Chapter 3: The Allocation of One's Business

Part 1: Unwelcome Anticipation

Sure enough, Sae had a visitor's pass waiting at the reception for me - the receptionist remembered my face so the hand-off was easy enough. Making my way up to the 15th floor and standing outside Sae's office, I knocked the door.

"Enter, Amamiya-san." Obliging with the request, I found her office a lot more document oriented than before. Stacks upon stacks of paper in boxes took their residency on the sofa whilst the file cabinets were so packed that they looked like their seams were about to burst. If they could talk, they were probably screaming in anguish.

"You guys work hard…but this?"

"I apologise that this office isn't in a more presentable state. The crates you're currently eyeing are a mere portion of the statements my team and I have processed." Sae was sat in her desk but…she looked haggard. Her makeup was applied beautifully making her appear as porcelain like as usual but at the same time, she appeared emaciated. I never noticed it the first time around but looking much closer, I could tell she was overdoing it. The only thing that felt true about this woman was her no-nonsense, stony aura.

"The one who should apologise is me. Even with the number of schools, clubs and other people involved…this is far more than I could've anticipated. I should've roped in your boss and he'd assign more manpower to aid you…"

"If only life was as simple as your naive view, Amamiya-san." She contemplated.

"Can you provide an update into what's going on?"

"We'll be moving onto questioning the students at Shujin Academy sometime this month. Rest assured that my team will take the Shujin community seriously and without bias."

"It's news I'm truly glad to hear. Though, I figured it would be the first place seeing as Kamoshida worked there and all."

"This was the original intention I had when taking this case on. I planned to begin this week but the media attention that this story has bought is astronomical. With Shujin Academy at the epicentre of it all, each and every student there has huge value to news outlets. I refuse to have my unit embroiled in the press' schemes to get a scoop just for doing our jobs. There are no signs that this story will wane any time soon." It's on the scale of an upcoming blockbuster and she wants her career intact. The two don't mesh with one another.

"My eyes won't be deceived, Sae." I teased.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You can't move in without Shujin putting a statement out there, can you? If you do, they'll end up coming for your unit and your boss will have your head on a platter for his boss." Sae seemed momentarily stunned before cracking the faintest smile.

"How salacious."

"The matter of fact is, once we break the silence, you can then liaise with the appropriate people and gradually bring the police presence into Shujin. I don't think the students will take it seriously as they are now: no sign of any fear. Talk going around is that they might be on TV."

"...Is that pig of a man ever going to change?" Sae barked, vehement anger in her eyes - the hate she felt towards Kobayakawa for letting things go so out of hand was unmatched.

"Give him time. He only went and declared a lot of changes last week along with Makoto."

"Is that so?" She sighed and placed her palm on her face.

"He seemed truthful about them for once." Sae didn't respond. It felt like my words went in one ear and out of the other.

"You alright?"

"Don't mind it."

"Well, what about other schools and places?"

"The attention the other involved places has is nothing more than a flea on a dog's back in comparison to Shujin Academy. As such, we were able to get started on our questioning."

"..."

"I suppose I should take your statement whilst you're here."

"Sae. Can we make that happen the next time we meet?"

"If you didn't wish to do this tonight, you could've said over the phone. Why have you changed your stance?" Was it not obvious? All of those relentless days she's poured her energy into this job in the name of justice had finally caught up to her. She isn't taking a statement properly in her state…

"You're on the verge of collapsing. There's no hidden meaning when I say I'm worried about you." She rolled her eyes at my response and shot a half serious answer my way. In other words, politely telling me to not care about her.

"...Your concern is touching but as you can see, the reality of my situation is anything but."

"How about you take a look in the mirror and you'll see for yourself just how badly you need it." Sae's face scrunched as I told her what she needed to hear.

"And who the hell are you to act as my babysitter?!" She barked before calming down and recomposing herself.

"I apologise. That was uncalled for." I doubled down on my opinion at this chance.

"Just one night. Go home, get some well-needed rest and then come back fresh and invigorated."

"..." She didn't seem to even think of considering it.

"There's something I'm curious about. Why did you choose to accept the case?"

"You're certain that's the right question to ask?"

"My words definitely didn't do much on their own. Even a fun phone call like that doesn't provide me much information."

