14. It's Hard to Relax in the Presence of Haruno Yukinoshita

When someone enters a new place and feels like they have been there before, it's called déjà vu. When a person looks at something familiar but doesn't recognize it, it's called jamais vu.

These experiences aren't always just tricks of the mind. If you've been to a particular chain restaurant or a budget store, every other place in that chain will feel familiar, even if it's your first time there. If you visit a home you used to know well after many years, you might find that the owners have completely changed the interior.

I used to know this living room very well and often admired the view of Chiba from the panoramic window on the 15th floor. The coffee-colored walls and light cream-colored sofas had witnessed many important conversations and silent embraces. A long time ago, this apartment was where Yukino Yukinoshita lived alone. Her older sister, Haruno, would occasionally and to everyone's displeasure move in for a few weeks or months, usually at their mother's insistence.

After finishing high school, Yukino started studying in Tokyo. She rented a place closer to Todai. Later, after earning her law license, she returned to Chiba and rented a small but cozy one-bedroom apartment where the landlords didn't mind pets. In that house, it was not allowed. Yukino's old apartment had been overtaken by her sister.

I wish I could say that Haruno redecorated it according to her taste. But I strongly doubt that Haruno Yukinoshita would ever allow herself to display personal taste in anything. The apartment looked like a slightly neglected set piece from a design firm's catalog. At least in the living room, there was no hint of the owner's personality, except for a few scattered items here and there and a half-empty bottle of imported white wine standing on the coffee table. Haruno, sprawled on the sofa, was sipping it from a glass. She pretended to be relaxed and calm, but it was obvious to me: the heir to the Yukinoshita clan was extremely focused.

Yukino and I sat on the sofa opposite her. There was nothing relaxed about our posture. We both held a very high opinion of Haruno's abilities. She was a ruthless and very skilled manipulator and schemer. I can't claim to be an expert in the field of psychiatric evaluation, but in my opinion, she was a sociopath. So, it would've been foolish to let our guard down in her presence.

It was already a struggle for us to divert Haruno from her favorite pastime — tormenting her younger sister about her suddenly revived personal life. The matter we had come for was related to the welfare of the Yukinoshita family business. It should have been more interesting for Haruno than hypocritical attempts to "guide" Yukino onto the right path, driven by carefully hidden jealousy.

My personal smartphone played a poor-quality voice recording. One of the those I received after accepting Mr. Kobayashi's offer.

Yukino and I had spent a long time debating whether we should try to turn the intrigue against her family to our advantage. In the end, we decided that more information would certainly not hurt. At the very least, we needed to know what we were dealing with. The initial samples of the compromising material didn't make anything clear.

The documents and audio recordings that followed my agreement didn't clarify much either. From the hastily taken photographs of some documents, it was clear that they were about transferring some property through a chain of legal entities. But neither Yukino nor I could make sense of the reasoning behind it all. The recordings didn't clarify things either. There was a voice, similar to Nobuo Yukinoshita's, negotiating with some male. They at least spoken Japanese, but we were desperately lacking the context. We took the risk and decided to consult Haruno.

"I can't recognize the voice of my father's conversation partner. The recording quality is terrible. Can't the police do anything about it?"

"Officially, this recording doesn't exist for the police yet," I explained. "Unofficially, I don't have any contacts in audio forensics. It's not my area. Such things are more often needed by fraud specialists or organized crime units."

"Still weak when it comes to building informal connections, Hachiman?"

"Very strong. I just don't waste this strength on people whose help I don't need."

"Sister. Maybe we should leave the dissection of Hikigaya-kun when we have some free time?" Yukino changed the subject.

"You talk about your beloved as if he's a mutant toad, and you're studying him in a lab. Hikki-toad, it's childish and offensive, but there's something fitting about that nickname."

Once, long ago, I was called that too. One of the many childhood psychological wounds that turned me into a loner.

"Yukinoshita-san, I remind you that we're talking about the business interests of the company you're about to inherit. It's in your best interest to treat the situation seriously. I think you've learned that over the years."

Haruno can't stand it when people close to her address her in such formal terms. Everyone should love her, after all! I instinctively sensed this weakness in her the moment we met, and I've never hesitated to exploit it.

