On the first of March, Setsuko Nagano showed up at Toujie Miyanagi's law office - it was small, located on the outskirts of Tokyo.

She knocked on the door, And after a moment of waiting, the door was opened to her by Miyanaga - before he did it seemed to Setsuko that Miyanaga was looking through the window earlier - as if checking who was going to come to him.

- Hello, my name is Miyanaga Touji. I am a lawyer, can I help you with anything?

- Good morning, I'm Nagano Setsuko, Clarity Press. You are the defense attorney for Shimoda Soichi-san right?

Touji somehow breathed a sigh of relief at Setsuko's words, although he still didn't trust her - he looked around him - making sure he didn't see any familiar faces.

- Feel free to come inside.

The two went inside - into Touji's office and sat down, soon Setsuko began to ask questions.

- I would like to ask you a few questions - I am currently involved in a journalistic investigation into the murder case of Shimoda Masashige and his family, the suspect is the victim's brother - Shimoda Soichi, you have a good reputation, however, you agreed to defend him, even as this case was almost a foregone conclusion, may I know why you accepted the case?
- I have my reasons, Nagano-san, I believe in Shimoda Soichi's innocence, the only evidence of his guilt were the fingerprints on the victims' necks, as well as on the knife - however - on the knife in addition to Soichi Shimoda's fingerprints were the other person's, as far as I know, it would be impossible after where Shimoda's prints were for him to stab his brother and his family. Besides... I have my own ... rather private reason why I believe in his innocence

Miyanaga averted his eyes from Setsuko, feeling a little fear after recalling his greatest fears.

- Please forgive me for this question but... You were a Class 3-E student at Hireikan right?

Touji froze

- How do you know?

- I don't know, I'm just guessing - many former students of Class 3-E were killed, one of them was Masashige Shimoda, however, if you weren't, could you tell me who of the surviving former students of Class 3-E from 1972 are still alive?

Touji at this point began to ponder, eventually decided it was worth the risk, got up and went to the living area of the building, said nothing to Setsuko - who in turn didn't know if he was avoiding answering again - like Principal Uesaka of Hireikan, or if he had gone for something.

Setsuko waited for 5 minutes after which Miyanaga returned, with a slightly damaged school photograph from 1972.

- That's right, I was a 3-E student at Hireikan Academy in 1972, I will reveal my reason to you - I have thought it over, I may soon be dead therefore I would like you to continue my investigation, after my death.

Nagano opened her eyes wide.

- But what are you talking about?

Touji slipped her a photo, some of the students were crossed out with a red marker in an "X" and the year of their death

- As far as I know, out of 28 students, 18 remained. 11 were murdered, one of them Keniichi Okkotsu while still attending this school.

Setsuko examined the photo - among the students she found her mother there - circled with a cross "X" with the year "1985" - she also noticed the "cut out" face of one of the students - also confirmed her theory, that something must have happened in Hireikan - was it Okkotsu's death? or maybe something much bigger?

Miyanaga noticed that Nagano looked at one girl from the photo and then looked at her face.

- I think you found someone familiar in the photo... someone close to you went to this school?

Setsuko pondered her answer - to tell the truth or to lie? - she decided she'd better try to boost Miyanagi's confidence.

- Yes, my mother, Iwaita Sayaka, went there.

- My condolences...

He said in a sad voice Miyanaga, he knew Sachiko during what happened then, she was one of the people who could be trusted then.

- Thank you...

Said Setsuko in the same tone as Touji.

There was then a moment of silence - as if a moment of paying respects to Sayaka

After a moment, however, Nagano resumed the conversation.

- So, you said you would tell me the reason for your private investigation?

- Yes, but I have a request - let's keep this between us, because if you do, not only I, although I am already his target, but you will become his target.

Setsuko became more interested in Miyanagi's words.

- Someone is hunting former Hireikan students from Class 3-E of 1972?

- No, not just them...

He's killing everyone who knew him even a little bit - he's burning all the bridges with him, for all I know he's already killed about 20 people, although that number may be double if not triple that.

Nagano was shocked, for a moment she thought Miyanaga might be paranoid however...

however, she herself remembered when, as an 11-year-old, she heard that her mother had been poisoned by someone, additionally there could be a high chance that the person Miyanaga was talking about was the one involved in the murder of Shimoda and others.

However, one fact disagreed - the deaths of Hana Matsuda-Montclair, Eiji Kujou and Shouya Hirabayashi took place in too short a time.

- Could this person have had his " assistant?"
Not one, nor probably two - he is a dangerous, but extremely charismatic... and even... magical man, he appears and disappears, the last time I saw him was in 1981 - in Kamakura... by accident...

Miyanaga began to sweat

- I looked into his eyes... they were not the eyes of an ordinary person... they were even more demonic than when he looked into my eyes in my high school years... then he did that smile of his... as if... sort of...

As if he remembered the word given to me...

- What did he promise you?

- He told me, that memorable day in Hireikan, that I would be the last... Then he said it without any context... I didn't understand his words until after Kano-sensei, Iwaita-san, Minazuki Daito and Senomiya Yukika-san died.

I didn't realize what was happening when Miura Shinsuke-san... my former classmate told me about it, two years later he himself was dead, and I understood what he meant...

I am the last of this class to survive...

- Was he doing it for a sick "promise"?

- No, although... I don't know.

I was in his hometown, I saw there someone almost identical to him but...

but those eyes were different, although I'm still not sure - if it was him, he is probably responsible for the deaths of many others, including Kanazawa Shinichirou - have you heard about this case?

- It's a double murder from Yomiyama? murderer of 19-year-old Hironiwa Ria-san, died 10 minutes right after her - two bullets in the head, such murders are extremely rare; especially in Japan.
I myself am afraid to directly interfere with the investigation in Yomiyama, I am simply afraid, it is easier to kill someone in a sleepy town like Yomiyama than in a metropolis like Tokyo, I am glad I came back from there alive.

- I see, do you know anything else about him?

- Yes, in 1972 after graduating from high school he went to France to study.

After a while, Miyanaga remembered two key things

- His name, is Muneyoshi Shion, I don't know what he looks like now, but if that person from Yomiyama is him, he currently has fairly neat black hair, with no signs of graying or balding, he does have a few wrinkles, but he looks more like 31 than 45, I know he has green eyes, almost malachite green. He is quite tall, and quite slim, I think around his ideal weight.

Setsuko noted all this down in her private notebook, when she finished it and stood up, Touji added the last word.

- w 1989... your uncle... Iwaita Haruchika-san... was looking for your mother... - he found me, he knew I was in class 3-E along with her, unfortunately... I told him the truth.

However, maybe it will be important to you... As far as I know he owns a family business, somewhere in Setagaya... he didn't tell me where exactly, or I don't remember...

Setsuko nodded, - at this point she was able to come to terms with her biological family, in turn, however, she shouldered the realization that Miyanaga might be Shion's next victim - admittedly, Shion said he would be the last, although Nagano believed that he could kill him if he would dig too deep into his past and life.
Officially, however, she couldn't bring much to the press, the risky topic she took on, instead of elevating her career upward, all the effort could have been in vain - Setsuko Nagano, however, had a new goal - a personal one.

To uncover the truth about her mother's killer - Shion Muneyoshi, and to reconcile with her biological family.