Chapter IV Love is Just
The jury was out for three hours and it was exactly four in the afternoon. It was a court recess, which Tokiya Mikagami had called for. Shinta Tamayuko left for a break. Raiha had just been cross-examined and looked as cool and confident as he did before he took the stand.
They hailed Mikagami for being a genius. The prosecutor mentioned the weapon, the gun that the two men had wrestled over. Tamayuko claimed that the gun possessed Raiha's fingerprints. Only Raiha's fingerprints. Mikagami exposed the superimposition by reasoning with aids of nuclear physics that the evidence had been tampered with. He proposed an alternative method to reveal whose identity was originally embedded in the gun along with Raiha's. Mr. Tamayuko objected on grounds that the other person was not significant; the actual evidence was nowhere to be found and that the parameters were confined to Raiha vs. The State of Japan only. The third party should be dealt with a separate investigation. Surprisingly, the objection was sustained. This ruffled Mikagami slightly but he maintained his composure.
Ten minutes later the courtroom was almost empty.
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On his way out of the men's room, the judge met Shinta Tamayuko, who wore a triumphant look on his face.
The jerk. Judge Tomoyoko thought.
"Did your boys receive our humble gifts?" Shinta asked the judge.
Tomoyoko almost snorted at the irony, knowing Shinta referred to the all-expense-paid tickets to Italy. The jurors were clamoring nonstop about them. He had received one himself. He nodded absently and took a step towards his office. Shinta released a delirious laugh.
Tomoyoko tried to think but he could not dismiss the look Mikagami threw him in the courtroom. Too late. The boy knew. Mikagami was the type who could reciprocate the littlest details. Tomoyoko tried to justify.
What was a financially-challenged man like himself supposed to do… he had a large debt to pay and his debtors posed a threat to slit his throat if he didn't pay within the established grace period… he wasn't stupid enough to turn down a bribe when he was desperately wanting.
But if he'd have to pay with his own integrity… Tomoyoko shook his head at his lack of foresight. Light was dawning on him. He was a judge, and he had preached in Mikagami's class about impartiality, stressing the moral side of the law.
A thin line formed across his lips. Money should never compensate for justice.
And one had to stoop very very low to accept a bribe from a monster like Hamada. The pig. To flaunt his wealth and assume the position of a puppeteer, toying around with people who had minds of their own. He should be in jail, not Raiha.
Judge Takamuyo could not believe he how he almost blew it.
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"This case is rigged." Kaoru Koganei told Ganko as they strolled along the park outside the court.
Ganko bit her lip and folded her arms across her chest. "I can tell. The jurors were unusually sympathetic to that Takamuyo guy."
"Mikagami's gonna lose this one." Kaoru deduced.
Ganko's jaw dropped open. "Who died and made you judge? As always, Mikagami has the sympathy of majority, I still think he has more than a fighting chance."
Kaoru shook his head and placed his hands on the pockets of his jeans. "Ganko, he'll lose because he's fighting fairly."
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Raiha tried to camouflage his flaring temper as he breezed out of the courtroom and into the cold, dark night. The jurors and the judge had reached a decision, but not one he was hoping for. The verdict would be declared after sixty days of careful evaluation of evidence and detailed study of the testimonies of the witnesses. Until then, he would be held in custody. Mikagami was talking about his right to bail when he decided he had enough of this crap and walked out on his not-so-pleased lawyer.
He was an Uruha assassin, for crying out loud! He'd wasted enough time playing their games. Petty, disgusting, perverted, and blind. Those were his thoughts on the justice system. The prompting voice spoke in his mind again: Escape. They would never find him. And if they did, they wouldn't lift a finger on him.
He scolded himself for sinking down to their level, allowing Kiro Hamada to have his way by this whole trial game. Raiha crumpled a fist and stared at the field of light below the hill. An incredible wave of rage flooded through his body, and he felt his skin crawl as the animal in him howled for freedom.
His human nature had decided to take matters into his own hands. But it was time to let the assassin in him step in and handle things.
Raiha loved Fuuko, but he knew he could not bear dragging her into the entire mess he was about to fall into. Kurei was right about setting priorities.
He knew when he was going to sacrifice his happiness, he was sticking to his commitment to the Uruha and he was ridding the world of pests like Hamada.
But for crying out loud… what about Fuuko? As long as he was an Uruha, he could never have her. The job demanded too much.
He braced himself for the blow he was about to receive, reached for his cell phone and dialed her number.