The elder Yukinoshita finished her wine and poured herself another glass. We were drinking tea. Yukino almost never touches alcohol, except for very special occasions. As for me, I simply don't like drinks made from grapes — neither wine nor brandy.

"I think I understand what's going on. The Moon Garden project. It's a new residential high-rise in Chūō-ku. It's currently in the approval stage. A very prestigious project. There are preliminary agreements with some VIP clients. I also want to move there. I don't have a heart for this apartment."

"You have a heart, sister? That's a bold confession."

"A soul, a heart, and a body — all of them perfect." Haruno smirked and settled on the couch so that her chest was in full view.

A low blow. Yukino is stunningly beautiful, but as flat as a board. Haruno, on the other hand, was generously endowed by nature in that department. Yukino can surpass her sister in anything, but not in breast size. I've told my beloved many times that she's still beautiful, but it seems this complex never fully faded.

"Were there any problems with the Moon Garden project?" I tried to steer the conversation back to something constructive. Sisters can exchange barbs for hours, and if they get bored, they can always come up with inventive insults aimed at me.

"There were. The city was reluctant to sell us the land, even though there were no other contenders. And then there was this feeling that someone was deliberately dragging out the review of the project."

"Are you working on the Moon Garden?" Yukino asked.

"No, not directly. Right now, I'm in charge of the reconstruction of an industrial site in Saitama. But as my father's successor, I'm aware of all the company's projects."

"And why did the discussion of a residential high-rise project suddenly turn into compromising material?"

"If we believe the documents and the audio recordings, my father personally bribed some official to approve the construction. The bribery scheme is clever and not obvious. I'd assume it involves transferring the residential property through fake transactions between private individuals."

"How much are we talking about? You should understand the market situation; can you give an estimate?"

"Based on my expert opinion," Haruno emphasized the word "expert," "it's somewhere between 43 and 48 million yen."

For a wage slave, even 40 million yen is an enormous sum. I've come across data stating that, on average, a detective in Japan earns around 7.25 million yen per year. In my case, that amount didn't even reach 7 million. Do you math.

If it's an apartment, I wouldn't be able to afford it even with a mortgage. The payments would be around 120,000 to 140,000 yen per month, and my income is much lower. But maybe Yukino and I together could make it…

"A bribe of this size would be a nationwide scandal."

"If anyone could manage to prove it."

"So you're not denying that corruption was involved in the construction permit process, Yukinoshita-san?" I couldn't help myself.

"Yukinoshita-san denies the very possibility that Yukinoshita Kensetsu would need to bribe anyone. The company's reputation is impeccable, and we have the largest portfolio of successful projects in the prefecture. Why would we risk it?"

I shrugged.

"Motive is an optional part of the crime. Although prosecutors love a clear motive that's easy for judges and juries to understand, they can still secure a conviction without it."

Yukino smirked at my superficial phrasing. But that level of criminal law knowledge was enough for me.

"The quality of the photocopies and audio recordings is very poor. It's as if they were made on an ancient Garakei. Could they have disguised the forgery like that?" Haruno raised a sensible question. Yukino and I had also considered this, but there was no evidence for or against it.

"Maybe. But we'd need to conduct an expert examination. If the materials end up in the police department, they'll move forward with them fast. Private laboratories are preferable. Ideally, foreign ones."

"I can find an independent expert and commission an evaluation. Or we can be smarter. Pass the information to father, and let him handle it as he sees fit."

"Through his friends in PSIA? They're not very good at investigations, even in their own field."

"There's a chance the father will just dismiss it. And mother will probably try to start some complicated counter-plot without enough information." Yukino sighed. "As much as I'd like to avoid getting involved, the three of us could achieve much more with our resources. Will you accept our help, Haruno?"

"Still so eager to prove you can catch up to me in something, Yukino?"

"I just want to help my family. I think that's a natural feeling for any Japanese person."

In truth, Yukino had long ago surpassed Haruno, leaving her eating dust on the sidelines with vague chances of getting back in the race. Yukino wasn't lucky with the one she fell in love with, but her feelings were genuine. The luxury Haruno would never be able to acquire, even if she sold all the family assets.