Volume #3 - EPISODE 10 - The Father Confronted

VOLUME #3 - EPISODE 10

[NARRATOR: Some revelations arrive like lightning—sudden, blinding, leaving permanent scars. Today brings that kind of revelation. Today, the mastermind is revealed. And the worst part? It makes perfect sense. Every piece clicking into place with horrible clarity. Every inconsistency explained. Every near-miss suddenly looking like calculated manipulation. Today, Riyura learns that the person he's been fighting was never just his father. It was always bigger. Always closer. Always more personal than he could have imagined.]

The Name That Destroyed Everything

Riyura stared at the photo in Letace's folder, his brain refusing to process what his eyes were clearly seeing. The face was familiar. Too familiar. Not his father—they already knew about Riyazo Shiko's crimes.

This was someone else. Someone who'd been present throughout his entire life. Someone who'd comforted his mother. Someone who'd offered support during the investigation. Someone he'd trusted.

His uncle. His father's younger brother. Hiroaki Shiko. "No," Riyura whispered, his voice hollow. "Uncle Hiro? He's—he's been helping Mom. He's been supportive. He can't be—"

"He's the mastermind," Letace said flatly. "Has been for fifteen years. Your father was just an early client who happened to be family. The network started small—helping wealthy friends avoid consequences for many crimes. But Hiroaki saw opportunity. Systematized it. Turned it into an empire entirely."

She pulled out financial records, communication logs, evidence so comprehensive it couldn't be disputed.

"He recruits members carefully. Lawyers, judges, law enforcement, even teachers—anyone with power to suppress investigations or manipulate outcomes. He takes ten percent of every 'donation' paid to avoid consequences. Launders it through shell companies. Invests it. By now, he's made over 200 million yen from facilitating injustice."

Sotsuko's pale eyes scanned the documents with analytical precision. "The Hakizage family connection?"

"Your uncle is one of his biggest investors," Letace confirmed. "Provided initial funding in exchange for network protection. That's why Jimiko's parents were killed—they discovered financial irregularities that would've led back to both families. Hiroaki ordered the hit. Made it look like a drunk driving accident. Used the network to protect the driver."

Jimiko's hands trembled on the table. "My parents died because they found his money laundering?"

"Yes," Letace said, and something like sympathy showed in her usually cold eyes. "I'm sorry, Jimiko. Your parents were good people who discovered bad things. Hiroaki doesn't tolerate threats. He eliminates them. Efficiently. Methodically. Without remorse."

Riyura felt like he was drowning. "He's been in our house. Had dinner with us. Comforted my mother when my father was arrested. He—he acted like family. Like he genuinely cared. I always suspected it might be my father. I needed to know the truth. And now… I'm more shocked than I ever was when I threw away the masked comedy persona. And that was already huge for me.

He supported me when I was being bullied. He saw straight through me—more clearly than anyone else ever had. I never expected him to be the mastermind though."

"He does care," Letace said. "That's what makes him dangerous. He genuinely loves your mother. Loved his brother despite using him. Can compartmentalize care and atrocity. Can hug you while planning your elimination if you become to problematic for him. Which includes you Riyura. Even if you his family."

She pulled out another document—recent, dated three days ago.

"This is an order he sent to operatives. Specifically mentioning 'the Shiko kid and his investigative team.' He's planning to eliminate all of you. Make it look like a group suicide—troubled teenagers overwhelmed by troubled scandals. He's already planted evidence. Already contacted sympathetic coroners. Already arranged for the investigation to be cursory."

The detention center visiting room suddenly felt impossibly small, the walls closing in, oxygen becoming scarce. "When?" Sotsuko asked, his voice tight.

"Soon," Letace replied. "He's waiting for optimal timing. Probably this weekend. When you're all together. When it would look most plausible as a suicide pact in general."

"Why are you telling us this?" Jimiko asked desperately. "Why help us now? What do you gain?" Letace looked at her brother, and for the first time, genuine emotion cracked through her controlled exterior.

"Because Sotsuko is my brother. Because you're my cousin. Because despite being a terrible person who did unforgivable things, I don't want you dead. And because—" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "—because maybe if I help stop Hiroaki, maybe if I prevent more deaths, it'll balance out some tiny fraction of the harm I've caused. It won't. But maybe it's worth trying anyway. Because I've changed. And I want you two to be sure of that. Because your family to me."

