Facing Sotomori Hajime's sudden outburst, Morofushi Akihiko wore an expression of perfectly measured confusion.
He firmly gripped Sotomori's wrist, preventing the man's hand from touching him, his tone still steady: "Could you explain more clearly, Mr. Sotomori?"
Sotomori Hajime's mental state was worse than he had anticipated—or remembered.
"Stop pretending!" Sotomori breathed heavily, glaring fixedly at Morofushi Akihiko as if seeing through his disguise, yet also as if already lost in his own world, completely unwilling to accept any explanation from anyone else.
"That name, that face—you're that child! The son of that teacher who hid my Arisato away!"
Sotomori's voice was exceptionally agitated, filled with anger and barely restrained madness, drawing the attention of those nearby.
Between the highly aggressive Sotomori and the clearly more gentle Morofushi Akihiko, the onlookers naturally saw the latter as the victim, their gazes tinged with concern.
"Hid away?" Morofushi Akihiko followed Sotomori's words: "Are you perhaps mistaking me for someone else?"
Combined with his aura that easily won others' favor, the scene looked more like an innocent college student being harassed by a mental patient who had escaped from a hospital.
But this demeanor of his sent Sotomori's memory back over a decade—to the day he lost his daughter.
It had been just like this back then.
At the moment he lost his daughter, he had pleaded, begging that teacher named Morofushi to tell him where his daughter was—but the other had refused to say anything.
In a daze, these upturned eyes gradually overlapped with those of the man who had hidden his daughter all those years ago.
Sotomori widened his eyes neurotically. He suddenly lunged, breaking free from Morofushi Akihiko's restraint and grabbing the other's collar.
So easily. Facing a police academy student like this, he had effortlessly gained the upper hand.
Just like back then.
The surrounding onlookers grew more tense. A high school student instinctively took a step forward, then halted at Sotomori's terrifying expression.
"How could I possibly mistake you?!" Sotomori's obsessive words burst out: "These eyes—this name! I could never mistake them in my entire life!"
"I just want to know where Arisato is…"
Sotomori's face contorted, tears streaming down his cheeks as he repeated neurotically: "You must have hidden Arisato away, hidden her somewhere I can't find…"
Morofushi Akihiko listened quietly. The cool night breeze brushed through the strands of hair on his forehead, revealing those upturned blue eyes.
"So, what did you do?" Morofushi Akihiko's voice was very soft.
"I just wanted to find my daughter! But they refused to tell me even if it meant death! I've searched for so long… all these years—"
Sotomori's words were chaotic, revolving entirely around his daughter, almost without logic.
"I still don't quite understand what you're saying, Mr. Sotomori," Morofushi Akihiko appeared even more puzzled. "What does finding your daughter have to do with me?"
Hearing this, a moment of clarity seemed to pierce through the chaos in Sotomori's mind.
Yes, yes. If he explained clearly, he would surely tell me where Arisato is—he had to explain clearly.
Because Ari had said that Morofushi-kun was a very gentle person.
"Nagano—you must still remember Nagano! Right?" Sotomori Hajime's hopeful gaze fell upon the police academy student before him. "You look so much like your father, especially these eyes… Ari said she really liked Morofushi-sensei, that Morofushi-sensei played hide-and-seek with her today. She said Morofushi-kun was also amazing, always able to find where she was hiding…"
"I found your home. I begged your parents, pleaded with them to tell me where Ari was. But they refused to say, no matter what—so I killed them. Ari was so close to you, you must know where she is…"
"But you disappeared. You vanished suddenly, all of you were gone! It must have been your father who hid you all! You took her away with you, didn't you? Where did you hide her?! Tell me!"
"How did you find me?" Morofushi Akihiko asked.
"Ari… Ari said that Morofushi-kun wanted to become a partner of justice, that he liked Kamen Rider, and that he would definitely become a police officer in the future—" Sotomori Hajime's voice softened as he recalled his daughter, murmuring as if to himself, "So I thought, you would definitely come here…"
So that was it.
Morofushi Akihiko calmly analyzed Sotomori Hajime's illogical words. Setting aside the other's delusions, he roughly pieced together the past of his identity in this world.
In his normal experience, after his parents were killed, he was sent to relatives in Tokyo to be cared for as a young child.
But in this world, he had directly disappeared, causing Sotomori Hajime—who had intended to follow him—to lose his trail, failing to find him for over a decade.
No wonder Sotomori Hajime's mental state was so deteriorated.
"Sotomori-san." Morofushi Akihiko lowered his gaze, applying slight force to pry Sotomori Hajime's fingers open one by one.
When he looked up again, the troubled, gentle expression on his face had vanished.
Morofushi Akihiko spoke calmly, "Based on your statement just now, you are suspected of murdering a couple in Nagano Prefecture fifteen years ago. I will immediately contact the police and have them retrieve the case files from that year."
His words were too calm, devoid of any anger or hatred toward the killer of his parents.
Sotomori Hajime was momentarily stunned by Morofushi Akihiko's reaction, then grew even more frenzied. "What about Ari—you still haven't told me where Ari is!"
