Chapter 143 Ferry Incident

359.

Kenji Hagihara thought he might be hallucinating.

Just a second ago, he seemed to hear his childhood friend, whom he was very close to, saying that their mutual best friend had fallen into the sea.

...It was pushed by Matsuda Jinping.

How is that possible? This is not the way you joke.

The sun was shining brightly, and the sea breeze poured down onto the deck mercilessly. The curly-haired officer was covered in blood and seawater, and his well-groomed hair was wet and stuck together. He looked like a stray dog ​​on the street.

The expression on his face was still confused, as if he was at a loss as to what to do after the drastic change in the world, or as if he had become numb from the pain and even his facial functions were frozen.

He just raised his head, looking at Kenji Hagiwara and the distant sky. He seemed to see a helicopter coming over.

Hagiwara Kenji couldn't laugh anymore. He said in a very puzzled voice, "Xiao Zhenping, what are you kidding?"

"Isn't this... a fishing plan that was rehearsed in advance?"

"I'm not kidding." Matsuda Jinpei's voice was low and clear. He pointed to a blood-stained area nearby and waved his hand. "Right here, in front of many people, Che waved at me... He's gone."

"Hagi, I was the one who forced him to leave." He looked at him with dreamy eyes, and asked in confusion, "Why did this happen?"

Kenji Hagiwara felt his whole body shaking. He looked at the scratched railing and listened to the sound of the rescue boat. He felt as if the world was spinning endlessly and he could not receive any correct information.

"Jinpei Matsuda." He spoke in a hoarse voice, dragged the man up and pulled him in front of him, "Explain to me what the hell happened?!"

He didn't believe that Jinpei Matsuda would push Toru Chiyodani into the industry. This guy cared about Toru more than he did.

But how did it come to this?

What had he just missed?

Kenji Hagiwara couldn't help but feel panic rising in his heart. It seemed that not only his inference was wrong, but even the brief communication during their meeting was wrong.

"Speak!" He raised his voice and yelled, looking at Matsuda Jinpei's numb eyes, and then panted a little quickly, "We were separated for just a moment... I just saw him in the corridor."

When I saw him, I pointed my gun at him, looked at his ferocious and desperate look, and then passed by him.

So... isn't this acting?

Jinpei Matsuda finally responded. He asked, "Did you run into him in the corridor just now?"

Kenji Hagiwara nodded and briefly recounted his encounter. His purple eyes suddenly fell on his shoulder, and the missing strand of hair was so obvious.

He thought that the organization members were nearby and they staged the breakup to make it more realistic. He then secretly complained to Chiyodani Toru for scaring him so badly.

“Ahhh!”

After hearing everything he said, Jinpei Matsuda, who had a decadent look on his face, suddenly punched him on the shoulder and growled like a dying beast.

"So there's you, Hagiwara Kenji!" He hammered his shoulder again and again, but he became weaker and weaker, and finally he could only say desperately, "Damn it, it was us two who did it..."

Pointing guns at him, not trusting him, even trying to arrest him.

"I said why is Toru so, so tired——"

She was so tired that she didn't want to listen to any more of his explanations. As if she had already accepted the outcome, she decisively pried his hands apart.

He tried really hard to ask for help, and tried really hard to find affirmation, as if as long as there was one person willing to believe him, he would have room for explanation and could continue to persevere.

But no.

Chiyotani Saori's deep sleep; Edogawa Conan's terrified cry; Hagiwara Kenji's confrontation with a gun; and finally... his atonement.

Again and again, in a short period of time, all the threads were pulled out from his flesh and blood, leaving only holes that were still oozing blood.

Chiyotani Toru had lost everything. He could never go back to them again, and even had to face what they said - the price.

Would it be possible that Chiyotani Toru, who knows a lot about the law, didn't know what category his situation falls into?

——Impossible.

He just...acknowledged his guilt, and in his final hesitation, they convicted him and he became a criminal who committed suicide.

Jinpei Matsuda thought this was too ridiculous that such a thing could happen to them, to the companions who deserved happiness the most.

Hagiwara Kenji listened to his incoherent and incoherent words, ignoring the pain from the punches he received, and asked hastily, "Xiao Zhenping, what on earth is going on?"

"Please, tell me everything..." He suddenly bit his lower lip to hold back his emotions, "I really, really don't want to."

I didn't want to point a gun at him.

I don't want to distrust what he says.

It's just that the incident happened too suddenly, and he really... missed it.

