepped aside to make room for her. He nodded politely at her, but did not engage her in conversation.

At the end of the hall was room sixteen. From her pocket, she produced Ren's key, hanging from its tiki charm. Turning the key in the lock, she entered the room and closed the door behind her.

On the floor at her feet was a business card from the Capital Police Force. Picking it up and scanning it, she found the name, email, and phone numbers for a Detective Hotaru Naabe, a name Makoto recognized from the press conference on the news this morning. He was the detective leading the investigation into The Midnight Blade. Flipping it over, scrawled on the back of the card, were the words 'Pls call ASAP', and 'ASAP' was underlined three times. Pulling out her phone, she took a picture of the front of the card, then put it back where she found it.

Opening Jiro's closet, she found a good-size, rolling suitcase, and pulled it out and opened it up. On Jiro's desk was his laptop and a few computer accessories. She unplugged everything and placed it carefully in the bottom of the suitcase. She also found Jiro's phone charger and pulled it out of the wall, adding it to the stash. She sent a quick text to Jiro:

At your dorm

She didn't have to wait long for a reply:
Neat
How's your fetch quest going?

Got your laptop and accessories, phone charger, about to grab clothes. Anything else?

Without waiting for a reply, she opened his dresser. Nothing on the inside was folded, so she just yanked out a few shirts and threw them into the suitcase. She found a couple different pairs of pants and some underwear she really hoped were clean. She then got a reply from Jiro:

PlayStation?

Makoto blew out her cheeks. Think again, she texted.

Okay, fine
Toothbrush?

That's more reasonable
But is there anything else weird I should look for?

Ummmm my bo staff?

Are you being serious?

Welllll… maybe?
I mean, we're investigating a killer…
I should have a weapon, don't you think?

There's nothing surreptitious about me walking out of here with a goddamn staff

Well, shit…
I guess if I think I need one, I can just get one on loan from the gym
For *some* reason, they don't consider those "deadly weapons"…

Good, do that
Sorry, but no

Yeah, boo
Anyway, thanks

Sighing, Makoto plucked the remaining toothbrush and toothpaste from the sink next to the bed and tossed them into the suitcase. She still had some space, so she threw some more random clothing in there and what looked like his shower stuff. She spied Jiro's bo staff in the corner, calling to her. She felt bad about it, but she really couldn't bring herself to walk out of there carrying that thing. She looked away from it, finishing up in the dresser.

When she was done, she wheeled the suitcase out the door and headed to the elevator. Things in the dorm were still somber. A 'ping' announced the arrival of the elevator, and the doors opened in front of her. Inside the elevator were two older men in professional-looking clothing. Makoto blinked, and stepped aside for them to exit. The men stepped out, and one tipped his hat to her. "Miss," he said, politely acknowledging her.

The men turned left out of the elevator and headed in the direction of Ren and Jiro's room. Uneasily, Makoto watched as they approached the door. There was another 'ping' and the doors to the elevator began to close. Makoto hastily pushed the doors back open and pulled the suitcase inside, pressing the button to the lobby. She started to sweat.

Makoto pulled out her phone and fired off a text to the thread that was already open, to Jiro: In the elevator, heading out. Cops here

Shit, K, he replied.

In the lobby, other officious-looking men were there. One was speaking to the R.A., and another was taping sheets of paper to the walls. Makoto's stomach fell. They were wanted posters with Ren's face plastered across most of the space. She quickly crossed the lobby, heading for the open front door without making eye contact with anyone. She was terrified someone would stop her.

Makoto had taken the shuttle to the dorm, but the last thing she wanted to do now was wait out front for it to take her back, so she headed east, to the end of the block once more, passing the site where Tetsuo had spent his last moments. She moved briskly.

A few blocks later was another shuttle stop for her to retreat inside of. She pulled the suitcase into the covered area with her and flopped down into one of the plastic seats. Pulling out her phone, she scrolled through her news feed.

Among the many articles she found there was one with the eye-catching headline, 'Midnight Blade Identified!' If it contained what she thought it did, it was an irresponsible headline. She tapped on it anyway.

Inside the article, she found exactly what she had expected. They had found Ren's prints on the knife they recovered, and now Ren Amamiya was public enemy number one. The article contained the picture from Ren's student I.D., the still image taken from the surveillance camera footage of Ren concealing his ankle-knife, and other details about the murders: Dates, locations, and the names of the victims whose identities were already public. There was even a short interview with the dean of the school:

"Ren Amamiya is a first-year here at the Academy, so he's only been with us for a month. According to what we have on file, Amamiya-san received extraordinarily high praise from his supervisors at the Tokyo PD, where he spent a year interning as a candidate of the Second Chances program, a nationally recognized, Tokyo-based program designed to help young people with criminal records productively re-enter society."

