We just ignore the fact that he killed someone?

[1 Day Later]

Seiji prepared to meet Rika, his mind racing with possibilities.

'If Rika is behind this, she'll be cautious. But if I push too hard, she'll shut down completely. I need to tread carefully,' he thought, slipping on his jacket.

He quietly left the apartment and headed toward the café where he and Rika had arranged to meet.

The weather was chilly, and clouds loomed overhead, threatening rain.

When Seiji arrived, he found Rika already seated at a corner table, staring at her phone with a furrowed brow. Her expression brightened briefly when she noticed him before reverting to its usual guarded state.

"Seiji," Rika greeted, her voice calm but tense. "Thanks for coming."

"Of course," Seiji replied, sliding into the seat across from her. "I've been meaning to catch up. After that mess, I forgot to ask you about it, heh... Glad that Ken got your phone number." His tone was casual, but his sharp eyes studied every nuance of her body language.

Rika tucked her hair behind her ear and offered a faint smile. "Yeah. I... I actually wanted to meet with you and Ken again... I wanted to maybe start over. To have a meeting in somewhere else..." she briefly gazed at the background around them and exhaled softly "So... it's been a week. How've things been?"

"Busy." Seiji gave her the faintest smirk. "Work, life... the usual chaos." Then he quickly ordered a coffee for himself.

Rika nodded, "I understand. Well.. if you want to know about my part... I'm managing. Work's been busy for me too... Heh... those kids are very mischevious these days." She rubbed anxiously the back of her head.

"Oh?" Seiji raised an eyebrow "Kids? So you're working as a..." He started but Rika nodded in her response.

"As a English teacher. I thought that having such a rich experience from States I'll be great as a teacher. Only that... Sometimes, reality can be a bit crushing, hehe.." she smiled softly.

"Don't tell me." Seiji chuckled "I know this from firsthand."

"Aww..." Rika tone softened even more.

'I need to act now... I know that this is wrong, but I need to manipulate her a bit.'
Seiji took a slow sip of his coffee, then spoke casually.

"Teaching kids, busy work, starting over..." he tilted his head slightly.
"Sounds like a lot to carry at once."

Rika smiled faintly, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"That's true..." her eyes darting to her phone briefly. Seiji caught the movement and filed it away for later. "Things have been... hectic."

There was a pause, a slight tension in the air. Seiji leaned back in his chair, letting the silence stretch just long enough to become uncomfortable.

He took another sip of coffee, unhurried.

"When things pile up like this, people usually look for a way to breathe." He said, shortly after. "But, honestly. It's quite hard these days. Especially now."

"Now? What do you mean..?" Rika asked, showing a little bit of confusion in her tone.

"I assume you've been keeping up with the news?" Seiji lead the conversation, his tone neutral.

Rika's gaze met his. "Oh... Yeah," she said carefully. "That whole thing with Pixie... crazy, right?"

Seiji nodded. "It is. Makes you wonder how the police found out so quickly."

Rika's grip tightened on her coffee cup for a fraction of a second. "Yeah, I've been wondering about that too," she said, her voice tighter. "Maybe they had a lead."

"Maybe." Seiji's gaze stayed steady. "Or maybe someone gave them a tip."

Rika blinked, her eyes widening briefly before she masked her reaction. "A tip? From who?"

"That's the question, isn't it?" Seiji leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice. "I just hope it wasn't anyone close to us. That would complicate things."

Rika's face paled for a moment before she took a sip of her coffee, as if to hide her reaction. "Mhm."

Seiji gave her a faint smile, though there was no warmth in it. "But that's what I'm trying to figure out."

Rika's fingers began tightening slightly around her coffee cup.

Seiji didn't miss the subtle reaction. He leaned forward, lowering his voice just enough to make her feel the weight of his words.

"You remember what I said back then," he continued calmly.

"After we left Pixie. About what would happen if something like this ever reached the police."

Rika stiffened almost imperceptibly.

"Once they start pulling threads, they won't stop," Seiji went on, his tone measured, almost detached.