"Your daughter, Sotomori Ari." Morofushi Akihiko finally uttered the name forever frozen in the past, his tone steady. "She passed away back then due to an appendicitis attack and untimely medical intervention."
"My parents did not hide anyone, and I have never done so either."
"Impossible! You're lying!" Sotomori Hajime refused to believe Morofushi Akihiko's words, his expression contorted as he tried to force him to reveal his daughter's whereabouts.
But Morofushi Akihiko no longer looked at him. After restraining the man, he took out his phone from his pocket and stopped the recording that had been running since much earlier.
The recording was merely a backup; the surveillance cameras and other passersby present could all testify to their conversation.
Morofushi Akihiko lowered his head to send a text message to a certain number, then dialed the police.
Upon arriving at the police station, he cooperated fully with the statement-taking process. After all, it was a case from fifteen years ago, so the procedures were inevitably somewhat cumbersome.
During the process of responding to police questioning, Morofushi Akihiko subtly confirmed his "background."
Morofushi Akihiko, 22 years old, had fled the scene in panic after witnessing the brutal murder of his parents, but the trauma was so severe that it caused a mental breakdown (commonly referred to as amnesia). He was later transferred to a welfare institution and adopted by a couple from Tokyo. It wasn't until much later, as his memories slowly returned, that he recalled his own name.
"You did well, Morofushi-kun," the officer in charge of the questioning patted him on the shoulder. "I think if your parents knew you caught the murderer, they would be happy too. Happy that you finally have the chance to step out of this shadow and move toward the future."
Morofushi Akihiko: "…"
Morofushi Akihiko: "…"
He smiled helplessly before falling silent again.
By the time he finished giving his statement and left the police station, it was already late at night.
The streets were nearly empty at this hour, making them feel particularly desolate. Morofushi Akihiko didn’t head straight back toward the police academy. Instead, he went to a park nearby.
He and his friends used to enjoy playing baseball around here.
Morofushi Akihiko glanced at the swing, which looked no different from how he remembered it. His fingers brushed over the icy-cold chains before he sat down.
"Aren’t you coming out, Mr. Kato?" Morofushi Akihiko said to the empty space in front of him.
After a brief silence, Kato Akio, dressed in casual clothes, stepped out from behind the shadows of the trees. The darkness of the night made it impossible to discern his expression.
"Is this your goal?" Kato Akio began. "Using Sotomori Hajime to strengthen the credibility of your identity while making the Gong'an take special notice of you?"
"Is that how you understand it?" Morofushi Akihiko let out an extremely soft laugh, devoid of any discernible emotion, easily carried away by the wind as if it were merely Kato Akio’s illusion.
He gently swayed the swing’s chains. The moonlight shone upon him, cool and pure, casting a thin layer of silver light over his figure.
"Personally capturing the murderer of my own parents, and doing so before officially joining the department. With such an identity and ability, I should be valued by the Gong'an, right?" Morofushi Akihiko echoed Kato Akio’s words. "The more credible my identity is, the more beneficial it is for the Soshiki, isn’t it?"
Kato Akio: "…"
Morofushi Akihiko couldn’t clearly see Kato Akio’s expression, so he couldn’t quite analyze what the other was thinking. All he heard was this undercover agent within the Gong'an say, "You don’t want to kill him?"
Hmm?
Morofushi Akihiko quietly looked at the man before him, somewhat surprised.
Surprised by the other’s overly obvious personal emotions.
Having stayed outside in the cold wind for too long, Morofushi Akihiko’s hands resting on the swing’s chains were equally cold, unable to leave any warmth behind. It was even hard to tell which was colder—the chains or his hands.
"You’ve forgotten, Mr. Kato," he said.
"I can act at any time."
The codename Scotch wasn’t something one could obtain casually. If a Daigou Kaiin of the Soshiki wanted to kill someone of no use, even if that person were deep within a prison, their life would be nothing more than something Scotch could take with a mere gesture.
"He’s more useful alive," Morofushi Akihiko said almost gently.
These words were all true. Morofushi Akihiko lowered his gaze, not paying attention to the shifting expression on Kato Akio's face.
It was just that he wouldn't do it.
That was all.
"Before death, he must first atone properly for his sins." Morofushi Akihiko stood up from the swing, nodded in Kato Akio's direction, and said with a light laugh, "I'll leave the rest to you, Officer Gong'an."
"Then, I'll take my leave."
Author's Note:
Hooray! The beginner level has officially been cleared!
Can you imagine, when I wrote this synopsis a year ago, my plan was for it to be a comedy. This guy just snatched the pen and made me write a serious drama.
(Taking the pen back)
PS: I've read all your comments! I really want to reply to each analysis and speculation one by one! But once I start, it'll spoil things, so I'll hold back properly! Still, I've read every single comment carefully! Mwah, love you all!
PPS: Updates are basically at midnight (since I write as I go, there might be fluctuations due to overtime work that day). You can check them the next morning after waking up!