QUARTET ALLIANCE: LEND A HAND (Wild Duty & Judgement)

Chapter 61: Sealed It

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2:12 A.M

–Café–

"What do you mean?"

Naomi met his gaze. "I mean exactly what I said," she replied. "It wasn't me who killed your mom... it was him."

The words hung in the air like a heavy weight, suffocating Kazuo with their implications. Hiroshi Sato, was supposed to be the man he had spent years investigating, the man whose crimes had haunted his every waking moment... was responsible for the death of his own mother.

But, how could he even trust what Naomi was saying? As far as he concerned, she was the source of all of his problems in life. Wasn't she?

"How can you prove that?" Kazuo asked.

Naomi's gaze drifted downward as she spoke. "I don't have solid evidence, but my dad has been involved in all sorts of crimes," she began, her words measured. "He knew that if he were to get caught, he would face life imprisonment. So he made me take the blame because I was young, and nothing extremely bad would happen to me."

A sense of disbelief washed over Kazuo as he listened to Naomi's account of her father's manipulative tactics. It was almost too much to comprehend.

"Recently, he called me," Naomi continued. "He said if I was going to jail, I should keep my mouth shut. But I told him no, and that he should come face the consequences of his own crimes."

"He threatened me," she added. "Told me he would send one of his men to kill me if I ever said a word."

The café seemed to grow eerily quiet as Naomi finished speaking, the weight of her revelation casting a heavy pall over their conversation.

"And why are you here telling me this?" Kazuo questioned.

"Because I believe my dad would try to kill me either ways." Naomi answered easily, "There was a man who tried to kill me today," she confessed, her words hanging heavy in the air. "I had to protect myself by locking the doors."

Kazuo's eyes widened in alarm. "Are you okay?" he asked, his voice laced with concern.

Naomi nodded, her gaze meeting his with a steely determination. "I'm fine," she assured him. "But I knew that if I just reported it, I would still be unsafe. The police would dismiss it, or worse, my father's men would come after me again. So... I had to go out with the knife in order to be arrested."

Kazuo's brow furrowed in confusion as he processed her words. "So... you wanted protection from the police?" he surmised, his voice tinged with incredulity.

Naomi nodded, her eyes never leaving his, filled with a mixture of adoration and desperation. "Yes," she admitted softly. "I didn't know who else to turn to. I needed someone to believe me... to help me."

Kazuo pondered over what she said for a few moments before he spoke again, "Do you know where Hiroshi Sato is then?"

"Ah, that's the limit of how much I will say," she stated with a smile. "If you want to know the rest, you'll have to do me a favor."

Kazuo's brows furrowed in frustration at her ultimatum. "And how are you in a position to make demands like this?" he questioned, his voice tinged with skepticism. "Catching Hiroshi will ensure your safety, won't it?"

Naomi's tilted her head. "I know you've been investigating my father before this," she replied. "I'm not dumb. So you also have some sort of benefit in all of this."