131 Keep your back straight and stay strong

in t city, the kamiyama mansion was burned to the ground due to the multiple blasts.

according to the survivors, strange men clad in black appeared that night. there was a battle between the guards and the assassins. people from both sides died. suddenly, palm-sized drones floated inside the mansion. there were multiple blasts in the blink of an eye. when they realized what was going on, they ran outside the mansion. grandmother kamiyama was killed by one of the assassins when she ran upstairs to save her grandson. they found several charred bodies that couldn't be identified. it all happened within 10 minutes.

kamiyama takeshi is stumped. in one night, everything changed.

last night, he ran to find his sister-in-law. when he saw the assassin throwing the blade at her, he pushed her aside. he doesn't remember anything except hearing her scream. did the assassin get her? 

"mr. kamiyama, we have found five more female corpses. two corpses match the height and body type of your sister-in-law. we don't have umezaki rie's dental records. we suggest dna testing."

the fire has been put out. his sister-in-law is not among the survivors. her corpse hasn't been found either. if she was alive, they would have found her. even if she hates his brother, she would contact her father.

his brother ran to the burning mansion when he came back. he found out after he regained consciousness. the firefighters managed to save him, but kamiyama kiyohira inhaled a lot of smoke before they brought him out. he hasn't gained consciousness. find authorized novels in webnovel，faster updates, better experience，please click www.webnovel.com for visiting.

if he loses his brother too, he doesn't know what he will do.

he lost his parents two years ago. he lost his grandmother. his brother might die too. his sister-in-law's corpse isn't found. 

he has to arrange his grandmother's funeral. he doesn't know where to begin. he has always relied on his elder brother. 

takeshi still can't grasp his mind.

haru and iori come. they sit beside him while he's too numb to speak. they don't say anything and sit in silence with him until he's ready to speak.

***

umezaki yushiro breaks into tears, blaming himself. he should have taken her to another country. he should have never let her stay at the t city. he failed as her father. he couldn't protect her. he has to identify her corpse.

he reveals everything about umezaki rie and hashimoto chisa to the cops. since hashimoto chisa escaped, there's still chance that she has the connection behind the attack at the kamiyama mansion. rie could be with hashimoto chisa now.

takeshi didn't know everything. he knew that umezaki rie had some enemies who kidnapped her two years ago. after finding out the truth, he realizes why his brother was being overprotective.

haru and iori stay beside him. takeshi holds his grandmother's funeral without his brother. he's afraid that he would be holding his brother and sister-in-law's funerals next.

"that won't happen, takeshi," haru tells him sternly. "your brother will wake up. he won't leave you alone. he knows how much you need him."

the same can't be said about umezaki rie. 

"takeshi, don't show that face." iori lightly slaps his cheek. "you are kamiyama takeshi. you must keep your back straight and stay strong. have faith in your brother."

tears escape his eyes. he covers his face. he doesn't want to cry, but he can't help it.

iori and haru hug him, hiding takeshi's face from the views of onlookers. iori whispers to him softly, "you aren't alone, takeshi. i will always be here."

"we will always stand beside you." haru pats his friend. "takeshi, if you can't stay strong, rely on us. we will hold you up."

true friends are rare. one is blessed if he has one true friend in his entire life. takeshi has two friends who will stay beside him during any storm in life. 

***

the cops found morikawa's body at the cottage outside the city. they found blood that belonged to hashimoto chisa. they speculated that morikawa takai abducted hashimoto chisa. morikawa takai and hashimoto chisa sent the assassins to the kamiyama mansion. they must have had a fallout. morikawa takai tortured chisa who killed him with a needle and ran away. they are currently searching for hashimoto chisa in the city.

dna testings are done. no corpse matches rie's. they are still looking for her in the debris of kamiyama mansion, but they believe that she's already dead because she hasn't shown up after days.

two weeks are gone. the news flash across the multiple media.

[hashimoto chisa's mangled corpse is found at the city square.]

the cops don't find rie's corpse. they find hashimoto chisa's corpse. 

someone wanted to give a final closure to the world and the victims of hashimoto chisa. 

hashimoto chisa had countless enemies, especially people from the underworld who wanted to shut her mouth. the list of suspects is long. there's rarely anyone who pities her fate since they know what kind of crimes she committed. 

since chisa is found, there's less chance that rie is alive. there's no sign of rie. with each passing day, the chances of her being alive get lower.

rie's funeral is held with an empty casket. it's buried next to her biological mother's grave. umezaki yushiro has no one left. he looked for his daughter for 26 years. he did everything to heal her, but he also failed his daughter. he lost her again. after the quiet funeral, umezaki yushiro leaves the country. 

kamiyama kiyohira wakes up from his slumber.