There was a heavy snowfall last night, so Jinpei Matsuda had to stay one night in a hotel near the Niigata Prefectural Police Station. After dawn, the Niigata Prefectural Police drove him and Miwako Sato back to the hotel to pick up their luggage.
"The weather is nice today!" Miwako Sato sighed after getting out of the car.
"Do you two want to spend a few more days here?" The county police officer driving the car enthusiastically invited, "The snow festival in the village is not over yet. You two have worked so hard on the case the past few days, so you can just relax."
Sato Miwako waved her hands repeatedly: "No, no, we have already booked Shinkansen tickets to go back at noon."
"Do you want me to send you off?" the county police officer then asked.
"No need, we can go there by ourselves." Matsuda Jinpei refused.
The car drove away and the two of them walked to the hotel together.
A murder occurred in this hotel yesterday. The owner was arrested by the Niigata Prefectural Police for invading other people's privacy because he installed a camera randomly for peeping. Now the hotel is managed by the owner's brother.
The case was successfully solved, and Sato Miwako was in a relatively relaxed mood. As soon as she entered the hotel, she said to Matsuda Jinpei: "I want to go to the store to bring some souvenirs to Officer Megure and the others. Do you want to go with me?"
"I'm not going."
Matsuda Jinpei's mood was completely different.
The "accidental" deaths of two prisoners (one of whom was the murderer of his childhood), the current situation of Zhufu and Fenggu, and a dangerous criminal organization with unknown purpose... These things were weighing on his mind. He actually did it last night Didn't sleep well.
"You can choose slowly, I'll wait for you in the restaurant next door." He added, reaching into his pocket to touch the cigarette case.
Miwako Sato knew that smoking was allowed in the hotel restaurant here. She nodded to show her understanding, and then walked alone into the souvenir shop next to it.
Matsuda Jinpei watched her leave, turned around and walked towards the restaurant.
The restaurant is small in size, surrounded by light brown wallpaper that is very close to the color of wood, and a red carpet on the floor. Floor-to-ceiling windows are installed on the outer wall, giving a panoramic view of the snowy scenery outside.
There was a man sitting by the window, and the warm golden sunlight fell on his long hair, making the red color even more dazzling.
The plates on the dining table had long been empty. At this time, he turned to look out the window, not knowing whether he was admiring the scenery or simply sitting there in a daze.
He raised his head when he heard the footsteps and inadvertently looked at Matsuda Jinpei.
Matsuda Jinpei stopped for a moment. He originally wanted to sit on the seat near the door, but he turned around and walked straight to the seat opposite the man.
There were only two of them in the restaurant now. This move could be said to be very abrupt and a bit offensive, but the red-haired man just raised his eyebrows and did not say anything to stop him. He watched him pull out a chair and sit down in front of him.
Matsuda Jinpei took out his cigarette case, shook his right hand that was still wrapped in bandages, and a cigarette popped out.
"Do you mind the smell of smoke?" he asked.
Yamao Yosuke glanced at him lightly: "Excuse me, this is a public place."
Matsuda Jinpei held the cigarette in his mouth and lit it with a lighter. The faint smell of tobacco filled the air. He took a puff, turned his head and slowly exhaled a puff of smoke.
, complex emotions surged inside.
He had another purpose in returning to the hotel, which was to see Yamao Yosuke again.
He wanted to ask the man who designed the two bombs that changed his fate - why did he save him on the reservoir yesterday?
"……very beautiful."
"……What?"
Matsuda Jinpei didn't realize what the other person was saying.
"——I mean that cherry blossom tree." Yamao Yosuke raised his chin and gestured to the window.
Matsuda Jinpei looked in the direction he was pointing. It was a big tree planted on the roadside. There was not a single leaf on it, let alone any petals. The branches were bare, with only a few black crows perched on the branches.
"The cherry blossoms blooming in the sun are the most beautiful..."
…
Matsuda Jinpei left the restaurant and stood on the terrace outside the hotel to smoke.
His eyes fell on the cherry blossom tree. During the time he came out, more crows flew in from a distance and stopped there. From a distance, it was a dense black area, completely covering up what could have been.
Branches of blooming cherry blossoms.
Crows are social creatures, they travel in groups and can be seen in this country... no, all over the world.
"Shua——"
The door was suddenly pushed open. Matsuda Jinpei thought Sato had found it and wanted to say something to her. She took him and looked back, and was stunned.
The person who opened the door was not Sato Miwako, but a young man who was suspected of having an important connection with yesterday's case - Gray Crow, who had met him a few times and lived in the same hotel.
Beside him, Zhu Fu Jingguang stood there quietly, their hands holding together.
"Officer Matsuda." The boy shouted.
Matsuda Jinpei controlled himself not to look at Zhufu Jingguang, and greeted the young man in a natural manner: "Are you going back to Tokyo?"
"I booked a ticket for 10 o'clock. I want to take Su... Midorikawa home as soon as possible and have a good rest."
The young man's eyes fell on Matsuda Jinpei's face. He seemed to want to have a few more words with his good-looking benefactor, but he did not let go of Zhu Fu Jingguang casually.
"Is he feeling unwell?"
"Well, a little bit, but it's not a big problem. As long as I send him back to a safe place to recuperate, he will be fine..." The young man spoke quickly, "We have to take a step first. Goodbye, Officer Matsuda."
While they were talking, Zhu Fu Jingguang lowered his head and remained silent the whole time, not even raising his head.
When the boy was talking, when Matsuda Jinpei was talking, when he was being mentioned...he didn't even raise his head or even look around.
Those familiar eyes were fixedly looking at a certain point in the sky. He seemed to have completely lost his awareness of his surroundings. The only connection with the whole world was the hand holding the boy. Matsuda Jinpei discovered that behind the boy
When he stopped, Zhufu held his hand tighter.
"...Goodbye, be careful on the road."
Matsuda Jinpei looked at the young man from the criminal organization, holding hands with his former friend from the police academy and passing him by.
They walked down the stairs and passed the cherry blossom tree that was already in bloom.
The crows on the tree were disturbed, flapping their wings and flew up one after another. With the continuous cries, they walked towards the end of the road, farther and farther away, until they disappeared.
…
Apello was leaning against the window. On the screen of his mobile phone were two emails that he had received a few minutes ago. The sending times were only a few seconds apart, which made people wonder if the two had agreed to send them together.
【How about Angstra?】
[I’m taking Scotland back first, and I’ll invite you to Tokyo when you have time later.——angostura]
He slid his finger across the screen and clicked on the email he received late last night.
【Is there a problem in Scotland?——gin】
"..."
The cherry blossoms blooming in the sun are a kind of beauty that he is willing to step into danger to see its beauty.
On the contrary, the cherry blossoms drifting into the darkness... were like the beast that came to attack them last night, exuding an unbearable aura that made people not want to take a second look.
Appello watched the two black spots disappear and began to write an email to be sent to Gin.
[At least I don’t see the problem.——aperol]
One is an organizational model worker who does things in accordance with the organization's articles of association and rarely messes around. The other is a lunatic who would not dare to mess with anyone in the organization who knows of his existence.
Apello didn't think his skin could be stronger than a wild bear.
and……
Recalling the look in Angostela's eyes last night, Apello pressed the send button.
It would be great if those eyes could one day become more similar to that gentleman...