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墨書 Inktalez
In early December 2009, the sun was still shining at noon, but by around two in the afternoon, the light had dimmed significantly due to the overcast sky. The university club activities continued until one-thirty, leaving Aki to grab a bento box from the convenience store for lunch.
Fortunately, it was her favorite dish: stir-fried bamboo shoots with vegetarian chicken. While it was heating up, Aki received a call from Miki Kazuya. This was the first time he had invited her to his home alone, suggesting he wanted to keep this matter hidden from Takashi Fujiwara. They arranged to meet at three o'clock, and Aki thought she should hurry, quickly eating a few bites before rushing to the station. She barely tasted the stir-fried bamboo shoots.
The materials Miki Kazuya had asked Aki to review amounted to over a hundred pages, not entirely printed; some parts were annotated with a ballpoint pen. As Aki studied the main subject of the documents, she recognized the woman named Haruna from previous discussions. Miki Kazuya poured her a cup of black tea and explained what he needed her help with.
The gist of it was that Miki Kazuya had infiltrated Nichido Planning, which was planning to hold a welcome party for newcomers. He hoped Aki could pretend to be his girlfriend, get close to Haruna, and gain her trust. As he spoke, he slightly pulled back the curtains, allowing a gray light to filter in.
“Do we need to meet her in the early morning?” Aki asked.
“Yes, that would be best,” Miki Kazuya replied.
Aki carefully examined the materials again and found detailed information about Haruna’s hobbies and her previous schools listed clearly. The last few pages even contained several photographs. One person caught her attention; it was their original target—Naoki Okamoto.
The small notes pinned on the wall showed some changes.
Naoki Okamoto's name appeared on a yellow sticky note, while Haruna's name was written on a red target paper—Miki Kazuya had swapped their positions, making Aki realize the significance of her "assistance" this time.
The shops in Yin Hu Qu closed by around one o'clock. The nearby residences were mostly dark as well, and the entire city seemed to have fallen into a deep slumber. Even wrapped in a heavy coat, Aki felt the chill seep into her bones; the white mist from her breath seemed like it would freeze instantly.
“That's enough for now; you can go back,” Aki said to Miki Kazuya as he saw her off.
"Just take a right turn, and you'll reach Kamihon Park," Miki Kazuya said, stopping to bid farewell to Aki.
Aki wanted to say "be careful," but for some reason, the words wouldn't come out. In the end, she could only nod gently.
She had just saved Haruna's phone number in her contacts. Waiting for Miki Kazuya to walk away, she pressed the call button.
Her feet felt disconnected from reality as she stepped on the concrete, and Aki's pace gradually quickened.
As she mentioned Kamihon Park, she was already sprinting down the deserted street. The phone call ended with a beep, and she realized she had successfully lured Haruna out. Yet, instead of feeling relieved, a sense of foreboding began to grow within her.
Early December 2009
The game had continued until five in the morning, and Takashi Fujishiro finally fell asleep as dawn broke.
After such a busy day, he quickly drifted into a deep sleep that lasted until the home phone rang.
The clock showed two in the afternoon when Takashi Fujiwara answered the call; it was his girlfriend Aki on the line.
Winter sunlight seeped through the cracks in the window, but he felt no warmth at all.
"Takashi Fujiwara, is Miki Kazuya with you?" Aki panted heavily, her voice trembling and sounding urgent.
"No, I'm still sleeping..." Takashi Fujiwara replied.
"Watch the news," Aki said before hanging up the phone, causing Takashi Fujiwara's previously good mood to plummet. He had noticed that after introducing Miki Kazuya to Aki, she had slowly changed in a way that made Takashi uncomfortable.
The television initially showed a segment on international news. Takashi got up to grab a can of cold beer from the kitchen, and by the time he returned, it was already covering local headlines.
As he watched the reports, nothing particularly stood out. Just as he was about to call Aki back, he saw the news anchor deliver a report with a blank expression, and his heart immediately leaped into his throat.
—At nine o'clock in the morning, following a report from a citizen in Yin Hu District, the body of a woman was discovered in the under-construction Kamihon Park.
According to police investigations, the deceased was identified as Yamaguchi Haruna, an employee of Nichido Planning's advertising department. She died on the spot from a stab wound to the heart...
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