"...Your doctor is a highly convincing person." Oh? Tae neutered the prosecutor?

"I wanted to verify your injuries. She placed such an impassioned plea to follow the course of justice and to allow your voice to be freed. Not to mention, the ever so subtle threat of the weight of the entire pharmaceutical industry coming down upon our unit and the thin numbers we have. It forced our hand." The witch doctor has her ways…or her contacts? It couldn't be that simple, could it?

"I see. Because all calls are monitored, someone jumped the gun and brought it to your boss. You were grounded, right?" Her miffed glare all but confirmed this. If they really did their diligence and looked into the caller on the other line, they would've realised just how little influence she actually possessed. If I was in Sae's shoes, I'd probably want the whistleblower's head on a plate.

"Well, I'll take my leave."

"Alright, Amamiya-san." Sae got up to let me out of her office and after opening the door for me, I left the room. She closed it right back and I made my way down to the receptionist desk. It was only then that I'd realised I'd neglected to find out when we'd meet again for her to take my statement.

"Sorry to bother you, sir. Could you call Niijima-san please?"

"Sure." The receptionist dialled her internal number a first time but nothing happened. He then tried again and a hint of concern was on his face.

"Niijima-san's not responding. Would you like to wait down here or head on up to her office?" She may be in the restroom…

"I'll wait for a while. If nothing happens, I'll head back up." Taking a seat in the lobby, I waited for a short while and after about half an hour, there was still no change. Heading back up to her office, I opened up the door and ended up startled. My words of her being on the verge of collapsing were much closer to home than I wanted. I found her sprawled on the carpet face-flat and not moving a twitch. The documents she was probably holding in her hands before fainting were scattered all over the floor.

"Shit! Sae!" Hastily calling out to the prosecutor, she didn't respond. Turning her over, I checked for a pulse from her hand and thankfully, I could feel it faintly. Going over to the phone on her desk, I dialled the receptionist using the numbers on the wall.

"Please call an ambulance for Niijima-san! I think she's collapsed from overexertion! Get in touch with her younger sister too and send some help to bring her down please!"

"...On it!" Thanks to the prompt actions of the receptionist in combination with his natural calm (and probable years of experience), help came to Sae almost immediately. The stoic atmosphere that the building had was all but shaken with the potential threat that one of their own was out in their line of duty. A few people helped to carry her down to the ground floor and the ambulance arrived shortly afterwards. As the medical team placed her onto the stretcher, I saw Makoto racing towards them. The look on her face wasn't one I would forget for a long time: she was frantic, desperate and terrified. Gone was the regal, guarded aura I'd come to expect from the elite Prez. Right now, she was nothing more than a 17 or 18 year old girl whose pure-hearted feelings were on full display.

"Is my Big Sis okay?! Please tell me she's gonna be okay!" She yelled.

"Is she family?" One paramedic asked to the other.

"I'm not sure." the other paramedic answered. At this point, the receptionist came over to confirm Makoto was indeed who she was. The first paramedic then went over to reassure Makoto.

"Relax, miss. Your older sister is okay. We'll head to the hospital and run some proper checks just to be sure." Thank god…

"Good looking out, Amamiya-san." The receptionist thanked. When Makoto turned to see that I was close by, she happened to be bemused at my presence.

"Amamiya-san? What reason would you…" She'd mumbled. And then stopped. After stopping for a short period of time to put two and two together, her face was wrapped in fury and I was greeted to a nice helping of knuckle sandwich. It seemed the mystery contact, to her at least, wasn't such a mystery anymore. She really could throw a punch…

"YOU BASTARD!" Before Makoto's fists could pulverise my face, she was restrained by officers in the SIU from hurting me any further. They were struggling to hold her back, furiously putting all of their strength into this tug of war - her dilated pupils and howls betrayed the usual rationale Makoto had.

"It's all your fault! Sis getting hurt...you did this to her!"

"Please let her go." I asked to which they ignored. They probably assumed we were lovers/former lovers in the midst of a break-up or I'd cheated on her or something else. Either way, completely and utterly wrong.

"Please calm down, Makoto." I gently asked. Given the fact I was the one responsible for her sister's current state, I needed to take responsibility to stop her from doing something she couldn't undo.