She slid the folder across the table.

"Everything you need is here. Financial records. Communications. Testimony from network members I've convinced to cooperate. Evidence comprehensive enough that even corrupt officials can't dismiss it. Take it. Use it. Expose him before he kills you."

Riyura's hands shook as he picked up the folder. This was it. Complete evidence against the mastermind. Everything they needed to bring down the entire network.

And it meant confronting his uncle. The person who'd been family. The person who'd ordered multiple murders. The person who was currently planning to kill them all while pretending to comfort Riyura's mother.

"Thank you," Riyura said quietly. "I don't forgive what you did. To Shoehead. To Jimiko. But… thank you for this." The light in Riyura's star-filled eyes dimmed. For a moment, Sotsuko—who had remained mostly silent—thought he saw shadows coil around Riyura's legs.

He told himself it was just his imagination.

Letace nodded once, sharp and precise. "Don't thank me yet. Hiroaki is brilliant. Paranoid. Prepared. Exposing him won't be simple or safe. He has contingency plans. Escape routes. Ways to eliminate evidence and people simultaneously."

"Then how do we stop him?" Sotsuko asked.

"You don't," Letace said bluntly. "You're fools. You're outmatched. You go to someone with actual power—law enforcement he hasn't bought, journalists he can't threaten, politicians he doesn't control. You make the evidence so public he can't suppress it. Then you stay very, very far away while professionals handle arrest and prosecution."

"But—" Riyura started.

"No stop," Letace interrupted firmly. "I'm giving you this information to save your lives. Not to make you martyrs. Promise me—all of you—promise you won't try to confront him directly. Promise you'll be smart instead of brave."

They sat in silence, the weight of the promise pressing down. Finally, Jimiko spoke: "We promise." The guard announced visiting time was ending. As they stood to leave, Letace called out: "Sotsuko. Wait."

Her brother turned, his expression carefully neutral.

"I'm sorry," Letace said. "For everything. For becoming obsessed. For hurting people you care about. For making you feel responsible for my choices. You're not responsible. You never were. I broke myself. And I'm trying—trying—to fix some of the damage. Even from here."

Sotsuko's jaw tightened. "It's too late for apologies." "I know," Letace replied. "But they're true anyway. I promise I'll keep in contact after I'm released. We both know we'll never see each other again—Sotsuko and I and you. But I will stay in touch."

She stepped back slightly. "Thank you, Jimiko. Thank you... Sotsuko."

They left without looking back, moving through institutional hallways that smelled of disinfectant and resignation, carrying evidence that could either save them or get them killed. All three of them understood the same truth: they would never face one another again.

Not in person. Not close enough to hear each other's voices or feel the weight of the moment they shared. And yet, no matter how deep the grudges ran, one thing remained certain. They were bound together by years of shared pain.

Distance could sever their paths—but not the bond that had already been carved into them.

With that, the Letace chapter finally closed. Sotsuko and Jimiko were left to face a truth that would follow them forever: they might never see Letace's face again. But someday—after her release—they might still speak to her through letters or messages on social media. For now, that was enough.

Letace's story had finally reached its end. Riyura could see it without a word being said. He had already cut his ties with her, and she understood the moment she met his eyes.

As he walked away, catching only a distant glimpse of her face, he knew she understood what he did. They would never see each other again as well. As their story had also finally ended. As that chapter, had finally closed.

The Planning Session

Monday after school, they gathered in Principal Jeremy's office—the one place they were certain wasn't compromised.

Principal Jeremy himself sat behind his desk, his usual butler-like composure replaced with grim determination. They'd shown him everything. All the evidence. All the revelations. Including the vice principal's involvement.

"I've suspended Vice Principal Tanaka pending investigation," Principal Jeremy said. "And I've contacted law enforcement officers I personally trust—colleagues from before I became an educator. They'll handle the evidence without network interference."

He looked at the four idiots seriously.

"You've done incredible work. Dangerous, foolish, nearly suicidal work—but incredible. Now it's time to let the higher ups handle the rest. Hiroaki Shiko is not someone you people should confront."

"He's planning to kill us this weekend," Riyura said quietly. "We don't have time to wait for slow legal processes. We need to—"

"You need to stay safe," Principal Jeremy interrupted firmly. "I'm arranging protection. Police officers I trust will be assigned to watch all of you. You'll go home, stay with family or friends, stay visible and surrounded by witnesses. Make yourselves impossible targets."