Matsuda Jinpei looked at Hagiwara Kenji's pupils that suddenly widened, and suddenly asked, "Where is the member of the organization that was captured?"

"Locked in the room." Hagiwara Kenji replied, and continued to ask, "You..."

"Take me to him while we walk!"

Jinpei Matsuda interrupted him, bent down, and picked up the dagger that Toru Chiyodani had brought from the ground.

The dagger was very sharp, and it was covered with half-dried blood, feeling sticky to the touch, but he held it in his arms with care, not worrying at all about getting cut by the sharp weapon.

When Kenji Hagiwara saw the dagger, his last thought was instantly shattered.

It was Chiyodani Toru who was holding it at that time. He walked past him, decisively cut off a strand of his hair, and threw it on the ground with blood. Then he ignored his subconscious attempts to keep him and walked onto the deck.

It seemed as if she wanted to tell him that the connection between them would be like this severed hair, falling to the ground and being trampled into the mud, with no possibility of connection anymore.

360.

The two men no longer stayed on the deck. Someone came to clean up the mess and washed away all the blood on the ground, as if this would restore everything to a clean state and allow the exhibition to continue.

No one in the group protected in the room knew that the "Star of Justice" they were familiar with had fallen, rolled silently in the mud for several times, and fell into the sea again.

On the way, they also met Sachiko Shintani who was dressed in bright and beautiful clothes.

The woman's eyes lit up when she saw them, but when she saw Matsuda Jinpei's ferocious look, she subconsciously distanced herself from him and shouted from a few steps away, "Are you Officer Matsuda? Great! I heard that it was you who solved the criminals and protected my treasure."

Matsuda Jinpei stopped walking subconsciously and asked her, "Hear?"

Shintani Sachiko nodded and praised: "The guard I met on the road just now said that you have brought the criminal to justice. That's great! I don't know where this thief came from to covet our treasures. It's so scary."

Matsuda Jin listened to her quietly.

She said that everyone already knew it; she said that Jinpei Matsuda had Chiyodani Toru executed; she said... it was Chiyodani Toru who coveted her family's treasure.

Whose family?

Whose house is this?

His heart began to ache again, and Matsuda Jinpei held the USB drive even tighter.

"Get lost." After a long while, he slowly uttered a word.

Sachiko Shintani felt that she was hallucinating and she exclaimed, "Huh?"

Matsuda Jinpei repeated: "Get lost, I don't want to see you for the time being."

Shintani Sachiko's expression twisted instantly, losing her gentle and polite demeanor, and she almost screamed, "How dare you speak to taxpayers like that! I want to sue you!"

"Give me back the treasure!"

Matsuda Jinpei looked at her coldly and walked right past her. When Shintani Sachiko was a little flustered, he whispered, "You'd better pray that this thing is yours."

Sachiko Shintani was so frightened by the murderous look that she fell to the ground. Her heart was pounding like a drum and she broke out in a cold sweat almost instantly. She thought blankly, no way... could it be that she was discovered when she was stealing things from the Chiyotani family?

The two of them walked around her and continued inside. Hagiwara Kenji looked at Matsuda Jinpei's bloody body and hesitated several times to say something. In the end, he was completely blank when he heard Matsuda Jinpei's calm words.

Just like Jinpei Matsuda's reaction when he received Morobushi Keimitsu's call, Kenji Hagiwara's initial reaction was similar to his.

——Unbelievable.

He couldn't help but mutter, "Little Zhenping...is this really not April Fools' Day?"

"Toru... is he crazy?"

The young man who remained calm even in critical moments and only shed tears because of them and his sister, fell into despair in a place they couldn't see, and was forced to split his personality to protect himself?

How can he believe this?

Kenji Hagiwara prides himself on being the best at observing other people's emotions and making people happy, but at this moment, he finds that he can't remember Chiyotani Toru's true emotions at all.

He seemed to have tacitly accepted that his companion, who was an excellent actor and well-versed in psychology, did not need help from others to regulate his emotions. Even though he worked so hard that he exhausted himself, it was only because he was too responsible and wanted to do better to meet Saori.

But now Jinpei Matsuda told him that it was Toru Chiyodani who was trying to atone for his crime. Only when the case was solved did it belong purely to Toru Chiyodani. The rest of the time he was just another executioner.

The considerate care they usually boasted of actually melted away under Granmani's cold gaze and was not passed on to their close friend at all.

