Tokyo: Are you even a proper lawyer?

Masashi Akiyama did not expect that Ayaka Fukuda would request to see him.

But that's good too—he also has some questions that need to be addressed in person.

The following morning at 10:00 AM, in the private meeting room of the Tokyo Detention Center.

Ayaka Fukuda, dressed in a uniform light blue containment suit, sat quietly on the other side of the glass.

Her hair was neatly tied back, and her bare face was even paler than during the court hearing, yet it unexpectedly carried a certain calmness, even an almost serene expression.

"Akiyama-san, it's been a long time," her voice came through the phone.

Masashi Akiyama sat down on the glass side and placed his briefcase on his lap.

"It hasn't been that long. Come to think of it, it was only two days ago when we last met."

Upon hearing this, Ayaka Fukuda immediately burst out laughing.

The laughter started softly, but then grew louder and louder, becoming increasingly unrestrained.

She laughed so hard she bent over, her shoulders shaking, almost unable to breathe.

"Akiyama-san..." she said, wiping her eyes as she laughed, "No girl will ever like you looking like this."

"Perhaps," Masashi Akiyama replied briefly, adjusting his glasses. "What brings you to see me?"

"Well, who knows?" Ayaka Fukuda clasped her hands together and gently tapped on the glass in front of her, her fingernails making a soft tapping sound on the reinforced glass. "Maybe it's because I miss you."

She transformed back into the Ayaka Fukuda that Masashi Akiyama knew—sweet, playful, and with a carefully calculated innocence.

"Haha." Masashi Akiyama gave a forced, unfunny smile. "Not funny."

"Okay."

Ayaka Fukuda stopped smiling and pointed to the upper diagonal behind her.

There was a black camera hanging there, with a red indicator light flashing regularly.

"Let's not waste any more time. After all, we only have fifteen minutes."

"I came to find Akiyama-san because I did something really interesting. But I can't find anyone to share it with. After thinking about it, I realized that only Akiyama-san can understand me. So I called you here."

She leaned close to the glass, almost pressing her face against it, and revealed a triumphant, childlike smile:

"Hey, Akiyama-san, do you want to know what it is?"

Masashi Akiyama looked at her calmly.

"I think it's because you used me to get revenge on Fukuda Runa and Ando Shinji."

Ayaka Fukuda's smile froze on her face.

Those eyes, which always held a seductive quality, suddenly widened, their pupils slightly contracting.

She remained in that position for a full three seconds without moving.

"W-what?" Her voice wavered for the first time. "How did you know?"

"That's not hard to guess."

Masashi Akiyama spread his hands, ignoring her incredulous expression.

"Let me think about where to start—let's start with that phone call from Maki Suzuki."

"On the very first day I took on your case, Suzuki Maki called. But from what I observed, her family background wasn't good, and her connections were limited. Even for a reporter, the speed at which they obtain information is too fast. The only possibility is that someone gave her my contact information."

He paused, his gaze piercing through the glass, meeting Ayaka Fukuda's eyes directly:

"That person is you, Ms. Ayakako Fukuda."

"Why me?" Ayaka Fukuda's smile had vanished. She leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms, and asked expressionlessly.

"Many people knew you took on this case—your superiors, colleagues, including my mother, Runa Fukuda. Why me of all people?"

"Because you came after I met with Maki Suzuki."

Masashi Akiyama's voice was very steady.

"Only those who are constantly monitoring the situation will be eager to see if things are going according to plan. You act like a spoiled clown, but at times, your behavior is quite incongruous."

"You secretly arranged for Suzuki Maki to be sent to me. I think she's still grateful to the 'kind' person who gave her their contact information."

"That idiot."

Ayaka Fukuda scoffed dismissively, no longer refuting Masashi Akiyama's guess:

"She only knows how to cry when something happens, and she has no ability to protect her family at all. If I hadn't secretly given her my contact information, her stupid brother would have been in jail long ago."

