195 Did what a childhood friend supposed to have done

"do you know him?" yamashina chiyo asks her cousin.

kinoshita iori nods her head. she knows kawamoto ren, but she doesn't know him well. she first saw him at the world hack series. she couldn't forget the way he declared that he was rie's first love and the things that happened after that declaration. she saw him once or twice with takeshi's brother at their villa before she left the city. 

"talk to him." yamashina chiyo's cold voice wakes her up. 

"i don't know…" iori is hesitant after seeing him. "i will call takeshi."

"take him away first." yamashina chiyo takes away her phone. "it's still raining. how long can we stand here?"

she looks at ren with uneasiness in her eyes. this is difficult. she bends down on her knees in front of him. "kawamoto san?"

he doesn't respond. he seems to be in shock. who was this woman? she touches his shoulder and asks, "kawamoto san, do you recognize me?"

there's no answer. she leans closer. "do you remember umezaki rie? i am a friend of her brother-in-law."

hearing rie's name, he blinks his eyes. his vision starts to clear up. he looks at her. "rie…"

she lets out a deep breath. "yes, do you remember me now?"

the fog disappears from ren's mind. he glances at the woman's face in his arm. nina's face is cold and pale. she looks like she's sleeping. he bursts into tears again. she died in front of him and he couldn't do anything.

yamashina chiyo looks at the man. she is good at reading people's expressions. there are guilt and regret in his eyes. often, people would realize someone's value once that person is dead. that seems to be the case here. 

"kawamoto-san, please come with me." iori holds out her hand to him. "if you continue to do this, her soul will get hurt. the dead can't move on if the living doesn't let them go."

ren realizes that he's surrounded by cops. his gaze falls on the woman standing behind iori. she has icy cold eyes and red lips. he puts nina down on the concrete carefully. he glances down at the woman who loved him. 

"i am sorry." he kisses her forehead and takes another last look at the woman. he gets up slowly and moves away from her. iori grabs his wrist and drags him out of the yellow tape. she takes him to the paramedic van. 

"please take a look at him," iori tells the paramedic. "he might be in mental shock."

the paramedic pushes ren inside the van. iori takes this opportunity to punch takeshi's number. her fingers freeze. it's been a few years since she saw takeshi. after the fire at the kamiyama mansion, takeshi changed. after his brother woke up from the coma, takeshi started to put all in his studies and helping out his brother in the business. back then, he told her that he would move on from those feelings. she never got to speak to him about his confession again. she always thought that she would tell him next time. the next time never came. she got a job in another city. takeshi seemed to have moved on from her. she didn't want to embarrass herself. 

she did come back to the city in the last few years. she never met him once. he didn't call her once. he had really forgotten about her.

she takes a deep breath. she's calling him because of kawamoto ren. she waits for him to pick up. maybe he won't pick up her call. 

[iori, is that you?]

her heart jolts. she widens her eyes when she hears his voice. 

"how do you know that it's me?" she asks.

[you didn't change your phone number.]

her temper flares up. "yet, you never called." 

[you didn't call me either.] takeshi's voice is amused.

this guy! if he was here, she would have tossed this phone on his face. how many days has she waited for his call? she was the one who went to another city. it's only natural that he should have called her. he is her childhood friend. 

[why did you call me suddenly?]

"can't i call you?" iori snaps. "you are my childhood friend. i can call you anytime. you must always pick up my calls whenever and wherever you are."

[i did, didn't i? it's four-fifteen in the morning. i was driving when a certain someone called after four years, but i stopped and picked the call. but, i don't know why i am being scolded when i did what a childhood friend supposed to have done.]

iori clenches her teeth. she hates being called a childhood friend. he really has moved on. 

"i called you because i saw kawamoto ren. there's a situation here."

[what kind of situation?] takeshi's voice becomes grim.

"an assassin killed three people on z street in d district. kawamoto ren was found on the scene with the dead woman. we don't know who the woman is. he hasn't talked yet."

[is he hurt?]

"no, but he's in shock. will you come here?"

[it will take two more hours to reach the city. can you stay beside him? make sure that he doesn't tell the cops anything until i give you a call.]

"hey!" iori yells. how can she stop the questioning? but, the call is already disconnected. she stomps the ground. can't he hear her completely before disconnecting the call? when she redials his number, she hears the busy ringtone. he's probably calling his brother. 

nina's body is being taken away. her cousin is taking off her gloves. she sees an officer talking to her cousin. they will come and get ren. she also needs an interview. if takeshi and his brother are there, she can obstruct a bit in the way of justice. after all, it's takeshi who wants her to do this. she smiles and cracks her knuckles. it's time to kidnap kawamoto ren.