"What about my mother?" Riyura asked desperately. "She's staying at my uncle's house right now. She's with the mastermind. She's in danger and doesn't even know it."

Principal Jeremy's expression softened. "I'll contact her directly. Get her somewhere safe before we move on Hiroaki. She doesn't need to know details yet—just that there's new evidence requiring her temporary relocation."

Yakamira's pale gray eyes were calculating. "When will arrests happen?"

"Wednesday morning," Principal Jeremy replied. "Simultaneous raids. Hiroaki, the vice principal, corrupt law enforcement officers, judges, lawyers—everyone we can identify from the evidence. Fast, comprehensive, coordinated. We don't give them time to destroy evidence or flee."

"Two days," Sotsuko said. "We have to survive two more days while Hiroaki potentially realizes we know about him."

"Which is why you'll all stay together," Principal Jeremy said. "I'm arranging for you to stay here at school temporarily. Teachers' lounge has sleeping accommodations for emergencies. You'll be under constant supervision and protection until Wednesday."

It wasn't ideal. But it was safer than going home to families potentially compromised by network connections. They agreed.

The Confrontation That Shouldn't Have Happened

Tuesday evening. Riyura was supposed to be safe in the teachers' lounge with the others.

Instead, he stood outside his uncle's house—the house where his mother was staying, where Hiroaki was probably planning their murders, where everything had gone so terribly wrong.

[RIYURA'S INTERNAL MONOLOGUE: This is stupid. Monumentally stupid. I promised to stay safe. Promised to let the higher ups handle this. But I can't—I can't just hide while my uncle pretends to be family. Can't let him comfort my mother while planning to kill her sons. Can't wait for Wednesday when I could end this now by just—by just confronting him. Making him face what he's done.]

He'd left the school after midnight, bypassing protection by climbing out a window like a fool in a bad movie. Left a note for Yakamira explaining where he'd gone.

Now he stood at the door, hand raised to knock, terror and determination fighting for dominance. The door opened before he could decide. Hiroaki Shiko stood there, his expression shifting from surprise to understanding to something calculating and dangerous.

"Riyura," his uncle said warmly. "What a pleasant surprise. Come in. Your mother will be so happy to see you." "Mom's asleep," Riyura said, his voice steadier than he felt. "I'm here to talk to you. Just you."

Hiroaki's smile didn't waver. "Of course. Let's talk in my study. Would you like tea?" "I want the truth," Riyura said.

They walked to the study—a comfortable room lined with books and expensive furniture, the kind of space that suggested wealth and education and respectability.

The kind of space where monsters hid behind civilization. Hiroaki sat behind his desk, gesturing for Riyura to take the opposite chair. "What truth would you like, nephew?"

"The truth about the corruption network," Riyura said, pulling out his phone where he'd photographed key evidence pages. "About you running it. About ordering Jimiko's parents killed. About planning to murder me and my friends this weekend."

Hiroaki's expression didn't change. "That's quite an accusation."

"It's not an accusation," Riyura replied. "It's fact. Backed by comprehensive evidence. Financial records. Communications. Testimony. Everything needed to destroy you and everyone connected to you."

"I see." Hiroaki leaned back in his chair, his calm unnerving. "And you came here alone to confront me with this information? That's either very brave or very stupid, Riyura."

"It's necessary," Riyura said. "I need to understand why. Why build this network? Why facilitate so much harm? Why order people killed? You're not poor. Not desperate. You have everything. So why?"

Hiroaki was quiet for a long moment, studying his nephew with eyes that suddenly looked much colder.

"You want to know why?" he said finally. "Because the system is broken, Riyura. Fundamentally, irreparably broken. The law pretends to be equal, but it's not. It never has been. Wealth buys protection. Poverty guarantees punishment. I just—systematized the reality everyone already knew."

"That's not justice," Riyura said.

"No," Hiroaki agreed. "It's not. But it's honest. The rich were always going to avoid consequences. I just made it efficient. And profitable. And reliable. I provide a service that people desperately need. That makes me valuable. Protected. Untouchable."

"You killed people," Riyura said, his voice shaking with suppressed rage. "Jimiko's parents. Others who discovered your operation. You ordered them dead."

"I eliminated threats," Hiroaki corrected calmly. "Threats to the stability of a system providing value to hundreds of many. Their deaths were unfortunate. But necessary. Collateral damage in maintaining something important."

