"Tanihara-san, did the teaching assistant...do something to you?"
After hearing what Morishita Ryohei said, Tanihara Naeka lowered her head and fell into memories. When she spoke again, she began to talk about her ill-fated relationship with Tamamori Yasuo, which was the beginning of the destruction of her happiness.
Two years ago, a hit-and-run case occurred in Fuchu City. After several days of investigation by the police, a male waiter named Keisuke Koike who worked in a barbecue restaurant was arrested.
Keiichi Koike, who was only 26 years old, was Naoka Tanihara's boyfriend of seven years. They had planned to get married on Christmas Day, but because of this incident, the plan was extended indefinitely and eventually came to an end.
Unable to endure the feeling of being wronged and the public criticism, Koike Keiryo committed suicide by banging his head against a wall on an ordinary day before winter arrived. Even after his death, he was still charged with suicide out of fear of punishment.
Knowing that her boyfriend would never do such a thing, Naeka Tanihara began to investigate secretly. It was not just God's will or something else, but Yasuo Tamamori, who was in charge of the case, came to her workplace with two other police officers to drink and chat.
The drunk Yasuo Tamamori recalled that Keiryo Koike who committed suicide some time ago was described as a "cowardly fool". He even mocked him for not being able to hire a good lawyer to conduct an in-depth investigation, which instead benefited him and increased his performance.
Hearing this, everyone fell silent. They never imagined that there was such a story behind this case, and it was even related to another vicious case that was distorted by perjury.
"...Do you know? The girl that was killed by that bastard Tamamori was only eighteen years old. She wasn't even an adult yet, still in the prime of her high school years!"
Naoya Tanihara secretly went to visit the victim named Kana Hirata. She was very beautiful and a well-known girl in Teitan High School. Her outstanding appearance and excellent grades inevitably made her popular with the opposite sex. Moreover, she had a lively and cheerful personality and was also popular among girls.
That's why someone sent flowers to her at the intersection where she had the accident. However, her boyfriend, who was so wronged in prison that he committed suicide in despair, naturally did not receive a bouquet of flowers. Instead, his parents could not stand the gossip from the neighbors and chose to sell their property and move to the countryside.
"He shouldn't be treated like this, and his uncle and aunt shouldn't have to endure this... This is all Tamamori's fault, but this bastard has shown no remorse at all. He even mocked Keiliang, saying he deserved to die in prison because he had no background!"
Tanihara Naeka's voice became choked. She didn't want to become a murderer, but if she didn't kill Tamamori, she would be troubled by nightmares for the rest of her life. She would dream that Keiliang was lying on the side of her bed and kept repeating "I'm in pain". She would dream that Keiliang was curled up in the corner and kept repeating "I didn't hit anyone".
She was afraid that one day she would become mentally ill and depressed and commit suicide, so in order to avoid this from happening and to let the truth come to light to the public, she had to do this.
Tanihara Miaojia slowly spread out her left hand. The wound on her palm was already a little inflamed. She smiled bitterly and said:
"It hurt when the glass shards sank into my palm, but I didn't care about the pain at that time. I pushed as hard as I could until he stopped breathing... I was very happy at that time because I finally avenged Guiliang. As long as I could destroy his future, everything I did was worth it."
It is true that the dead have no future, but neither do murderers.
Fujiwara Yu pursed his lips and remained silent for a long time, but didn't know what to say - some things have not happened to you, and no matter how much empathy you have, you can't understand what the person has experienced.
He squatted down and took out his luggage. After finding the medicine box, he said in a gentle tone:
"Give me your hand. The wound has been exposed to water. If you don't take good care of it, bacteria will grow and it will fester."
"My life is already ruined, so it doesn't matter whether it rots or not."
"Then just think of it as my occupational disease. I can't stand anyone who doesn't take good care of their body." Fujiwara Yuu expressionlessly grabbed Tanihara Naoka's hand. He also reminded Morofushi Kagemitsu beside him, "Kagemitsu, use a flashlight to look for it. It's too dim for me to see clearly."
"Oh well."
Fujiwara Yuu heaved a sigh of relief after carefully examining the wound. He said as he cleaned the wound with iodine:
"You should be thankful that the nerves and tendons in your hand aren't injured. It's just the skin that's been cut, which doesn't require stitches. And there's no foreign matter in the wound, so it just needs disinfection and a bandage."
"...Are you really not a doctor?"
"No, this is just my hobby. I was often injured when I was a child, so I am quite interested in medicine." Fujiwara You had no way to explain, so he had to use his childhood as an excuse to get away with it again. Anyway, no one would go back to investigate further, and of course, no one would find out anything if they did.
Medicine is just a hobby? Ozaki Teppei and others couldn't help but twitch their lips. They really didn't understand the world of academic masters.
"Okay, remember don't let the wound get wet and don't do any heavy work. Go to the tent and have a good rest. Someone will come to take us out tomorrow. We'll go to the hospital to change the gauze and disinfect it again, and everything will be fine." Fujiwara Yu packed up the medicine box, grabbed the sleeping bag beside him and threw it next to Jingguang, motioning him to go to sleep.
"Well, now that the matter is settled I'm going to go to sleep. I'm so sleepy, I wonder if I'll dream about what I just said."
Ozaki Teppei yawned, completely oblivious to the murderer beside him, and slid back into his sleeping bag, falling into a deep sleep. Morishita Ryohei, a light sleeper, was envious and said he wanted to learn the ability to fall asleep as soon as he touched the pillow.
"Aren't you going to sleep?" Zhu Fu Jingguang asked.
"I'm not sleepy. You guys go to sleep." Fujiwara Yuu noticed Tanihara Naeka's gaze and said calmly, "Go rest in the tent and think about it... Do you really have no regrets?"
Tanihara Naeka went into the tent and didn't feel sleepy at all. She curled up, her mind full of Fujiwara's words. When her mind was filled with anger and hatred, she only had the thought of killing Yasuo Tamamori.
But now that it's done, I'm not happy at all. I even feel confused about the future and don't know how to face my parents... How should I tell them that my daughter, who was supposed to be a police officer, has become a murderer?
——"You really don't regret it?"
After thinking for a long time, Tanihara Naeka buried her head deeper.
She regretted it because her impulsiveness and irrationality were the "culprits" that destroyed her happiness.
Blinded by hatred and anger, she didn't consider the feelings of her family and friends at all, and even forgot that she was a police academy student and was wearing the police academy uniform that she was proud of.
After all, he still defiled the existence he longed for.
Tamamori is indeed hateful, but there is no need to sacrifice his life for it. He should choose a more reasonable way to punish him.
“…I regret this.”
But there is no regret medicine in this world.
Just like the sweetfish hiding in the cracks of the rocks, if they knew that humans could see them clearly, they would not take shelter in the place they thought was safe.
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