Altered Ending - Chapter 3
Title : Altered Ending
Chapter Title : Forced Farewell
Setting : Hidarime Tantei EYE - Episode 8
Summary : In the last episode, Kokusho Akira shot Yumeto first before getting shot. But what if that one fatal bullet had got her first before her finger jerked, firing the gun, when the gun was off target and Ainosuke stood right between the two crime planner?
Rating : T
A 100 yen coin was pushed into the vending machine in that dimly lighted parking lot, followed by a 20 yen coin. A slender finger moved to press the button for canned coffee. The owner of the finger waited patiently and, after a ‘click’ sound, bent down for his drink. He sighed as he opened the can, just before a light shone in his direction and he had to cover his eyes.
Tanaka Yumeto turned to his left in time to see a blue made in France car called ‘Lupin’ made its way into the park. It settled a few meters away from the vending machine and two people figures came out from it. Yumeto smiled at their familiar faces as they walked to where he was standing, though both did not return his gesture. Ignoring that, he drank his coffee and checked his watch.
“You’re fast. It’s not even 30 minutes since I called you.”
He had never seen Kato as serious as this before, though Sayama looked rather nervous and kept glancing around. She seemed to be looking for something that’s missing.
‘Or someone,’ Yumeto thought sadly.
“Anyone would immediately rush if they received such phone call, Yumeto-san.”
Yumeto raised an eyebrow at the use of his real name. The detective made it sound like they were friends who hadn’t seen each other for a long time. Moreover, Sayama did not look alarmed either by that. She had given up the search of any other person in the park and was currently staring at him curiously. He felt like he was being examined. He did his best to look undisturbed and flashed them a smile.
“Guess we can skip the introduction then, and yes, Kato-san, I was planning to tell you both about it. It is kind of necessary for what I was about to tell you two. So, did Ainosuke the one who tell you about that?”
Sayama said yes, while Kato replied with no. They both turned to look at each other before Kato gestured to the nurse to explain. She shrugged and took a deep breath before doing so.
“Remember that time Ainosuke grabbed you and jumped off the roof?”
Yumeto nodded silently. How could he ever forget that? He was panic that time. Not because the possibility that his crime plan would be ruined. Not because he might not be able to see his domino pieces to fall if he didn’t survive the fall. It was just simply because Ainosuke had fallen with him. Afterwards, he couldn’t help but feeling grateful for Noriko for saving both their lives.
“Well,” Sayama’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “I kind of guess you were the culprit behind these crimes since Ainosuke called you ‘brother’. But I thought that you’re his brother’s acquaintance instead of really his brother. Then, he just poured everything out to me after I pushed him a bit. And yesterday, Kokusho Akira-san called and told me to ask Kato-san to put a recorder in her cell. So, we know everything you guys were talking about. That’s how.”
Yumeto snorted a laugh. That woman earned the title of crime planner not for no reason after all. But seriously, what did she wish to achieve by giving that instruction? Aside from sending Miyamoto to jail, it did her no good for her revenge on him. Her intention was to kill him. Giving his real identity away to the police would make no difference if in the end he was still dead. It’s not like the police will charged a dead person. Was it her back up plan then? Or could it be that… she wanted to prove to the police that Ainosuke was really innocent and had nothing to do with the crimes?
Without realizing it, his lips formed a genuine smile.
‘Seriously, Ainosuke, what sort of power do you have in possession? No one seems to be able to hate you. Not the heartless Kokusho Akira. And definitely not Yoshida. Even Noriko, in the end, chose to kill me instead of getting rid of you like she had planned to do. You truly are amazing, you know that?’
“So, Yumeto-san,” Kato was the one who interrupted his thought this time. “Care to explain what you meant by saying that being with you will kill Ainosuke-kun?”
Sayama’s eyes widened as she quickly turned her head to the detective, looking thoroughly alarmed. The person himself did not give any sign that he noticed this and kept his gaze on Yumeto intently. Yumeto, on the other hand, were frowning at her reaction.
“You didn’t explain to her the situation?”
Kato cocked his eyebrow, “What you did tell me hardly explain anything, Yumeto-san. And with her on the driver seat, I rather keep her calm or the ride here would have given me a heart attack.”
