After listening to the frantic, overlapping testimonies of Endo and his two companions, Kosaka Daisuke could only stare at them in disbelief. His expression cycled through shock, bewilderment, and finally settled into a sort of weary exasperation.
"Are high school students these days all this calculating?" He rubbed his temples. "Let me get this straight. You three were hired to come here, bully this girl, and rob her, while this Shinkawa Kyouji character was supposed to be lurking in the wings, waiting to swoop in and play the hero?"
Endo and the others nodded so vigorously their swollen heads seemed in danger of detaching.
"Yes! That's exactly it!"
"He promised we could keep all the money too!"
Kosaka Daisuke regarded these would-be criminals with undisguised disdain. "Then do you have any evidence that he instigated this? Proof that would hold up in a formal investigation?"
Police work required evidence. Though some desperate detectives might resort to questionable methods when facing particularly heinous criminals, Kosaka Daisuke was a man of principle. He wouldn't bend the rules, even for justice.
At his question, Endo and his companions went slack-jawed.
"Shinokawa... he told us verbally. We don't have any proof," Endo admitted weakly.
Kosaka Daisuke sighed heavily. "Then what exactly are you expecting? We can bring this Shinokawa in for questioning, certainly. But your uncorroborated statements won't earn you leniency, and they certainly won't reduce your own culpability."
The color drained from their already pale faces.
"But that's not fair!"
"He really did set this whole thing up!"
"Shinokawa told us about Asada's past! He told us to extort her!"
Hozuki Nozomi watched the pathetic spectacle with thinly veiled contempt. These fools had been played for pawns, used so thoroughly they couldn't even see the strings. Shinkawa Kyouji had calculated everything—and even if they were caught, he'd walk away clean, untouched by consequence.
But Shinkawa Kyouji had already lost something far more valuable: Asada Shino's trust. That was a wound that wouldn't heal.
Kosaka Daisuke efficiently handcuffed the three and began escorting them to the police car. Their pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears. Now they were sorry? Where was that remorse when they were terrorizing a defenseless girl? Able-bodied young men, choosing to extort a lone female student—they deserved every consequence coming to them.
With the case established, Kosaka Daisuke would ensure the school issued a public reprimand. From this day forward, the labels "extortionist" and "robber" would follow them like shadows.
Hozuki Nozomi returned the ten thousand yen to Asada Shino. The statement was taken on the spot by the attending officer; with the voice recorder evidence, Endo and his crew had no path to acquittal.
Asada Shino, however, remained visibly shaken. Her thoughts churned endlessly around Shinkawa Kyouji.
Even now, she struggled to accept that the gently smiling boy who'd been her only friend had orchestrated her misery. If he really had engineered her isolation, manipulated her trust, created crises just to resolve them—then he was a monster wearing a human face. The game helmet he'd delivered, the sudden request to take it back for "debugging"... all of it now seemed deeply suspicious.
A gentle voice pulled her from her spiral.
"Asada? Are you alright?"
She blinked, refocusing on the handsome young man before her. "Ah... I'm fine. I'm okay." She bowed deeply, her voice thick with sincerity. "Today... thank you so much. Really."
Hozuki Nozomi waved off her gratitude with an easy smile. "You don't need to thank me so many times. I just did what anyone should do—stood up when I saw someone being wronged."
He tilted his head thoughtfully. "But speaking of which... would you be willing to exchange phone numbers?"
Asada Shino's eyes flew wide. Surprise painted her features in vivid colors.
"No?" He misinterpreted her expression.
"Ah—no! Of course we can!" She quickly corrected, then hesitated. "It's just... why would you want my number? Someone like me... I'd only cause you trouble, wouldn't I?" Her voice grew smaller with each word, thick with self-consciousness. "I even told them I lent the money willingly. You must think I'm pathetic."
She lowered her head, shame burning in her cheeks. What must he think of her? That coward who couldn't even defend herself?
A warm, firm voice cut through her spiraling thoughts.
"What trouble?"
She looked up.
Hozuki Nozomi's smile was brilliant, genuine, utterly without judgment. "I can't stand watching cute girls get bullied. So to make sure you're never in that position again—hand over that phone number. If you ever need anything, anything at all, you can find me."
Asada Shino's heart clenched.
Just like that, Hozuki Nozomi had her number. And she had his.
"Well then, Asada. Shall I walk you home? Or do you have somewhere else to be?"
"I... I don't have any plans now." She'd intended to give the helmet to Shinkawa Kyouji, but that was clearly unnecessary now.
"Perfect. Then allow me to escort you home—if you don't mind me knowing where you live?"
Asada Shino felt warmth creep into her cheeks. "I don't mind at all. Thank you... I'd appreciate that."
They stopped before her apartment door. As Hozuki Nozomi prepared to bid her farewell and leave, words tumbled from her mouth before she could stop them.
"Do you... would you like to come in for a bit?"
He paused, turning back with that same gentle smile. "You have something you want to talk about, don't you? That's fine. I'm a very good listener."
Asada Shino nodded wordlessly and unlocked the door.
"Please, come in."
"Excuse the intrusion."
Hozuki Nozomi stepped inside and surveyed the room. It was minimalistic—almost stark. A small single room with a bed, a desk, and an attached bathroom. She'd lived in the dorms once, but conflicts with her roommate had driven her here, to solitude.
When he casually sat on the edge of her bed, Asada Shino felt a flutter of shyness. She quickly poured him a glass of water.
"Thank you."
He took a sip, then spoke softly. "Can you tell me about this 'murderer' business? Only if you want to, of course. If it's too painful, pretend I didn't ask."
Asada Shino took a deep breath. Surprisingly, she did want to tell him.
"It happened when I was little."
She told him everything—the bank visit with her mother, the robber's sudden appearance, the gun pressed to her mother's temple. The chaos, the fear, the moment the robber's weapon was knocked to the floor. How she, a small child, had picked it up. How she'd fired. How the robber died.
How everything after had been a nightmare of whispers and pointed fingers and her own mother's fearful eyes.
When she finished, she watched his face nervously, waiting for judgment, for revulsion, for the same fear she saw in everyone else.
Hozuki Nozomi's expression remained perfectly gentle. When she fell silent, he raised his hand and gave her a thumbs up.
"Asada, you're very brave."
She blinked.
"If I'd been your age and faced that situation, I probably would have just cried helplessly." His voice held no pity, only sincere admiration. "But you—you saved your mother. You acted when it mattered most. That's not something to be ashamed of. That's courage."