It was nearly one in the morning by the time they arrived at Ibaraki University. At this hour, the students still on campus had long since turned out their lights and gone to sleep.
The elderly security guard in the gatehouse was nodding off as well. When he heard someone knocking on the glass window, he immediately grabbed the baton beside him in alarm, nearly falling out of his chair from moving too abruptly.
Ritsu sighed helplessly.
"Hello. Could I ask about two students currently enrolled here? I'm Onizawa Takashi from the Metropolitan Police Department. I'm not a bad guy."
The old guard put on his reading glasses and squinted through the glass. After confirming that the police badge didn't look fake, he finally relaxed.
"Officer, what brings you here looking for students so late at night? Don't tell me one of the kids got into trouble?"
"Actually, I'd like to ask if you recognize this young woman."
Instead of immediately showing the photos of the two students who had brought flowers, Ritsu first produced Atsuko's identification photo.
The guard examined it carefully before letting out a regretful sigh.
"Of course I remember her. She often came back late, always saying she had to take care of her younger brother before returning to the university library to study. Such a shame... she was murdered at such a young age."
Ritsu's eyes lit up.
'Looks like I'm onto something.'
He quickly followed up, "Then do you remember who she usually associated with? Or whether anyone ever accompanied her back to campus at night?"
"Hm? Officer, how did you know someone used to bring her back?"
"Who was it? What did he look like?"
Seeing the urgency on Ritsu's face, the guard tried hard to recall.
"Let's see... I remember he was a pretty tall young man. Drove a red sedan, I don't know the brand, but it looked expensive."
Just as he had suspected.
Atsuko really did have a boyfriend.
And there was a very high probability that this boyfriend was the mastermind behind everything. Otherwise, there was no way the police reports would have omitted the existence of a boyfriend entirely.
"Then, sir, do you recognize these two? They should be friends of Atsuko."
Although the guard had no idea what Ritsu was investigating, he cooperated enthusiastically.
"Oh, those two kids. They don't live in the dorms. The university publicly disciplined them before, so I remember them."
"Hm? Publicly disciplined?"
"That's right. The boy got into a fight with some people off campus, if I remember correctly. As for the girl, she was caught stealing. Both incidents were recorded on video and reported to the university. It happened around mid-October."
Mid-October? That was far too close to the timing of the murder.
Given Atsuko's personality, she wouldn't normally associate with people like that. The far more likely explanation was that they had been threatened and coerced.
"One last question. Do you know their names? Or where they live?"
"I can't remember the names. But my wife probably knows the boy's name, she's a dorm supervisor for the men's residence hall."
"Then please contact your wife. This information is extremely important to me."
The old guard chuckled.
"Sure thing. My old lady is probably still watching TV dramas and hasn't gone to bed yet."
Thanks to the guard's help, they eventually learned that the boy's name was Yokoshima Naoki.
There was no need to trouble the old man any further.
With a name and university affiliation, obtaining the student's identity through online records would be easy.
Back in the car, Ritsu logged directly into the MPD's database. After entering Yokoshima Naoki and Ibaraki University as keywords, he quickly pulled up the young man's profile.
Yokoshima Naoki
Male, 20 years old.
Second-year student in the Department of Literature at Ibaraki University.
Born in Omitama City, Ibaraki Prefecture.
Current address: Room 302, 3-9 Motoyoshida-cho 3-chome, Mito City, Ibaraki Prefecture.
As he drove toward the apartment building, his phone rang.
It was Hayasaka.
As he had expected, there was very little information available about Asahi. It was impossible to continue investigating through that lead.
Clearly, someone was deliberately concealing his background.
"Nothing happened over there, right?"
"No. Eita and Kamio-san both fell asleep in the living room."
"Good. After this is over, I'll have the MPD give you three days off. You've worked hard."
Hayasaka hadn't expected Onizawa to have such a considerate side.
She smiled. "Pulling all-nighters is routine for detectives. Don't worry about us. I'll keep watch here, so focus on your investigation."
"Okay. I'll hang up."
After ending the call, Ritsu carefully checked the surroundings to make sure there were no surveillance cameras before heading up to the third floor.
He knocked on the apartment door.
There was no verbal response.
Instead, the sound of a television inside abruptly stopped.
After waiting a long while without receiving any answer, he became certain that the occupants had indeed been threatened.
With no other choice, he pulled out one of his business cards and slid it through the gap beneath the door.