"It's all because of you that Sis is…is..." Makoto balled up her fists. She already knew that I was responsible for bringing the case to the SIU but she was now aware that Sae was the contact I spoke with. She probably deduced that I'd blackmailed her with some sort of despicable means. I had no reason to let her in on that.

"I know. I'm sorry." I said. This pushed Makoto's buttons even further and she did her absolute best not to swing at me.

"You're not sorry in the slightest! You don't care about her in the slightest! It's not just her…you don't care about anyone other than yourself!" Just before things could get uglier, Sae regained consciousness and sat up in the back of the ambulance.

"Ugh…what the hell happened…Makoto…you're here?"

"SIS!" Makoto burst into tears, leapt towards her sister and gave her a warm hug. Sae hugged her right back, almost on instinct. The relief that the younger Niijima had and the fact Sae chose to hug Makoto without question touched my heart. The tender moment made me forget the true nature of the Niijima's rocky relationship: it was as if the two sisters had never been closer.

"Don't you ever overdo it like that again, Sis! I can't lose you too!" Sae simply held her sister in her arms.

"You're family, right?"

"Yes. That's my little sister. I'm sorry but I need to head back in-" I shot Sae a sidelong glance. She took one look at me and my words probably relayed in her head.

"Have you lost your mind or are you trying to kill yourself?!" Makoto complained.

"…Never mind. Let's get going." Satisfied she wouldn't head back into the office, I made my way back to Leblanc, a somewhat bittersweet feeling in my stomach. Sojiro and Futaba were long gone by this point and I'd decided to catch up with kitty for a while before hitting the sack. Around an hour or so had passed when my sleep went interrupted. At least, that was how long it was checking the time on my phone. Pipipipi…Shaking my head and sitting up in the silent attic, I turned my attention to see an unfamiliar cell. Who the hell is this? A withheld number dialled my cell and I'd ended the call. This person dialled again so I decided to give the person who bothered me at 1AM a piece of my mind.

"Whoever this is…do you not have a fucking clue of the time it is?"

"Amamiya-san..." Makoto at 1AM? She was a lot calmer compared to earlier. From the cluster of footsteps, beeping and commotion on the subject of patients I could pick up in the background, I figured she was somewhere in a hospital.

"Makoto? How did you get this number?"

"I asked Sis for it. She's resting now." So the prosecutor really wasn't going to head back in. Excellent. Having her suitably rested will do wonders later on.

"Glad to hear it. Just call tomorrow if you want to talk. Or are you not aware of the time it is?"

"No. I've got to say this now: thank you for saving Sis. I'm sure I must've looked pathetic with my irrational behaviour earlier."

"Your reaction was pretty normal. Can I go now?" Makoto ignored my last words and continued talking to me. So it's a no then.

"I didn't realise you were the one to alert the receptionist to her dire state. I'm also truly sorry for the accusations I threw your way."

"Apart from that last thing about not caring for anyone other than myself, everything you said was true. I want you to take that one thing back."

"I do. I'm sorry, Amamiya-san." What a responsible young lady. She sounded like she was beating herself up so I decided to let her have a target.

"Stop apologising. I am the reason your sister collapsed by making her take on the case and I indeed used the both of you to my advantage. GOODNIGHT." I firmly pushed and again, I went ignored.

"I refuse to believe that you simply used us. If that were really true, we wouldn't even be talking right now. Sis wouldn't have her job and I wouldn't be your student council president."

"You sound very assured. I really-"

"Another point: If you didn't care, you would've left Sis in her office when you found her. You wouldn't have asked for me to be alerted. You wouldn't have got Sis to take a rest. Simply put, you wouldn't have looked out for us problem sisters."

"Are you trying to butter me up?"

"..."

"Makoto. Firstly, no older sibling should make their little sister panic like you did. Secondly, I can't have my contact unable to work with me anymore. Thirdly, pawn management is easier when you keep 'em happy."

"Never mind the last thing you said…there's my case in point." She'd nervously stated.

"Believe what you will."

"Amamiya-san…I'm extremely jealous of you and your capabilities."

"You're now a member of a large group who overrate me. Congratulations."

"…"

"Well, I'm gonna go. No more cold calls, Makoto. Okay?" I ordered. She chuckled.

"Alright. And thanks for accommodating your Prez, Amamiya-san." Thanks for screwing my night up both of you…