"That interview might have sounded complimentary had it said something about how that criminal record was unjustly earned…" muttered Makoto gloomily. Later in the article, the reporter goes on to add information obtained from the Capital Police:

"Amamiya has a criminal record dating back to his high school days, when he was convicted of violent assault. He was subsequently expelled from his high school and transferred to Shujin Academy in Tokyo, which made headlines while Amamiya was a student there. Shujin Academy was the center of a rampant sexual harassment scandal, and the principal died from an apparent suicide, though the death was considered suspicious. Amamiya finished out his probationary period at Shujin, and later graduated, whereupon he entered the Second Chances program with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Amamiya is currently enrolled in 'Introduction to Criminal Law', 'Evidence Handling', 'Systems of Justice', 'Firearms' and 'Advanced Bladed Arts' at the Academy of Justice and Policing."

"Did they have to say 'Advanced Bladed Arts'…? God dammit…" Makoto gave a defeated sigh. She knew enough about journalism to recognize that the article itself was written to sound even, yet managed to include just the right combination of facts to make Ren look really guilty without actually coming right out and saying that he was guilty. Nobody reading it would think anything other than that he had to have done it. Makoto pursed her lips, resisting the urge to throw her phone into the street. She wished she could scream into it and change the words on the page—but all she could do right now was sit there and wait.

Finally, the shuttle had arrived. Makoto dragged the suitcase up the steps and into the cabin of the vehicle, flashing her I.D. just as she'd done a million times before, and took her seat.

Less than ten minutes later, she was back in her neighborhood, and another short walk brought her to her front steps. Even though everyone would still be inside, due to an abundance of caution, she still had to unlock the door.

"I'm back," she said, shutting the door and locking it again.

"Did you hear?" said Emiko.

"That's he's been formally identified? Yes, I saw it in my news feed."

"Such crap," said Jiro. "You should've seen the announcement on TV. It was like something from A Current Affair…"

"Jiro, this is yet another reference to some weird American TV show that I'm not going to get." Makoto hung her coat on the rack by the door, and wheeled Jiro's suitcase over to where he was laying on her couch with his feet up. At least he'd taken off his shoes first.

"Just as well," he said. "It was crime porn. Very sensationalized."

"That's how the headline I read made it sound, too: 'Midnight Blade Identified!'" She threw her hands out, saying it like the words were coming right off the page. "I read a whole article that was somehow both factual and also complete bullshit. Even the dean of the school was interviewed, who had some very complimentary things to say while still somehow managing to make him sound more guilty."

"He was interviewed on TV too. Yeah, he was complimentary, but he may as well have said stuff like 'That young go-getter is really good with a knife!' for all the good it did."

"The article I read even mentioned all this drama that happened at our high school that he had nothing to do with. Poor Ren has managed to be crime-adjacent so many times that it now sticks to him and he can't get it off."

"It is very suspicious," said Emiko, raising her eyebrows and meeting Makoto's gaze.

"Jeez, Emi, you don't still suspect him, do you?" asked Makoto, sitting at the table. Naomi was in the kitchen making sandwiches, but there was no coffee to drink. Makoto had nothing to occupy her nervous hands.

Emiko sighed. "No, I don't suppose I do, but I'm really not sure why I shouldn't. If we all end up dead it'll be our own fault."

Makoto glared at her. "Emiko!" she whispered forcefully. "Where's Ren?" She really hoped he hadn't heard that.

"Sorry," said Emiko guiltily, scrunching up her shoulders. "He's in your room laying down. The news got him all depressed, so he's cocooning."

Makoto nodded. "Anyway, Jiro, I brought your stuff. When are you going to get to work?"

Jiro blew out his cheeks, throwing his feet to the floor and sitting up. "I suppose I should get started, post-haste."

"I just finished making sandwiches," said Naomi, holding up a couple of plates. "Should we take ours to go?"

"Yeah, why don't we," said Jiro. "It may take me a while to find what we're looking for, and I'd rather not have to stop in the middle to change locations. Let's just get settled back at your place, then I'll get busy hacking."

"I have some bento boxes in the cabinet," said Makoto, pointing. "Grab whatever you need."

"One ought to do it," said Naomi. "We have food at home, too, if we're still hungry."

"Take whatever you like," said Makoto. "I don't mind making more, and I don't mind feeding you. Thank you all for being here."