Rika gulped,

'I know... I k-know that! But this all started to get too much for me! I broke down mentally... The nightmares... the guilt... That's why I had to do it. It was just the right thing to do! B-but Ken, Seiji, Hideaki... all of us... we will pay for this with our freedom now... No! This can't be! Maybe we could figure something out, to fix this? I have to tell him before it's too late... if it isn't already.'

The silence between them stretched, tension building as Rika fidgeted with her cup. Seiji could see her discomfort, the subtle signs that she was trying to hide something.

Then, Rika's eyes showed a mix of guilt and hesitation. Her fingers trembling slightly.

"Seiji... I..." she began, her voice barely above a whisper and she nervously fidgeted fingers around her cup. She gulped an looked up with feeling guilt.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make things worse."

He studied her for a moment. "What do you mean?"

Her shoulders slumped, and she lowered her voice to a whisper. "I... I told the p-police where they might find her. Not the exact address - just an area. And I told them she was... gone. I thought that by any means... it was the right thing to do."

Seiji's gaze hardened slightly. "What...? Rika... Do you realize what you've done?"

"But... we could explain it was self-defense, right? I mean, Pixie attacked us first! Hideaki was um... p-protecting himself- protecting us! Wouldn't that clear him?" Rika sounded hopeful.

Seiji sighed. 'Not with him being a wanted serial killer...'
"It's not that simple. Even if we argue self-defense, it's still a murder. The police won't ignore that."

Rika bit her lip. "But... what if they do understand? Besides we could-"

Seiji held up a hand, his tone firm. "No." he leaned back in his chair, studying her carefully.

He folded his hands on the table. "Rika, listen, we barely know each other and I'm not here to accuse anyone. Even more, I don't want to scare you off but..." Seiji paused, his gaze sharpened slightly,

He met her eyes, unwavering.

"I think that, now...? It's only a matter of time before they find us."

He leaned slightly forward.

"You gave the police a direction. That was enough. Now they'll start filling in the blanks on their own. And I'm not sure it can be undone."

Rika looked down, guilt shadowing her face. "Seiji... I... I'm sorry... I just..." she lowered her head, her hair fell on her face, but not blocking the sight completely. Her breath hitched."I... I just got scared!" she admitted. "I.just can't stop thinking about it. I had nightmares haunting me during every night... The way he killed her... it was psychopathic." She shuddered, her voice breaking. "He looked like he enjoyed it, Seiji. It scared me."

"I don't blame you for being afraid. People panic when they're afraid." Seiji replied, his tone measured. "But fear can lead to mistakes. Dangerous ones."

She shook her head, gripping the cup tighter. "Again, I'm so sorry..."

"Now, what we'll gonna do?" He asked her, meanwhile in his mind...

'The truth is, it would take a long time for them to get to any of us.

Hell, it's very possible they wouldn't even discover it. The only suspect would be Hideaki. But they don't know where he is.

So relatively, we're safe.'

Seiji sighed heavily. He gazed at Rika, who was trembling.

'...I really don't want to do it... Rika is a pretty cool girl. And I know this might be hard for her, but I eventually need to push her. I need to see if anyone else knows about this. For everyone's safety.' Seiji thought.

He didn't want to do this - but wanting had stopped mattering a long time ago.

"I.. I d-don't know... I'm so sorry..." Rika apologized.

"Rika... stop for a second." His gaze softened. "I know you're scared. But panic makes people act without thinking.
And right now - thinking is the only thing that can keep this from getting worse."

"I'm... I'm-" She stuttered and lowered her head.

"It's alright." He reassured her. Then began calmly "I need to know one thing... Before you went to the police... did you talk to anyone about it?"

"N-no. I didn't..." She answerd humbled.

Seiji nodded. "Are you sure?"

Rika shook her head harder now.

"N-no. I didn't. I couldn't."
Her voice cracked.

Seiji studied her quietly.

"...Alright."

Then Rika startled, "I m-mean..." She began.

Seiji raised his eyebrow "Hm?"

Rika hesitated.