She paused, then her voice became sweet again:

"But—Akiyama-kun is still the best. Otherwise, that good-for-nothing Suzuki Maki would probably be crying and packing clothes for her brother's jail sentence right now, wouldn't she?"

Masashi Akiyama ignored her provocation and continued:

"As for Rieko Uchida, you were the one who pushed her to the opposite side. You know she's weak, but vengeful, and most importantly—she hates you more than anyone else. So once I extend an olive branch, she'll readily help me."

"Yeah." Ayakako Fukuda tapped the glass idly, her fingernails making a soft scratching sound on the surface. "Uchida-san is cuter when she cries. But Akiyama-san—"

She leaned forward, her eyes revealing genuine curiosity for the first time:

"Where did you discover the truth? Where did you start to feel that something was wrong?"

"It's a courtroom."

"You acted like you were having an emotional breakdown, but if I think back carefully, almost every word you said was testimony that was detrimental to Fukuda Runa. That's when I started to have doubts."

Masashi Akiyama paused, then added the most crucial element:

"It wasn't until Fukuda Runa called out 'Shinji Ando's' name that I suddenly realized—you didn't want to escape them, you wanted to destroy them."

"From the moment Fukuda Runa uttered that name, she was destined to become a useless pawn. And if Ando Shinji gets involved in a case like this, his political enemies will pounce like sharks smelling blood, tearing his political career to shreds."

Masashi Akiyama looked at the person across the glass and said, word by word:

"This is what you wanted, isn't it?"

Ayaka Fukuda was silent for three seconds.

Then, she clapped softly, one clap at a time.

"Slap. Slap. Slap."

"Oh my, oh my—" She laughed again, her eyes curving into crescent moons. "As expected, Akiyama-san never disappoints me."

She leaned closer to the glass, her voice very low.

"That's right, I did it on purpose."

Right now—

A light gray curtain of light silently appeared at the edge of Akiyama Masashi's field of vision, its edges shimmering with a faint fluorescent glow.

[Ayaka Fukuda: What's the point of just running away from them? Who can compensate me for the pain I've suffered all these years? Only when I see the woman I call "Mother," when I see those who hurt me—when I see their pain, helplessness, even death—can my rotting heart find some relief. God... thinking about it now, this moment is actually the happiest I've ever been...]

【…】

[Can converge world lines]

[Branch 1: Play the role of a gentle and understanding older brother, comforting the other person. A yandere girl has a unique charm, don't you think? (Reward: You will receive "love therapy" from the other person)]

[Branch Two: She was so repressed, so tormented, so pitiful. She seemed utterly rotten—a flower of evil blooming in the mud, nourished only by evil. What can be done to please her except with shallow comfort? (Reward: Deduction Clown - Beginner)]

The text floated on the light screen, its edges shimmering slightly.

Masashi Akiyama's gaze passed over the light screen and landed on Ayaka Fukuda's face.

She was resting her chin on her hand, watching him with great interest, as if waiting for his next words.

The air in the meeting room was stagnant and stuffy. The fluorescent lights overhead emitted a faint hum, and the air conditioner vents blew out cold air carrying the smell of disinfectant.

The two figures were reflected in the glass.

Masashi Akiyama remained silent for a moment.

Then, he asked a question that Fukuda Ayakako hadn't expected:

"Is it only Shinji Ando?"

Ayaka Fukuda's eyes widened.

Through the glass, she scrutinized Akiyama Masashi closely, as if she were meeting him for the first time.

My gaze swept from his calm face, over his impeccably tailored suit, and finally settled on his calm eyes behind his glasses.

Then she smiled.

She laughed so hard she almost fell over, tears streaming down her face, and she could barely breathe.

"Oh God... Akiyama-san..."

She laughed as she wiped away her tears, her voice trembling with an almost ecstatic joy:

"I misjudged you after all. I thought you were the sophisticated, self-centered, mature adult, but I never imagined... that beneath your cold exterior, you have such an overflowing heart of love?"

She stopped laughing, pressed her hands against the glass, and her eyes shone with an astonishing light:

I'm falling in love with you.