"Ohhh, it's our pleasure, Mako-chan," said Naomi, coming in for a hug. Makoto held her friend for a good few seconds, relishing the support.

"We'll let you know if we find anything," said Emiko.

"Likewise," said Makoto, giving her a hug. "Thank you for being on our side."

Emiko put on a reluctant smile, nodding. She stood by the door while she waited for Jiro to finish putting on his shoes, and Naomi met her at the door. Jiro got his shoes on, grabbed the handle of his suitcase, and the whole gang headed out the door. Makoto watched them until they got to the end of the courtyard, then she locked up behind them. The house was quiet. This had been such a busy day that the quiet felt odd.

But she wasn't alone. Opening the door to her room revealed a man stretched out on her bed, face buried in the down comforter with his hands crossed above his head, stuffed under the pillows. His bare feet were hanging off the end of her bed, and his glasses were on the nightstand.

"You okay?" she said, watching him from the doorway.

He turned his head sideways, but the wrong direction for her to see his face. "Mmmm…" he groaned.

She came to the empty side of the bed, the side he was facing, and sat down. Kicking off her shoes, she brought her legs up onto the bed and leaned against the headboard, sitting alongside where he was laying. She put her hand in his hair and brushed it back away from his face. "It'll be okay," she said reassuringly, continuing to comb her fingers through his hair.

"Sojiro called me," he said. "Gave me an earful."

"He saw the news?"

"Of course he saw the news. Guy does nothing but watch the news…"

"I'm sorry. What did he say?"

Ren sighed. "He called me an idiot. Asked me what the hell I was doing carrying a knife. Bitched at me about my stupid test…"

"Yeah, the news was quick to point out that you're in the advanced class for knives…"

"I turned my phone off after that. Jiro said it's better for me to keep mine off anyway… Something about cell tower pings…"

"I'm glad he knows about these sorts of things," she said.

"Mmm," he hummed, agreeing.

Ren pulled an arm out from under the pillows and draped it over Makoto's legs, pulling her just a bit closer. She was wearing a skirt, so he could feel her skin under his hand, and began stroking her thigh with his thumb.

"That feels nice," she said, enjoying the lilting sensation.

"You playing with my hair feels nice."

"Mm," she hummed, acknowledging. "But Sojiro doesn't think you did it, right?" she asked, circling back.

"No, he doesn't."

"Well, that's something. You do have some social capital, you know."

"Mmm," he murmured, burying his face in the side of her thigh.

They sat together for a minute, each stroking the other in some small, affectionate way. His eyes were closed, and his breathing was even, but the small movements from his fingers reassured her that he was awake. He looked so precious to her. "I love you," she said, watching over him. I guess I'm not waiting to tell him that, she thought, surprising herself a little.

His arm tightened around her legs, and he squeezed her in a kind of a hug, nuzzling into her. "I love you too," he said.

She continued to study the profile of his beautiful, sweet face. She stroked his cheeks, ran her thumb over his cheekbones, combed her fingers through his hair. He meant everything to her, and she realized she would do anything she could to protect him—even if he had killed Tetsuo.

She shifted in her seat, pulling away from him so she could get up. He tried to hold her in place, but ended up reluctantly letting her go. He groaned at her absence.

She continued to study him as she slipped out of her skirt, letting it fall to the floor. She unbuttoned her blouse and tossed it behind her, back toward the wardrobe, then unhooked her bra and let it slide down her arms as she pulled down her panties. She didn't know if he had watched her undress or not. Naked, she climbed back into bed.

Laying down next to him with her head propped up on one arm, she whispered to him. "Can I take your clothes off?" she asked. His eyes were still closed, but he nodded.

Makoto sat up again. Putting her hands on him, she pushed his T-shirt up over his back until it was about where his shoulder blades were. It was still held down in the front by the weight of his body, but she wasn't in a hurry. With this much of him exposed, she bent over and started kissing him, starting at the small of his back. With her fingernails, she gently scratched up and down the length of his back, prompting a very long and satisfied sigh from him. He was very relaxed.

When she'd had her fill of kissing and scratching his back, she climbed on top of him, straddling his legs as she pulled the front of his shirt up from under him to try to get it off. Working together, they were able to free him from his top without him getting up or turning over, and she was able to reach his shoulders and neck. Covering him with her body, she pressed up against him, rubbing her breasts against his back. She kissed his ear, nibbling on his earlobe and nuzzling the empty space behind it with her nose.

Shifting his hips a little bit, Ren tried to get more comfortable. She guessed he was getting hard, and laying on his stomach with his pants on was starting to bother him. She backed up toward the foot of the bed, getting off of him, and reached under his belly to try to find the button to his jeans. He rolled over ever so slightly to make it easier for her.