"I didn't talk to anyone seriously," she said quickly, almost defensively.
"It wasn't like I explained everything. I just... mentioned it. Once."

"Mentioned? To who?" Seiji asked steadily.

"I m-mentioned it to my co-worker friend from school. She's a English teacher too. I.." she exhaled heavily "The truth is, that I was very o-overwhelmed emotionally after that. I'm working with kids a-and it was double hard to me to focus on lessons. One day she noticed it.. and asked me to 'Have a talk with coffee on break.' so I did. But... I didn't say anything drastic. No detials, no mention of any names..."

Seiji listened to her carefully. "And what if she'll tell that to more people? Even unconsciously repeat it to someone else?"

"She's not. I especially told her to not tell about it to any teachers, or anyone outside school." Rika continued. Her voice became calmer, "I trust her deeply. She's in fact... the one who suggested me to go to police with it. I think that she saw how much trauma it made me."

Seiji was silent for a moment. Not out of irritation - out of calculation.

"I understand," he finally said quietly.

"But trust isn't security. It's just an assumption."

He looked up at her.

"Your friend didn't have to betray anyone. She just had to tell someone, 'Something was wrong.' The police don't need details. A direction is enough."

He paused briefly.
"And you've already given them one."

"I know... I'm just... so mad at myself for that... But I just had this constant worry in my head: What if he - what if he comes after us next? After me? I was afraid he'd..." Her voice faltered, and she looked away, shame creeping into her expression.
'...kill us...'  she finished in her head.

Seiji let the silence linger for a moment before speaking, feeling the weight of her words

'If he didn't know us... he probably would.'  he thought, mentally answering to Rika's concerns.

"Seiji..." she began, her voice quieter, but edged with fear. "What's wrong with him? Who is he, really?"

Seiji's heart skipped a beat. He couldn't reveal the full truth about Hideaki. He had to steer Rika away, choosing his words carefully.

"He's not someone you need to fear," Seiji said finally, his tone calm but decisive. "He won't hurt you or anyone else."

"How do you know he won't hurt us?" Rika's voice trembled. "He... he killed s-someone.... just like that... it's horrible!" she exhaled shakily "Do you... really believe he won't d-do it again?" she asked, her tone edged with desperation.

"He won't. If I ever thought he would hurt any of my friends, I'd act before it came to that. Trust me." Seiji's voice was quiet but unyielding. "What you saw wasn't who he really is. Hideaki is... Complicated. At least."

Rika nodded but then frowned. "Is he struggling with something? I've noticed that during our meeting he was especially quiet. At first I thought that maybe he is just shy, but then... after what had happened later..." she gulped, then tried to compose herself "I'm sorry. It's just... In U.S I've seen many people who struggled mentally. If he's struggling, maybe... maybe it'd be best to get him a psychologist? Doesn't he need therapy?"

"Therapy..?" Seiji drifted off to the memories - every memory that Hideaki made for him. The most fucked up shit, to the recent, more calmer, almost normal ones.

He sighed.

"Maybe... maybe he do need it." he admitted. "But right now, pushing him too far could make things worse. And I'm the one who agreed to help him get through this."

"Pushing him too far?" Rika looked at him, eyebrows raised. "But what if-"

Seiji cut her off from finishing the sentence. He leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice.

"Listen to me, Rika. Worrying about what-ifs won't help anyone. Hideaki's... complicated. a deeply flawed person. If we push therapy on him now, it might backfire. He needs to see us as allies, not adversaries. Forcing the issue could make him withdraw or escalate."
He paused, his tone calm but firm.
"What we need right now is control. That means no more slip-ups. No more telling others things they don't need to know."

Her lips parted as if to protest, but she closed them again, nodding reluctantly. "I... understand... It's just... I... I really didn't mean to make things worse. I... I was just so scared."

"I understand that," Seiji said, his voice softening slightly. "But if you want to stay safe, you'll need to trust me. Can you do that?"

Rika hesitated, then nodded. "I'll try. I promise."

"Good," Seiji said, sitting back again. He glanced briefly at the untouched coffee in her hands. "Drink that before it gets cold."