Jinpei Matsuda also said that he injured Chiyodani Toru, watched Chiyodani Toru's confusion after waking up, watched him leave in a panic, and then - he met you.

Chiyodani Toru, who was on the brink of collapse, met Hagiwara Kenji.

He met his best friend who pointed a gun at him and didn't believe he would stop and just wanted to send him to jail.

Kenji Hagiwara didn't even lead the way. He bumped into a wall while walking, staggered two steps, holding his head, and leaned to the side. His amethyst-like eyes were full of confusion.

Matsuda Jinpei looked at him like this, a little tired, he said: "Toru told you that he would not hand over the USB drive to the organization, but... that is the only thing he has."

"It's just... he wanted to test it one last time. Which one is more important to us, the USB drive or him?"

"Hagi, we are both wrong to choose one of the two." Matsuda Jinpei said with a wry smile, "I told you both, 'Give me the USB drive' - before I trusted him."

Chiyodani Toru's confidence was crushed after Granmani showed up. He interacted with them cautiously, fearing that someone would find out.

On one hand, they were afraid that Granmani would hurt them, and on the other hand, they were afraid that they would turn swords against each other if they were exposed.

This pressure gradually accumulated over time, bending his spine and gradually suppressing the bright sunshine into an extremely weak flame. Until after being exposed - Chiyodani Toru even just hoped that he would be more important than a USB flash drive.

Do you believe what I say? Are you willing to believe a word I say when I have already become unable to escape?

But all he got was "Toru, don't do this" and "Give me the USB first."

Kenji Hagiwara's face turned pale. He remembered that when he met Chiyodani Toru, the other party couldn't stop coughing, and finally mumbled some words that were difficult to understand. His black eyes flickered, looking at him, and it seemed like he was looking at himself in his eyes.

Chiyodani Toru gently told him to move aside and said he would not give the USB drive to the organization.

But Kenji Hagiwara didn't believe a word of it.

He recalled the words he almost didn't hear clearly at that time - Chiyodani Toru said to him numbly, "You see, they don't trust you, not at all..."

Then, Chiyodani Toru's emotions suddenly became agitated, as if he was deliberately provoking him to say something that he couldn't think of, but after his firm answer, he quickly regained his composure.

It's just giving up the entanglement.

"I actually really believe him." Hagiwara Kenji murmured, "It's just... I'm afraid..."

What was he afraid of? He was a little confused.

It was as if he was worried that Chiyodaya Toru would walk past with the USB flash drive like this, and he would not leave any sense of existence in his heart; it was as if he saw Chiyodaya Toru so excited and so upset, but he didn't say a word of concern.

Kenji Hagiwara was silent. He found that he could not find any excuses. He had indeed never thought about these truths. He just noticed them but did not explore them.

Even Jinpei Matsuda has never said it directly.

He tried hard to search his memory, but was shocked to find that what he did to Chiyodani Toru seemed to be nothing special.

He and Jinpei Matsuda would accompany him and make him happy, and he would do the same to other people; he would urge him to eat, and he would do the same to other people; he would prepare gifts for Chiyodani Toru on his birthday, and he would do the same to other people.

He suddenly felt that he didn't seem to be very good to Chiyodani Toru.

But that idiot didn't seem to think so. It was as if what Hagiwara Kenji said was very important to him, so important that just a few words could crush him.

Hence his unspoken distrust and defensiveness, as Jinpei Matsuda said, they pushed him into the sea.

Kenji Hagiwara was thinking aimlessly, when suddenly this cruel thought pricked him, and this needle had penetrated into his heart without him knowing when, stirring the flesh and blood inside, and bringing out all his memories of Chiyodani Toru.

What he remembered most was the disappointed eyes of Chiyodani Toru as she looked at him before she fainted.

It seems like this isn't the first time...

It turns out that this isn't the first time that Kenji Hagiwara has disappointed him...

Kenji Hagiwara pulled his hair subconsciously, but found nothing.

The hair that usually hung by her ear had long since turned into a stain on the ground.

Just like the story of the boy who cried wolf, the first time, the second time, the third time... the wolf ate him.

361.

Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji walked up to Rum, who was under heavy guard. The man, still in chef's uniform, was tied to the bed, and his body was searched thoroughly, not even a needle could be found.

He suppressed his simple smile, and his eyes became cold, like a poisonous snake.

The two people who were looking at the wolf were like licking their wounds with venom. Then, Rum sneered and said, "Very good, you two, very good."