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Kiro Hamada waited patiently until only the light in Judge Tomoyoko's office radiated illumination in the entire building. He raced up the stairway leading to the judge' chamber. With a menacing growl he barged through the doors with such a frightening velocity that Tomoyoko's eyes widened and he pushed the oak table hard enough to send a lamp crashing to the floor.
"I thought we had an arrangement." A crumpled fist pounded against the cluttered table.
"No. We don't." the judge took out a manila envelope from the cabinet behind him. "Not anymore." He flung it across the table to Hamada's side for him to inspect.
Hamada recognized its' content. The bulk of checks and cash stashed inside were from his account. The packing tape was still intact, suggesting the money was untouched.
"You treacherous fiend…" A cloudy look took on the drug lord's face.
The judge frowned. "How dare you associate me with yourself."
He leaned forward and spoke clearly. "It is regret for the things I did not do that is inconsolable. If I did not prevent myself from accepting your bribe, I would spend an eternity rotting in hell."
"Very noble… in fact, why wait?" With seething rage, Hamada pulled out a pistol and aimed it at the judge' chest. Tomoyoko displayed no startled reaction, as though he had anticipated such a reaction. He closed his eyes and awaited his death. The last thing he saw was the pistol… it was a dessert eagle, very much similar to the weapon the fiscal had described a while back. They never got possession of the evidence. His heart hammered at the revelation.
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"Mighty nice of you to walk out on me." Fuuko glared at him with an intensity that made him feel like a knife had just been thrust into his heart.
"You should excuse me. I needed time out, otherwise I'd be tried all over again for murdering the prosecutor." Raiha replied as they both walked side by side on the grassy lawn of a nearby park.
"You should know that most of the witness' testimonies were perjured, and it was inconceivable how those witnesses were produced in the first place." Fuuko tightened her sweater around herself to ward off the biting cold.
"Kiro had the money." Raiha spat out bitterly. "I want to cut to the chase, Fuuko."
Fuuko, not used to such abruptness, especially from Raiha, stopped in her tracks to face him. "okay," she said cautiously. "spill."
Raiha looked away from her and steeled his expression. "I won't be around for long. Uruha has me assigned to undertake a special business trip."
She frowned at the emphasized term. So, he was deserting her again… for Uruha… She was starting to get sick of this treatment. "You're doing it again."
He sighed, mentally kicking himself for thinking she'd let him off the hook so easily. "I have obligations that rank higher than watching a monopolized board game take place of my life."
Fuuko repressed the tide of anger that was threatening to explode and merely nodded. "I guess it does appear shallow from an Uruha's point of view. You're used to controlling people, not letting them control you." She could not keep the sarcasm from creeping into her voice.
"I wouldn't choose those terms. The point of this entire conversation…" he took a deep breath and froze in his spot. "is to terminate the relationship we're having."
Fuuko turned to him sharply and one second after his mind was reeling from the sudden pain, and a red spot had formed itself on his left cheek.
"I deserved that." Raiha said, flinching from the slap.
Fuuko balled her hands into fists, looked down and bit her lip to keep the onslaught of obscenities from flowing.
Raiha continued. "You're probably thinking that I'm doing this because I just lost my wits. But I feel as if I can see clearly. I'm doing this for you."
"For me? How is it for me?"
"You're not happy." Raiha sighed and took her hand. "Fuuko, I care so deeply about you that I don't want you to be involved in the mess I've tangled myself in."
He could read the doubt in her eyes. Stepping closer, he engulfed her in a warm embrace, probably the last. He pulled her closer and savored the contact. "But I am bound to Uruha."
Fuuko's arms tightened around his neck. Life could be cruel sometimes. He was going to desert her just as she was deciding to desert her feelings for… someone else. "I'll miss you so much, Raiha." She managed a weak smile as she pulled away. "A while ago, you said something about priorities. I wonder if Kurei has anything to do with it…"
"Pep talk." Raiha said as they approached her car.
"Keep in touch." Fuuko stood on her toes for another hug. "I won't stop caring for you."
Raiha reached out and stroked her cheek one last time. "I don't think you realized that I've stood between you and your happiness."
Fuuko's left eyebrow arched. "I don't get it…"
He lifted her chin so that he could gaze straight into her eyes. He loved her eyes, loved the way they spoke volumes. He donned a sad smile and said, "One cannot buy love, Fuuko."
Raiha turned his back and walked into the misty night, until all Fuuko could make out of him was a speck.