A faint sound followed.
The card hadn't gone very far before getting stuck. Someone inside seemed to crawl across the floor to see what had been pushed under the door.
About five minutes passed.
After what was probably an intense internal struggle, the door finally opened.
A young man and woman stood inside wearing thick down jackets, the same clothing seen in the surveillance footage.
After carefully studying Ritsu's face, Yokoshima finally spoke.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Officer Onizawa."
"My car can't comfortably fit three people. Let's talk inside."
"...Alright."
After changing into slippers, Ritsu took in the apartment's interior.
The place was small, but fully furnished and exceptionally clean. Various decorative ornaments added a sense of warmth and homeliness.
It seemed this young couple still held hopes and aspirations for a normal life.
The young woman, whose name he still didn't know, retrieved some milk from the refrigerator, heated it in the microwave, and set it on the table.
Before Ritsu even had a chance to thank her, she retreated behind her boyfriend as though that was the only place she felt safe.
"Atsuko was killed by Nishida and the police."
Ritsu had been considering how to persuade them to tell the truth. To his surprise, Yokoshima immediately revealed the information he wanted most.
Gripping his pants tightly with both hands, Yokoshima said seriously,
"Nishida was Atsuko's ex-boyfriend. He's a complete psychopath... The day before she died, Atsuko actually sent us a message. She had a feeling she was going to die."
"So both of you were threatened by Nishida? Forced into fighting people, forced into shoplifting from a convenience store, those were all things Nishida had someone make you do, right?"
Yokoshima took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
"Yes. Before the murder, Atsuko had already received threatening letters and even blood-stained knives. We went to the police for help, hoping they would protect her."
"But who would've thought that only two hours after we filed the report, a group of men cornered us in an alley and forced us to commit those acts..."
"They also warned us not to be friends with Atsuko anymore. Otherwise, we'd end up just like her."
Ritsu frowned.
So the Ibaraki police really were involved. As a police officer himself, nothing disgusted him more than people who tarnished the badge.
"Do you know Nishida's full name? His occupation? Anything about him would help."
The young woman finally peeked out from behind Yokoshima and nodded.
"My name is Anna Maki."
She spoke softly.
"His full name is Ryota Nishida. He said he was twenty-three years old and owned a car dealership. He always acted very wealthy... and he seemed unable to tolerate anything imperfect."
"Unable to tolerate imperfection?"
"We had dinner together once. Atsuko accidentally spilled her drink, and he immediately ran into the restroom. I followed him, and I heard him talking to himself in front of the mirror, saying things like, 'It's okay. I can endure it.'"
Yokoshima explained.
Because a spilled drink had ruined the perfection of the dinner?
Could it be that after being dumped, this man named Nishida viewed the failed relationship as an imperfection in his life...
...and decided to murder her because of it?
If that was the case, he really was a complete madman.
"Not only that," Anna continued, "his possessiveness was extreme. Every ten minutes he'd text Atsuko asking what she was doing and who she was with.
Every hour he'd call and ask the same questions. If he heard a man's voice in the background, he'd immediately come over and drag Atsuko away."
A pathological perfectionist with an overwhelming need for control.
It seemed increasingly certain that Nishida was the mastermind. But he was definitely more than just a car dealership owner.
The investigation would have to start with his background and occupation.
Ritsu stood up politely and smiled.
"Thank you both for providing these clues. I think I have a new direction for the investigation now. I'll be going."
As he reached the doorway, Maki could no longer hold back the question she had buried deep inside.
The moment he opened the door, she spoke. Her voice trembled as though she were desperately suppressing her emotions.
"Officer Onizawa... you'll catch him, won't you?"
Throughout this entire case, they had stepped back despite being Atsuko's closest friends. Failing to help her in the end was likely a regret that would haunt them forever.
But they were ordinary people. The fact that they had been willing to go to the police at all was already commendable.
None of this was their fault.
Atsuko's death had nothing to do with them.
Ritsu turned around and looked at them. His voice was gentle.
"Catching criminals is the police's responsibility. Don't blame yourselves for Atsuko's death."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Because she had friends like you, she'll be happy in the next world."
The security door slowly closed.
Even after walking several steps away, he could still hear the sound of sobbing from inside the apartment.
'Those two kids...
They had been carrying this burden for a very long time.'
----
bonus chap every 20 PS
read ahead on my p@treon @Siamus404