“Hey! I’m not that reckless!” Sayama protested, but then caught the stared she got from the two and blushed lightly. “Okay, maybe sometime I am. Still, you should have told me, Kato-san.”
“I still value my life, thank you.”
The nurse rubbed her temple in annoyance as the man smirked at her direction. Yumeto watched the scene in front of him silently, clearly amused.
‘I think I made the right decision in trusting Ainosuke to them.’
“Never mind that,” she sighed, “Now, if you please, continue with your explanation. What got into your mind when you said that? As far as I remember, you have never shown any tendency or intention to kill your brother. Actually, it was Ainosuke who did try to kill both of you, once, due to depression. Kato-san here even told me that your attitudes showed your fondness towards Ainosuke.”
Yumeto looked at his ex-partner questioningly and earned a shrug in return.
“It’s really not that hard to see when you kept on blabbering about your brother the whole day. But, isn’t your statement too exaggerated? I can’t entirely disagree with that, yes, knowing all the truth about how you treated him these past few months. Even so, until now, Ainosuke-kun has not been seriously injured, not even during Blue Heaven concert. And somehow, I got the feeling that you play quite a part in this.”
Yumeto couldn’t help but smile sincerely at both for their observation, “That was really nice of you two. But for your information, I really meant what I said the way it sounded. It was not an expression and I was not exaggerating. Ainosuke really did come real close to death tonight and it was entirely my fault.”
Both of them widened their eyes in horror and were lost for word because of the shocking information. Yumeto’s expression, ironically, was just as calm as ever. He waited patiently for the two to recover and took a sip from his canned coffee.
“What did you do to him?” Finally a harsh toned question came from Sayama.
Yumeto took another sip before answering, looking as casual as ever, though his eyes showed otherwise, “To be frank with you, I was planning to leave him tonight.” ‘There’s no need to tell them about my suicide plan.’ “But something went wrong and Ainosuke ended up caught in the middle of my confrontation with Kokusho and Noriko. One of the bullets got him.”
Sayama gasped and covered her mouth her hands.
“So, where is he now? Don’t tell me you still go with your stupid plan and left him there to die!” Kato almost yelled.
For the first time ever since they met, Yumeto looked furious.
“If there’s one thing I’d never do in my whole life, Kato-san,” his voice was dangerously low, “is to let Ainosuke die. As long as this heart still beats and blood still runs through my veins, I swear I’m not going to let anyone, absolutely anyone, to threaten his life, ever!”
He glared to the other two, who were caught truly off guard by his sudden burst of emotion. There was silence in that park, aside from the sound of wind and distant noises of car engines for a few seconds. Then all of a sudden, the crime planner sighed. He ran his hand through hair and looked down, only to find that the canned coffee was dented here and there. He must have unconsciously clenched his fist earlier when he lost his temper. Again he sighed and walked away to throw the now almost crushed can into the dustbin, before wiping his coffee stained hand with handkerchief. He turned his attention to the others and, yet again, sighed as he saw they were staring at him, dumbfounded.
“Sorry. I wasn’t coming here to snap at you like that. If it’s okay with you, shall we proceed with our real intention of getting here?”
“Oh, right! Right! Let’s get down to the business. So, what are you calling us here for?” Kato stuttered a bit.
Yumeto reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of folded paper. He handed it to Kato, who raised his eyebrow questioningly upon taking it. The detective opened the note and read it silently, frowning the whole time. Sayama, meanwhile, had finally recovered and was currently peeking through Kato’s shoulder. Both showed similar confused face.
“That’s the address of my, uhm, kind of like what you called hideout,” Yumeto said, ignoring the stares he got. “You’ll find Kokusho Akira and Noriko’s corpses there, along with some important information about the organization I was in. I don’t recall locking my computer, so you won’t find any difficulties in accessing the data.”
Kato cleared his throat, “So basically, you’re turning yourself in?”
Yumeto shook his head, “I’ve told you before, I’m leaving. Seeing that Ainosuke is in no condition to help you out with this for a while, I decided to give you some clues. I doubt you’ll ever find something to actually use it against me anyway, so I don’t see the problem of doing so.”