He said coldly: "A dog will always eat shit. I knew that putting Granmani next to you was a bad move."

He is a graduate of the police academy, has been given a layer of brainwashing defense, and has been stained with blood. Can this completely change his inner self and turn a cheetah in the sun into a venomous snake that lives in the shadows all day long?

This is ridiculous.

Now it seems that as expected, Granmani had betrayed the organization at some point and became a spy among spies.

Hearing his words, the two policemen showed a trace of emotion on their faces, like suppressed anger and extremely difficult to suppress sadness. Among them, Jinpei Matsuda spoke up: "He took the USB drive, and you cooperated and supervised at the same time. That was your plan, right?"

Rum said, "Is it interesting to ask again something you already know?"

He grinned wickedly, "You'd better pray that you can keep an eye on me, or you and that traitor will be chopped to pieces sooner or later."

Rum was not worried about his death, as the ship was full of civilians, the technology exhibition had to continue, and there were still two days before returning. Granmani, who was also on the ship, had an unremovable locator, and the moment he was captured and sent out a signal, it would continuously transmit his location to the organization.

I believe that it won’t be long before the organization will be able to get him out - and catch the traitor Granmani.

He stretched out his voice slowly, trying to see the anger on the two men's faces, but in the end he only saw dead silence.

"I hope you can keep making harsh remarks." Matsuda Jinpei said coldly, "I think it's not wise to keep Granmani by our side."

Sure enough, when this was mentioned, Rum's face twisted for a moment. He uttered "Pooh" and said hatefully, "Do you think he will be fine if you catch me? Or does he think he will have no worries if he hides behind the police?"

Looking at the two people's relaxed expressions, Rum continued to sneer: "He is your friend, right?" He emphasized the word "friend" and continued, "So do you know how many dirty things he did behind your back?"

Hagiwara Kenji's breathing stagnated, and his hand, which was placed at his side, suddenly clenched the goldfish amulet that was about to fall apart.

"On the surface, he's a policeman, but in reality he's responsible for murder, arson, debt collection, and terrorist attacks—" He dragged out his voice, "He's a feared figure within the organization. Has he told you about these things?"

What was originally just a guess in my mind was cruelly expressed in more specific language, and coupled with the truth just revealed, it brought an even greater sense of separation.

Two figures seemed to appear in front of Kenji Hagiwara. On one side was Chiyodani Toru, who was coaxing the child with a smile on his face; on the other side was Chiyodani Toru, who had a cold face and was holding a dagger and laughing mockingly.

In a place unknown to them...how many sins has Toru endured against his will?

Clearly, I have already fallen into complete darkness, so why should I put myself in a situation where I have nowhere to go just for that little bit of warmth they let out?

Compared to other people who want to be a police officer, Hagiwara Kenji's original intention was to get a stable job. He has a bottom line for justice, but this bottom line is not as high as that of others.

Therefore, after all this was exposed, his first reaction was - Chiyotani Toru, why do you still waver for that ray of light? Can't so many years change it?

If you stand on the opposite side completely, you won't die, right?

Why are you so nice to us?

Kenji Hagiwara's breath was blocked in his chest. Guilt and self-blame instantly wrapped around his mouth and nose, blocking all sounds inside his body, and finally brewing bitter fruit like blood.

He could only watch as Rum coldly used facts to sow discord between them, and took great pleasure in Granmani's betrayal.

Why happy?

After betraying the organization, with blood on his hands, he was destined to be unacceptable to the police.

In fact, in a corner that Rum couldn't see, everything he expected had already happened. In this confrontation between the police and the organization, the police were completely defeated.

Kenji Hagiwara was defeated completely.

Matsuda Jinpei said indifferently: "We know, and then what?"

Rum stopped counting the charges and asked in surprise, "You know all of them?"

"Got it." Matsuda Jinpei said calmly, "If you want to use this to provoke us, forget it."

No one knows how many bloody wounds are scratched by the sharp thorns of language beneath this apparent calm.

They all knew it was over without even any provocation.

Rum's expression darkened. He didn't expect the police to have the guts to hire such a person. It was as if they trusted Granmani completely...

"I want to see him," said Rum. "I want to see Grammarney."

He sneered, "When I told him to leave, he said he wanted to get rid of another scum first. I should have known he had cat poop."

"If you want other intelligence from me, at least show some sincerity." Rum thought that these two guys were asking him for the intelligence about the organization.