A weak smile flickered across her face, but it didn't reach her eyes. She picked up the cup, taking a tentative sip.

'Rika's fear is understandable, but it makes her unpredictable. She's already spoken to the police, to her friend from work... - What's stopping her from doing it again if the pressure gets to her? I'll need to monitor her closely, or she might unravel everything.'  Seiji thought internally.

The rest of their meeting went more at ease. The topics were lighter, and without any mention of the Hideaki or Pixie's massacre.

When Rika finally stood to leave, she gave him a small, uncertain nod. "Thank you," she murmured. "For the meeting. And... understanding."

Seiji nodded. He didn't respond immediately, watching her retreat toward the door. When she was gone, he exhaled slowly, the weight of the conversation pressing heavily on his mind.

One misstep, and everything could fall apart.

***

As Seiji left the cafe, his mind was heavy with everything Rika had said. Her fear and doubts echoed the same worries he'd been carrying for weeks. Convincing her - and others - without revealing Hideaki's more and more visible true self was going to be a tricky path.

'Rika's not wrong to be scared. Nor Ken. They both saw what I've been trying to reconcile - Hideaki's sadistic nature. But that wasn't all there was to it. He's dangerous, yes, but... he's also... fragile, in some sense.'

Seiji couldn't forget the image of Hideaki, during times he was openly crying out, being scared and peaceful. Looking vulnerable in his own way.

'Some would say he's only calm while he sleeps. But it's not entirely true. That calm - it's not just peace. It's exhaustion. He's battling something inside, and until I understand it, I can't let anyone else interfere.'

It was in one of those quiet moments that Seiji reminded himself why he couldn't just give up. He knew the danger, but he also knew there was more to Hideaki - something broken, not just violent.

Seiji returned to the Ueno ward and walked into the apartment.

He opened the door. In one hand, he was carrying a plastic bag, clearly filled with something.

Hideaki was lying on the couch at the time, his eyes half-closed.

The moment he heard the door unlocking, he immediately lifted his head and looked toward the genkan.

There, he saw Seiji holding the bag.

"Did you go to the store?" he asked.

"Among other things," Seiji replied shortly, then walked into the kitchen, placed the bag on the counter, and began unpacking puddings from it.

"You bought pudding?" Hideaki asked observing him.

"Yeah." Seiji replied curtly.
"Here," he said, then tossed one pudding in Hideaki’s direction.

Hideaki tried to catch it, but the pudding lightly hit him on the head. He failed— as usual. He had never been good at catching things thrown at him.

"Ow… -Tch!" he muttered, rubbing his head before picking the pudding up from the floor.

"Why did you buy so many?" He asked.

Seiji turned to look at him.

"Do you remember our conversation, when I said I planned to fatten you up?"

"Um… Y-yeah…?" Hideaki replied uncertainly, a hint of panic creeping into his voice.

"I intend to put that plan into action."

"W-what?? No. You can’t! I-I mean… why?? I—"

In response, Seiji burst out laughing.

"Hahahah, relax. I’m joking. I wouldn’t do that to you."

Then added,

"Seriously though, I bought so many because they were on sale."

Hideaki turned his gaze away from him.

After a moment, Seiji added,

"But you should’ve seen your face. Pure panic. Priceless, hehehe."

"Tch!" Hideaki clicked his tongue, sulking and irritated by the “joke,” as he opened the pudding and started eating it in an offended manner.

Seiji noticed that on the coffee table before Hideaki, was a glass of milk, half-emptied.

"Idiot..." Hideaki murmured silently, then he returned to eating. His expression was rather calm. Then he took a deep sip of his milk, looking as he really enjoys it.

'He sometimes resembles a big cat, rather than a human.' Seiji mused, observing him.

'He lounges on the couch all day and falls asleep during it, grumbles in my ear, attacks me out of the blue. He's annoying, hisses constantly with that stupid ‘tch’ sound, and on top of that, he waits for me to feed him — and when I do, he devours it immediately...

Honestly... how is it that I still keep him in my apartment… and  tolerate him?'