“Hold on,” Sayama held out her hands, gesturing him to be quiet. “Go back. Where is Ainosuke now exactly? How is he doing? How can you be so calm about that? Didn’t you say he’s dying? He’s your little brother, isn’t he?”
It took all Yumeto’s will power to not sigh right there and then, “Okay, fine. First, he’s in that hospital next to this park right now. Second, he’s doing a lot better than an hour ago at least. Third, it’s because I have spent all my anxiety in the past hour. Fourth, yes, I did. Lastly, yes, Ainosuke is my little brother, thank you for noticing.”
“Better than an hour ago??” She looked extremely worried.
“At least he said ‘better’ than the opposite,” Kato commented, still staring at his ex-partner. “You’re seriously going to leave him like this?”
Yumeto nodded and leaned on the vending machine, “It’s for the best. He’s better off without me, which is why I need to ask you some favors. In that building you’ll find a saving book under Ainosuke’s name. Please make sure that it goes to Ainosuke. The money in it is ‘clean money’. I got them from saving my salaries as researchers and selling some things. I kept the proofs along with it, so it’s not a hard thing to do.”
Kato was about to interrupt him, but Yumeto beat him to it.
“I’ll leave Ainosuke in your care. Please look after him for me,” the man bowed to emphasize his point. And just as quickly, he straightened up and smiled, “Well, I guess that’s all. You may want to visit Ainosuke too, so I won’t hold you back. I’ll take my leave then.”
He turned and started to walk away.
“One last thing, Yumeto-san,” Sayama suddenly called out, making him halted his steps, “You said that Ainosuke is better off without you, that’s your assumption, isn’t it? You didn’t take into account what he thinks about it. Have you even considered that all he ever wanted from you is to always stay by his side, like you two used to be? All he ever wished for is to have his brother back.”
Yumeto stood still for a few seconds before waving his arms, indicating that he heard her, and resuming to his steps. His face, which was hidden from the two, sobered up as he replied the question in his mind.
‘Believe it or not, that is actually my greatest wish.’
Chapter Title : Forced Farewell
Setting : Hidarime Tantei EYE - Episode 8
Summary : In the last episode, Kokusho Akira shot Yumeto first before getting shot. But what if that one fatal bullet had got her first before her finger jerked, firing the gun, when the gun was off target and Ainosuke stood right between the two crime planner?
Rating : T
A 100 yen coin was pushed into the vending machine in that dimly lighted parking lot, followed by a 20 yen coin. A slender finger moved to press the button for canned coffee. The owner of the finger waited patiently and, after a ‘click’ sound, bent down for his drink. He sighed as he opened the can, just before a light shone in his direction and he had to cover his eyes.
Tanaka Yumeto turned to his left in time to see a blue made in France car called ‘Lupin’ made its way into the park. It settled a few meters away from the vending machine and two people figures came out from it. Yumeto smiled at their familiar faces as they walked to where he was standing, though both did not return his gesture. Ignoring that, he drank his coffee and checked his watch.
“You’re fast. It’s not even 30 minutes since I called you.”
He had never seen Kato as serious as this before, though Sayama looked rather nervous and kept glancing around. She seemed to be looking for something that’s missing.
‘Or someone,’ Yumeto thought sadly.
“Anyone would immediately rush if they received such phone call, Yumeto-san.”
Yumeto raised an eyebrow at the use of his real name. The detective made it sound like they were friends who hadn’t seen each other for a long time. Moreover, Sayama did not look alarmed either by that. She had given up the search of any other person in the park and was currently staring at him curiously. He felt like he was being examined. He did his best to look undisturbed and flashed them a smile.
“Guess we can skip the introduction then, and yes, Kato-san, I was planning to tell you both about it. It is kind of necessary for what I was about to tell you two. So, did Ainosuke the one who tell you about that?”
Sayama said yes, while Kato replied with no. They both turned to look at each other before Kato gestured to the nurse to explain. She shrugged and took a deep breath before doing so.
“Remember that time Ainosuke grabbed you and jumped off the roof?”