Matsuda Jinpei just looked at him, thinking, one more scum is eliminated, and this is not referring to Rum...

The only person he wanted to get rid of was himself.

Toru judged himself in his heart, why could he be so cruel?

It was so cruel that even he was a little scared.

"You're dreaming." Hagiwara Kenji said.

He walked up to Rum without hesitation and punched him in the face, and then punched him again when he tried to speak.

When he did it, his expression was extremely calm, and he just kept repeating: "You are a scumbag, why do you want to see him?"

"You are a scum!"

Rum was beaten half to death. He turned around and spat out blood, staring at the two men with eyes that seemed to be able to cut them into pieces. He smiled morbidly and said, "No, your emotions are wrong..."

"Let me think about what could happen to Granmani?" He said with a smile, "Was he injured by you? Is he dying? Or is he already dead? Hahaha, are you willing to leave him behind? Or is he staying here and waiting for the organization to find him as a target?"

The one who answered him was a dagger that Matsuda Jinpei had pulled out at some point. The dagger was still stained with blood and he stabbed it directly into his thigh.

The heavy door was locked again. The two people standing at the door again chewed on Rum's words and soon found something wrong.

"Being a target... the organization can find him? Why?" Matsuda Jinpei murmured, "Why isn't Rum worried at all that the organization won't be able to find him in the next few days? As long as we move the people away today, the organization won't be able to act in time."

Kenji Hagihara said: "In addition to bombs and guns, Rum's belongings also included a trigger of unknown function. However, we checked and found that we were in a signal-blocked area at the time, and it did not have the function of receiving and transmitting information."

"It only has a triggering function, so who is the one that is triggered?" Matsuda Jinpei closed his eyes, his voice becoming more hoarse, "Hagi, is Toru's earring really just an earring?"

"Why did he... choose to die by jumping into the sea?"

Chiyodani Toru, why have you already calculated this for them?

362.

Sometimes the fall was light and floating, just like floating on an invisible bubble. The bubble slowly pressed down, getting closer and closer to the sea surface, along with the sea breeze, sea water, and soft sunlight, all cheering and welcoming him.

He waved to the people on the boat, but after a moment of peace, he was dragged into a sea of ​​white flowers.

The spiritual world, which had already collapsed for the most part, was crumbling, but the original owner's consciousness remained in the last corner, brutally shattering the peace he wanted to have.

Emotions that even I can’t control.

"Chiyodani Toru! What the hell are you crazy about! "

Granmani, who was usually as calm and indifferent as a machine, finally showed his own emotions. His black eyes showed anger and fear through the lenses. He grasped the shoulders of the man in front of him tightly, but he only felt that the touch in his hands was becoming more and more blurred.

"Gran." Chiyotani Tetsu's quiet black eyes had dimmed a light, like a weak fire that was about to go out. He murmured softly, "This is the first time I call your name."

He never acknowledged the existence of the personality in front of him, but was forced to accept this fact by reality. In the end, he was torn between dreams and reality. He tried to change something, but ended up smashing himself to pieces.

He said that the other party is always addressed as "you", while Gran is always addressed as "we".

We...are accomplices.

It is the only one who stays by your side when you are separated from the whole world.

Chiyodani Toru revealed his true self and could never return to the police; Granmani stabbed Rum in the back and could no longer gain the trust of the organization... nothing was left.

Zero and Hiro can support each other, Matsuda and Hagiwara have a great relationship, and the class monitor has Natalie's company.

There is only lonely Granmarni.

No one knows him, no one wishes him well, he has no birthday, no name, and all he gets are hateful looks from all sides, including from "himself".

Obviously, his existence in the beginning was for "protection".

"So... let me accompany you in the end."

It was rare for Chiyodani Toru to smile at him calmly, just like he smiled at other friends, an inclusive and warm smile.

He finally chose to reconcile with himself.

The sea water, which had not yet been warmed by the sun, was freezing cold, and instantly rolled up the petals of the white cherry blossoms, forming a white torrent.

Finally, the heavy chains were no longer on the young man's body. He became thin and light, as if he would be swept away to an invisible place by the current in an instant, or directly turned into light foam.

Granmani hugged his sleeping self tightly and said through gritted teeth: "I don't want it anymore, please, I don't want anything anymore..."

I don't want a birthday, I don't want Chiyodani Toru to treat me normally, I don't want to be remembered, and I don't want... to exist.

He doesn't want anything anymore.