A tense silence hangs in the air, thick and suffocating. For a long moment, Kokujin and Kaede are locked in a silent battle of wills. He searches her eyes for any sign of the broken, submissive woman he'd so thoroughly enjoyed, but finds only cold, unyielding steel. The coward in him, the part of him that calculates risk versus reward, screams at him to back down. This is no longer a game of easy conquest; this is a real threat.
Shit. She's actually lost it. The old hag has a death wish. Fine. It's not worth it. I can break them later.
He slowly raises his hands in a gesture of mock surrender, a cruel smirk twisting his lips. It's a facade, a desperate attempt to salvage some pride from the situation.
"Alright, alright, Kaede-san," he says, his voice dripping with condescending sarcasm. "You win. You've clearly lost your damn mind." He takes a step back, his eyes flicking to the other women in the room. He looks at Kanako, who is staring at him with tear-filled, confused eyes. He sneers. "Enjoy your new life with your pathetic, crazy mother."
His gaze then lands on Nao, who is trembling violently behind the couch cushion. His expression hardens, a silent, clear message passing between them: This isn't over for you. Nao whimpers and shrinks further down.
Finally, he looks at Ayumu, who is kneeling on the floor, her tear-streaked face turned up to him. There's no fear there, only a dawning, fragile hope. He scoffs, dismissing her completely. "And you... you're nothing without me."
He turns his back on Kaede, the ultimate sign of contempt, and strolls towards the guest room where he'd been staying. He returns a moment later with his leather jacket slung over his shoulder. He walks towards the front door, pausing with his hand on the knob. He looks back, not at Kaede, but at the three girls huddled in the living room.
"Don't think this changes anything," he says, his voice low and menacing. "You're all damaged goods now. You'll come crawling back eventually."
With that final, venomous promise, he opens the door and steps out into the night, pulling it shut behind him with a decisive click.
The sound echoes in the suffocating silence of the room. For a few seconds, nobody moves. The oppressive weight that Kokujin's presence exerted on the house lifts, but it's replaced by a vacuum, a heavy, empty space where their collective grief and guilt now rush in to fill the void.
Kaede stands frozen for a moment longer, the fire in her eyes finally dying out, leaving only the cold ash of despair. Her shoulders slump, and with a choked sob, she collapses to her knees, her body wracked with a fresh wave of agony that is now for both of her children. Kanako scrambles over to her, wrapping her arms around her mother as they both weep together, a broken family mourning the loss of a brother and a son. Ayumu joins them, her own sobs mingling with theirs, a trio of shared, self-inflicted pain. Nao remains on the couch, alone, watching them, a single thought repeating in her head: Now what?
The three women are a tangle of shared grief on the living room floor when a sharp, authoritative knock echoes from the front door. It's a sound so out of place, so jarringly normal, that it feels like a physical blow. For a moment, they all freeze, their sobs catching in their throats. Could it be him? Had Kokujin returned?
Another knock, louder this time, more insistent. "Kōsa! Keisatsu desu." (Police! Open up.)
The word slices through the haze of misery. This isn't Kokujin. This is something else, something final. Kaede is the first to move. She slowly, painfully disentangles herself from her daughters, her face a mask of grim resignation. She wipes her tear-streaked face with the back of her hand, her movements stiff as she forces herself to stand.
"I'll... I'll get it," she murmurs, her voice hollow.
She walks to the door like a woman heading to her own execution. She takes a shaky breath, unlocks the deadbolt, and pulls the door open. Two police officers stand on the porch, their expressions somber and professional under the porch light. One is older, with kind, weary eyes. The other is younger, his face a stoic, unreadable mask.
"Sumimasen," the older officer begins, his voice gentle. "Are you Kaede Mori, the mother of Hiroki Mori?"
Kaede can only manage a weak, trembling nod. Her hand flies to her mouth, as if to hold back a scream that's already dying in her throat.
The officers' hats are removed in a gesture of respect. The older officer looks past her into the house, seeing the other girls huddled together, their faces pale and streaked with tears. His expression softens with pity.
"May we come in?" he asks quietly.
Kaede steps aside without a word, her body numb. The officers enter, their presence instantly making the small living room feel like a courtroom. The younger officer closes the door softly behind them, the click of the latch sealing them all inside. The silence that follows is heavy, broken only by the quiet sniffles of the girls.
The older officer clears his throat. "O-kosan no go-kazoku no kata desu ne..." (You are his family, correct...) He pauses, choosing his words with care. "Tōkyō Gate Bridge de... hitotsu no shirushi ga mitsukarimashita." (At the Tokyo Gate Bridge... we found some evidence.) He looks directly at Kaede, his eyes filled with a professional sorrow. "Gakusei shō no saifu to... keitai denwa ga." (A student's wallet... and a mobile phone.)
*He doesn't need to say more. The unspoken words hang in the air: They found things people don't just drop.
Ayu, who had been clinging to Kanako, lets out a strangled gasp and her eyes roll back as she faints, collapsing in a heap on the floor. Kanako screams, a raw, agonized sound of pure denial, and lunges at the police officer. "You're lying! You're lying! He's not dead! He's not!" The younger officer quickly steps between them, blocking Kanako's path with a firm but gentle hand.
Nao just sits on the couch, her face completely white, her eyes wide with a horror that seems almost rehearsed. She begins to cry, loud, theatrical sobs that sound fake even in this moment of genuine tragedy.
Through it all, Kaede remains standing, frozen. The officer's words were the hammer blow she had been dreading. The reality crashes down on her, and the last of her strength gives way. A low, animalistic moan escapes her lips as she collapses to her knees, her hands outstretched as if reaching for a ghost.