Yumeto nodded silently. How could he ever forget that? He was panic that time. Not because the possibility that his crime plan would be ruined. Not because he might not be able to see his domino pieces to fall if he didn’t survive the fall. It was just simply because Ainosuke had fallen with him. Afterwards, he couldn’t help but feeling grateful for Noriko for saving both their lives.
“Well,” Sayama’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “I kind of guess you were the culprit behind these crimes since Ainosuke called you ‘brother’. But I thought that you’re his brother’s acquaintance instead of really his brother. Then, he just poured everything out to me after I pushed him a bit. And yesterday, Kokusho Akira-san called and told me to ask Kato-san to put a recorder in her cell. So, we know everything you guys were talking about. That’s how.”
Yumeto snorted a laugh. That woman earned the title of crime planner not for no reason after all. But seriously, what did she wish to achieve by giving that instruction? Aside from sending Miyamoto to jail, it did her no good for her revenge on him. Her intention was to kill him. Giving his real identity away to the police would make no difference if in the end he was still dead. It’s not like the police will charged a dead person. Was it her back up plan then? Or could it be that… she wanted to prove to the police that Ainosuke was really innocent and had nothing to do with the crimes?
Without realizing it, his lips formed a genuine smile.
‘Seriously, Ainosuke, what sort of power do you have in possession? No one seems to be able to hate you. Not the heartless Kokusho Akira. And definitely not Yoshida. Even Noriko, in the end, chose to kill me instead of getting rid of you like she had planned to do. You truly are amazing, you know that?’
“So, Yumeto-san,” Kato was the one who interrupted his thought this time. “Care to explain what you meant by saying that being with you will kill Ainosuke-kun?”
Sayama’s eyes widened as she quickly turned her head to the detective, looking thoroughly alarmed. The person himself did not give any sign that he noticed this and kept his gaze on Yumeto intently. Yumeto, on the other hand, were frowning at her reaction.
“You didn’t explain to her the situation?”
Kato cocked his eyebrow, “What you did tell me hardly explain anything, Yumeto-san. And with her on the driver seat, I rather keep her calm or the ride here would have given me a heart attack.”
“Hey! I’m not that reckless!” Sayama protested, but then caught the stared she got from the two and blushed lightly. “Okay, maybe sometime I am. Still, you should have told me, Kato-san.”
“I still value my life, thank you.”
The nurse rubbed her temple in annoyance as the man smirked at her direction. Yumeto watched the scene in front of him silently, clearly amused.
‘I think I made the right decision in trusting Ainosuke to them.’
“Never mind that,” she sighed, “Now, if you please, continue with your explanation. What got into your mind when you said that? As far as I remember, you have never shown any tendency or intention to kill your brother. Actually, it was Ainosuke who did try to kill both of you, once, due to depression. Kato-san here even told me that your attitudes showed your fondness towards Ainosuke.”
Yumeto looked at his ex-partner questioningly and earned a shrug in return.
“It’s really not that hard to see when you kept on blabbering about your brother the whole day. But, isn’t your statement too exaggerated? I can’t entirely disagree with that, yes, knowing all the truth about how you treated him these past few months. Even so, until now, Ainosuke-kun has not been seriously injured, not even during Blue Heaven concert. And somehow, I got the feeling that you play quite a part in this.”
Yumeto couldn’t help but smile sincerely at both for their observation, “That was really nice of you two. But for your information, I really meant what I said the way it sounded. It was not an expression and I was not exaggerating. Ainosuke really did come real close to death tonight and it was entirely my fault.”
Both of them widened their eyes in horror and were lost for word because of the shocking information. Yumeto’s expression, ironically, was just as calm as ever. He waited patiently for the two to recover and took a sip from his canned coffee.
“What did you do to him?” Finally a harsh toned question came from Sayama.
Yumeto took another sip before answering, looking as casual as ever, though his eyes showed otherwise, “To be frank with you, I was planning to leave him tonight.” ‘There’s no need to tell them about my suicide plan.’ “But something went wrong and Ainosuke ended up caught in the middle of my confrontation with Kokusho and Noriko. One of the bullets got him.”
Sayama gasped and covered her mouth her hands.