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Kiro Hamada fired the bullet before dropping to the ground, unconscious.
The pain was taking awfully long to introduce itself on Judge Tomoyoko's body. After 10 painful seconds of waiting, the judge finally opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was Hamada's crumpled form against a wall, a trace of blood trickling down his lips. There was a broken vase on one side of the room, the victim of the stray bullet. Behind Hamada, Tokiya Mikagami stood ominously with an undecipherable glint in his eyes.
Lucky for Tomoyoko, the glint was directed towards Hamada's fallen figure.
The judge gasped. "Is he…?"
He shook his head slowly. "Paralyzed, yes. But not dead."
"Mikagami, I just realized he possessed the weapon that killed Keita Arashita." The judge stood up and brushed his suit after he straightened his eyeglasses.
"Res ipso loquitor." Mikagami coolly replied. He walked to the judge' side and helped him to his feet. Tomoyoko chuckled at the familiarity of the phrase. It had always been his motto, something he always mentioned in class. The evidence speaks for itself—res ipso loquitor.
"I'm fine." The judge brushed dirt off his sleeves. "The only thing injured is my dignity."
Mikagami retrieved the closed manila envelope and held it in plain sight. "Your dignity is intact."
"It's humiliating, Mikagami. To think I almost succumbed." He hung his head in remorse. "There were factors. But all not worth compromising."
Mikagami was not consoling him. He was merely standing in the doorway, a shadow on his face. But Tomoyoko was used to him, so he staggered to the telephone and dialed security. "Hamada will be arrested as soon as he recovers consciousness." He turned to Mikagami briskly with an afterthought. "What did you come to see me for, Mikagami?"
Mikagami lifted an eyebrow. "Nothing. I saw Hamada sneaking around, so I decided to investigate."
"Good of you, Mikagami. Won't you ask evaluation for the verdict?"
Footsteps reverberated through the halls, and soon, panting police officers with walkie-talkies barricaded through the doors. One bulky officer rushed to judge' side and started fussing over him. "Get the good judge some bandages and make it snappy!"
Another one pulled Mikagami to a corner and started interrogating him. Mikagami bade the judge farewell after being interviewed by another officer. They shook hands and the judge told Mikagami that his client had been acquitted of the charges pressed against him.
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Fuuko wiped her eyes as she slid into the driver's seat of her Jaguar. She turned on the ignition. He knew, all the while.
Groaning, she hit her head on the wheel over and over again. She missed Raiha already, and it caused unbearable pain that he knew the truth but chose to keep it to himself. She never aimed or wished for grief to interfere.
Fuuko realized she could have fallen in love with Raiha…
She could have… but she didn't.
She didn't give her heart to Raiha after all. It still belonged to... someone else.
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Mikagami was in a foul mood. It had been three long days. He was on a break from his job, and the last 62 hours were spent poring over every piece of reading material in the house, beating Kaoru consistently at chess and obliging to Judge Tomoyoko's request of assistance on a research proposal. Occasionally, Hanabishi dropped by for coffee and because he was engaged in a project related to the state constitution, he sought Mikagami's counsel. Mikagami accepted this, but it was not Recca's face he was particularly interested in seeing.
His cell phone rang and Raiha's number registered on the screen.
"Ohayo. I just wanted to know if you received the package." Raiha said as soon as he answered. Mambo music was playing in the background.
"Yes." Mikagami frowned. The package contained a check for his services, but he wondered about the address. Somewhere in Barcelona.
"Good." Raiha replied. The next few minutes was spent with both of them reduced to listening to mambo music.
"You're acquitted." Mikagami said after awhile.
"I couldn't care less." Raiha muttered, and then drew in a deep breath. It took a while before he spoke. "This is rather out-of-business, but it concerns you. It's over between Fuuko and me. I chose Uruha over her.." He paused, and Mikagami detected an emotional slur in his tone. "Will you take care of her for me?"
Mikagami's eyes narrowed to slits. The gall of this man… breaking her heart and expecting a favor from HIM in return.
Raiha continued. "I know you will. I don't have to ask."
Quickly, his thoughts shifted to Fuuko. With an icy voice, he spoke into the receiver. "It goes without saying that if you hurt her, I will see that your blood is spilt."
Raiha was thoughtful for a moment. "I was right. Not everything has to be conveyed with words. She means a lot to you. You have to take care of her then. You should have done that a long time ago. You would have, I know. I just had great timing. But good luck anyway. Not that you need it."
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Notes:
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