❝ ᴛʙʜᴋ//Detective Daikon ˎˊ-

𝚡𝚟𝚒𝚒.

𝙶𝚒𝚛𝚕 𝚃𝚊𝚕𝚔

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

Yashiro ran as fast as she could away from the other Wonders who were keeping Tsukasa in check. At the warning of a bomb, it felt like her insides were about to explode (pun intended) from the adrenaline rushing through her veins. As if she already wasn't mad enough at Amane earlier.

She didn't even think about where she was going - she just tried to look for the largest, most expensive-looking room there wa-

Oh my God, there it is. Yashiro just passed by huge door with intricate designs decorating it. The doorknob was made out of pure gold, and above all, it was... quiet from inside. That made Yashiro suspicious. What if she was wrong and this wasn't the master bedroom after all? It wouldn't hurt to check, wouldn't it...

Yashiro twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open, expecting to be attacked, or something, but all she saw inside was a familiar green-haired lady having tea at a table before the bed. She was facing a large see-through glass window that overlooked the entire mansion, and her back was facing Yashiro.

Yashiro was very, very confused.

"Oh, you're here," the green-haired lady set down her teacup and book before standing up. She was wearing the same black dress she had on the train, and she was still as gorgeous as Yashiro remembered. Something was definitely wrong.

"Sakura-chan." Yashiro kept her guard up, her hands automatically lowering to her skirt to reach for her pistol, but Sakura waved her hand.

"No, no," Sakura said calmly, "there's no need for that. I just want to have a little chat with you."

"Little chat?" Yashiro's hands released from her pistol. "Where's the bomb?"

The older lady gave her a weary sigh. From what Yashiro could observe, it sounded kind of... sad, somehow. But why? Was it because Sakura knew Yashiro was going to arrest her? "That's why I told you I wanted to have a little chat with you, Yashiro-san," she said, finally turning around to face her.

Yashiro's face contorted from cautious and wary to terror at the sight before her ruby eyes. On Sakura's chest, there was a bomb whose timer was actively counting down until it exploded. There were 9 minutes and 21 seconds left. There wasn't enough time.

"Sakura!" Yashiro ran towards her to take off the bomb, but Sakura took her hands away from her. "Y-You're going to blow up!"

"I don't care," Sakura said, mixed emotions present in her voice. "I want to blow up. This is what I've dedicated my life for, Yashiro-san. I just don't understand why my heart feels so painful..." she said, her voice cracking at the last word.

"Well-" Yashiro examined the bomb in a rush. "What should I do? How do we disarm it?!"

"You can't," Sakura shook her head. Panic was edged in her voice. "There's two wires attached and entwined at my back. One is red and one is blue. I can't see which-"

"We just have to cut the wires, don't we?!" Yashiro was panicking as well. "It's a fifty-fifty chance!"

Sakura took a shaky breath. "Can you at least... Hear me out? You know, talk... from girl to girl?" The pretty green-haired lady took her seat at the table, pouring tea into her cup. Yashiro sat at the other side and stared at the cookies. They looked delicious, but now wasn't the time to think about cookies.

"I found Tsukasa in the streets several years ago," Sakura said. "I was at such a loss after losing my brother, that I... took him in."

"Sakura, this is no time for stories of the past," Yashiro said restlessly. "The bomb-"

"Let's not mind about it for now," Sakura's voice shook as she poured herself another cup of tea, motioning for Yashiro to have a cup for herself. "I devoted myself to do anything for Tsukasa, but things went... wrong."

"How wrong?" Yashiro was still trying to process all of the events happening. She'd been expecting a fight before getting to this room, but calmly having tea while a bomb was ticking was quite different from what she'd imagined. "Didn't Tsukasa get stabbed?"

"He went mentally insane after that incident," Sakura pitied. "Imagine losing both your parents and your dear brother. How would that have felt?"

"Horrible," Yashiro was hesitant to drink the tea. What if there was some weird substance mixed in it? But Sakura drank from the same teapot she got Yashiro's cup of tea from. "I can sympathize with losing both parents." Don't let your guard down again...

"It felt like I was taking care of two mentally-struggling kids," Sakura sighed and gave a sad giggle. "Tsukasa was hell-bent on revenge and seeing Amane again. When he grew up past his teenage years, he was surprisingly manipulative of me and Natsuhiko. I didn't know what to do, so I simply went along with his schemes."

"But why?!" Yashiro banged her fists on the table. "You know they're wrong! Why do you still go along with them?"

"Because Tsukasa was already like a little child to me," Sakura wiped careless tears from her eyes. "Besides, if I disobeyed him, he'd kill me. Had we met under different circumstances, Yashiro-san, I'm sure we would have been best friends." Sakura reached for Yashiro's hands and put them together, as if in a prayer. The way she was facing Yashiro was sincere - Yashiro couldn't trace a single ounce of malice or ill intent in her voice and face.

"We're the same, after all," Sakura whispered. "We're both dead girls walking."

Yashiro slapped the green-haired lady's hand away from her own and scowled. "As if I'd ever want to be friends with someone who can't think for themselves," she said in a harsh tone, which offended Sakura. "You've got to stop thinking like this!"

Sakura looked up at her with glistening tears. "I..." she wiped them away using the cuffs of her dress. "You're right." She stood up abruptly and gave Yashiro a pretty smile. The wind from the open glass window seeped through the mansion and a gentle breeze blew between them.

Yashiro finally understood. Sakura wasn't wrong when she said they were alike - both their lives were at risk, and neither of them had it easy. Sakura didn't want to keep on living this sinful life of hers, so she thought it was better if she gave it her all and died for Tsukasa - the person she considered her closest family. Even if he was twisted. But that was wrong. Yashiro sat on her chair, her untouched tea resting inside its cup. And she was looking at Sakura in awe.

Sakura stood there, with that beautiful smile, the bomb on her chest ticking. Two minutes left.

She took out a pair of scissors from a nearby drawer and handed them to Yashiro's open palms, asking for her to make the final move. "It was nice knowing you, Yashiro-san," Sakura said. "There's a fifty-fifty chance, right? There's no point in hesitating now."