“So, where is he now? Don’t tell me you still go with your stupid plan and left him there to die!” Kato almost yelled.
For the first time ever since they met, Yumeto looked furious.
“If there’s one thing I’d never do in my whole life, Kato-san,” his voice was dangerously low, “is to let Ainosuke die. As long as this heart still beats and blood still runs through my veins, I swear I’m not going to let anyone, absolutely anyone, to threaten his life, ever!”
He glared to the other two, who were caught truly off guard by his sudden burst of emotion. There was silence in that park, aside from the sound of wind and distant noises of car engines for a few seconds. Then all of a sudden, the crime planner sighed. He ran his hand through hair and looked down, only to find that the canned coffee was dented here and there. He must have unconsciously clenched his fist earlier when he lost his temper. Again he sighed and walked away to throw the now almost crushed can into the dustbin, before wiping his coffee stained hand with handkerchief. He turned his attention to the others and, yet again, sighed as he saw they were staring at him, dumbfounded.
“Sorry. I wasn’t coming here to snap at you like that. If it’s okay with you, shall we proceed with our real intention of getting here?”
“Oh, right! Right! Let’s get down to the business. So, what are you calling us here for?” Kato stuttered a bit.
Yumeto reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of folded paper. He handed it to Kato, who raised his eyebrow questioningly upon taking it. The detective opened the note and read it silently, frowning the whole time. Sayama, meanwhile, had finally recovered and was currently peeking through Kato’s shoulder. Both showed similar confused face.
“That’s the address of my, uhm, kind of like what you called hideout,” Yumeto said, ignoring the stares he got. “You’ll find Kokusho Akira and Noriko’s corpses there, along with some important information about the organization I was in. I don’t recall locking my computer, so you won’t find any difficulties in accessing the data.”
Kato cleared his throat, “So basically, you’re turning yourself in?”
Yumeto shook his head, “I’ve told you before, I’m leaving. Seeing that Ainosuke is in no condition to help you out with this for a while, I decided to give you some clues. I doubt you’ll ever find something to actually use it against me anyway, so I don’t see the problem of doing so.”
“Hold on,” Sayama held out her hands, gesturing him to be quiet. “Go back. Where is Ainosuke now exactly? How is he doing? How can you be so calm about that? Didn’t you say he’s dying? He’s your little brother, isn’t he?”
It took all Yumeto’s will power to not sigh right there and then, “Okay, fine. First, he’s in that hospital next to this park right now. Second, he’s doing a lot better than an hour ago at least. Third, it’s because I have spent all my anxiety in the past hour. Fourth, yes, I did. Lastly, yes, Ainosuke is my little brother, thank you for noticing.”
“Better than an hour ago??” She looked extremely worried.
“At least he said ‘better’ than the opposite,” Kato commented, still staring at his ex-partner. “You’re seriously going to leave him like this?”
Yumeto nodded and leaned on the vending machine, “It’s for the best. He’s better off without me, which is why I need to ask you some favors. In that building you’ll find a saving book under Ainosuke’s name. Please make sure that it goes to Ainosuke. The money in it is ‘clean money’. I got them from saving my salaries as researchers and selling some things. I kept the proofs along with it, so it’s not a hard thing to do.”
Kato was about to interrupt him, but Yumeto beat him to it.
“I’ll leave Ainosuke in your care. Please look after him for me,” the man bowed to emphasize his point. And just as quickly, he straightened up and smiled, “Well, I guess that’s all. You may want to visit Ainosuke too, so I won’t hold you back. I’ll take my leave then.”
He turned and started to walk away.
“One last thing, Yumeto-san,” Sayama suddenly called out, making him halted his steps, “You said that Ainosuke is better off without you, that’s your assumption, isn’t it? You didn’t take into account what he thinks about it. Have you even considered that all he ever wanted from you is to always stay by his side, like you two used to be? All he ever wished for is to have his brother back.”
Yumeto stood still for a few seconds before waving his arms, indicating that he heard her, and resuming to his steps. His face, which was hidden from the two, sobered up as he replied the question in his mind.
‘Believe it or not, that is actually my greatest wish.’