Riyura felt sick. "You're a monster."

"I'm a realist," Hiroaki replied. "And you, nephew, are naïve if you think exposing me will change anything. The network is bigger than me. I'm just one coordinator among many. Take me down and someone else steps up. The system continues because the system serves the people with power."

He stood, walked to the window overlooking the dark street.

"But you're not actually here to change my mind. You're here because you need me to be the villain. Need someone to blame for all the corruption and injustice. Need a face for the monster. And I'll play that role. Because someone has to."

He turned back to Riyura.

"The arrests are scheduled for Wednesday morning. I've known for two days. I have contingencies. Escape plans. Evidence destruction protocols. By Thursday, I'll be in a country with no extradition treaty, living comfortably on laundered funds."

"Then why are you still here?" Riyura demanded.

"Because," Hiroaki said, and something almost like sadness crossed his face, "because I wanted to see your mother one more time. Wanted to explain to someone in the family why I did this. Why I built this network. And—" He paused. "—because I wanted you to understand something crucial."

He walked closer to Riyura.

"I'm not doing this because I'm evil. I'm doing this because I saw my brother—your father—kill a human being and walk away because he had money for lawyers. I saw the system fail. And I thought: if the system is broken, if justice is for sale, then I might as well be the one selling it. At least then I can control who gets protected and who doesn't."

"That's not better," Riyura said. "That's worse. You saw injustice and decided to profit from it instead of fixing it."

"Yes," Hiroaki admitted. "Because fixing it is impossible. The corruption is too deep. Too systemic. So I chose profit. Chose security. Chose becoming the monster rather than remaining the victim."

He returned to his desk, pulled out an envelope.

"This is for your mother. Explanation. Apology. Financial support that's clean—not connected to the network. Give it to her after I'm gone. Tell her—" His voice broke slightly. "—tell her I'm sorry. For everything. But especially for not being strong enough to choose differently."

Riyura took the envelope with trembling hands. "You're not going to try to kill me?" he asked. "Eliminate the threat?"

"No," Hiroaki said. "You're family. That still means something. Even to monsters. Go home, Riyura. Be safe. Live the life I couldn't. Choose differently than I did. This is my fault, after all. I chose my role in this world.

That's what it means to be human—making a choice that feels right to you, and living with it. This path fit me. So I took it. And everything that followed is mine to bear. If you need someone to blame, then blame me. I'll accept it—openly. Think of it as a hug that can't exist. One meant just for you, Riyura Shiko. My nephew... Take care."

Riyura left without another word, the envelope burning in his pocket, his uncle's confession echoing in his ears. It was a goodbye to the fool he once admired—the one who had supported him through the hardest moments of his life.

A relative who, in the end, had been a mastermind all along.

Behind him, Hiroaki Shiko sat alone in his study, preparing to disappear, leaving behind wreckage and wealth and a nephew who'd mostly never understand why someone as wise as his uncle with words but not brains it seems, would choose profit over principle entirely. As their story, came to an end. And so ends the battle of a nephew and his uncle.

[NARRATOR: And so the confrontation happens. Not with violence. Not with dramatic revelation. But with quiet admission of complicity. Hiroaki isn't a cackling villain—he's an uncle who saw injustice and decided to profit from it rather than fight it. Which somehow makes it worse. Tomorrow brings the raids. The arrests. The collapse of the network. But tonight, Riyura carries his uncle's confession and the terrible knowledge that monsters are just people who made different choices. Next episode: the raids happen. The network falls. And everyone discovers whether destroying corruption is enough to heal the damage it caused.]

TO BE CONTINUED...

[NEXT EPISODE: "EPISODE 35 - The Father Confronted / When Truth Shatters (Part 1)" Wednesday arrives. The raids begin. Hiroaki flees. The network collapses. In the aftermath, Riyura faces a far more brutal confrontation—not with the public, but with his mother. He must tell her that the person who comforted her in her darkest hours, her own brother-in-law, was the mastermind behind everything. The cost of telling the truth becomes painfully real. Hiroaki was the mastermind. That much is certain. But when the death of another close family member comes to light, Riyura is forced to confront a final, devastating realization: the enemy he has been fighting all along is someone even closer—someone he trusted just as deeply, and someone willing to kill again, one of his parents in the end.]