The button popped, and she shimmied his jeans down past his ass. He groaned a little bit as she continued to pull.

Eventually, she encountered a familiar snag on his right leg, requiring her to get off him completely so she could remedy the situation. "I do wish this thing didn't catch things so easily."

"Mmm, you're supposed to take it off first…"

"I'm still not to where I can consistently remember that it's even there."

"Sorry."

"Don't apologize," she said, getting his pants off all the way and discarding them on the floor. All that yet remained was the sheath with Ren's stiletto safely secured inside. She knelt on the floor next to the bed to examine it.

She took this opportunity to really look at it. It was secured at each end by a leather strap fitted with an elegant silver buckle. One strap was wrapped tightly around the area just below the middle of his lower leg, and the other rested over the curve at the top of his calf. The knife itself hung lower, more readily accessible without having to hike his pants all the way up to his knee. Instead of removing the holster, she instead slipped the blade out from inside it and looked it over. It was a single, solid piece, about eight inches long. The dark gray metal bore engravings along the base of the blade and down into the handle, which was bare of any leather wrappings or other material. A narrow crossguard stuck out at either side, and the butt of the knife flared out a bit as well. "This is beautiful," she said, turning it over in her hands.

"Thank you," he said. He'd turned his head so he could see her. His eyes were open, watching her.

"I really…" she began, almost shyly. "I really want to use this…"

He rolled over onto his side so he could see her better, and his erection popped out, finally free from the oppressive mattress. He licked his lips, waiting to see what she was going to do.

Makoto stood up and leaned over him, spreading her legs out a bit. Taking the knife in her right hand and supporting her weight with her left, she gently inserted the handle of the stiletto up into herself until all he could see was the blade. "Mmm," she moaned, sliding it slowly up and down. "Oh my god," she said. "This feels really good…"

Ren's pulse quickened. Watching her fuck herself with his knife was hands-down the most arousing thing he'd ever seen. He took his cock in one hand and began to tug on it rhythmically, keeping pace with her movements.

She wanted him in her mouth. Climbing on top of him and pushing him onto his back, she pulled his hand away and wrapped her lips around him. She mirrored her movements with the weapon as she ministered to him. Ren threw his head back, squirming under her, thrusting his hips into her face.

The sensation was unbelievable, but she needed something bigger. If she was going to come—and at this point she had to come, or she might fall apart—she needed to fuck him. Reluctantly, she pulled him out of her mouth and crawled further over him until they were face to face.

He cried at her absence, desperate for more, but seeing her perched above him, red-cheeked and sweaty, her breasts swinging back and forth as she moved—the blade of his stiletto stabbing out of her pussy—he could've just about died then, and been happy.

She bent down and kissed him on the mouth, and he opened to meet her. One of his hands was back on his dick as they tasted one another, while his other hand fondled her breast. Finally, she removed the blade handle and set it down on his chest, wet with her juices. Taking him in her hand, she guided him into her opening and pushed herself hard down onto him, a loud grunt emanating from each of them as they fully connected.

Makoto exhaled, savoring the feeling of him filling her up. When she'd savored enough, she started riding him, moving up and down, over and over, feeling the length of him slip in and out as she moved. This was it. This was what she needed.

After a time, she grabbed the stiletto and dropped it to the floor so she could flatten herself on top of him. Then, contracting her movements and grinding her clit into his pelvic bone, they kissed, their tongues sliding over one another's, sucking, licking, playing together as one. Soon, she could feel herself getting close, and she quickened the pace of her movements.

When she finally came, she reared her head back away from him and cried out, quivering on top of him as she rode her climax. When she was done, she ran her fingers through his hair and pulled on it, hard, and his thrusts became more desperate. She moaned in his ear, and finally he came undone. Breathing heavily, he stroked his hands down her back and sides. He kissed her neck, letting her hair cover his face. Now, he was ready to die.

Once they had caught their breath, Makoto reached over to the nightstand and pulled a tissue from the tissue box there, bringing it to where they were joined. He watched her. "I just washed these sheets," she explained, pulling off of him and swiftly catching the drips with the tissue. Ren smiled a big, broad smile. Practical Makoto.

She untucked the covers from under the pillows and pulled them down on her side of the bed, slipping under them. "Get under here," she instructed, commanding him to get under the blankets. He complied, and in the warmth of her sheets, he spooned her body as she relaxed against him. In the dull afterglow of a stolen midday reprieve spent enjoying one another, the two fell asleep. They rested like the dead.