The Tokyo District Court was a different world.
Ren had been inside courthouses before—the family court, the police station, the small rooms where lawyers argued and judges ruled. But this was something else entirely. Marble floors. High ceilings. Hallways that stretched for what seemed like miles, lined with doors that led to chambers he would never see.
He stood in the main lobby, his hands in his pockets, his eyes scanning the crowd of lawyers and clerks and defendants and victims. Somewhere in this building, in a chamber on the fourth floor, Judge Yamaguchi was sitting behind her desk, reviewing the case files, preparing to oversee the trial that would decide Kenji's fate.
And somewhere in this building, there was evidence of her corruption.
Kobayashi had given him a task: find out everything he could about Yamaguchi's connections to Sakamoto's network. Not through illegal means—not this time. Through observation. Through records. Through the small cracks in the system that only someone with Ren's mind could see.
"You have three hours," Kobayashi had said. "The court closes at five. I'll be in Judge Ito's chambers, reviewing the prosecution's case. Don't draw attention to yourself."
Ren didn't draw attention. He was good at that.
He walked the hallways like he belonged there—head down, pace steady, eyes moving but not staring. He noted the security cameras, the guards' patrol patterns, the doors that required keycards and the doors that didn't.
The fourth floor was quieter. Fewer people. Thicker carpets. The doors here were made of dark wood, with nameplates engraved in gold. Judge Yamaguchi's chamber was at the end of the hallway, near a window that looked out onto the city.
Ren walked past it. Didn't slow down. Didn't look.
But his eyes caught something.
A man standing outside the door. Tall. Thin. Gray suit. He wasn't a court employee—Ren knew that because he had memorized the staff directory the night before. He wasn't a lawyer—Ren knew that too.
He was someone else. Someone who didn't belong.
Ren walked to the end of the hallway and pretended to look at his phone. From the corner of his eye, he watched the man.
The man checked his watch. Then his phone. Then his watch again.
After five minutes, the door to Judge Yamaguchi's chamber opened. The judge herself stepped out—silver hair, sharp eyes, the same face Ren remembered from the guardianship hearing. She nodded at the man, and they walked together toward the stairs.
Ren followed.
They didn't take the elevator. They took the stairs—down two flights, to the second floor, then through a door that led to a small café in the back of the building. The café was empty at this hour, except for a single barista who was reading a magazine.
Ren found a table in the corner, his back to the wall, his face hidden behind a menu he had grabbed from the counter. He could hear them—Yamaguchi and the man—sitting a few tables away, their voices low but not low enough.
"The trial is set for two weeks," the man said. "Ito is pushing for an expedited schedule."
"Let him push," Yamaguchi replied. "I control the calendar. I control the pace."
"And the evidence?"
"The evidence is problematic. The boy—Akiyama—he's been thorough. Too thorough for a seventeen-year-old."
"Then we need to discredit him."
"That's your job, not mine. I can only do so much from the bench."
The man laughed—a dry, humorless sound. "You've done plenty over the years."
"And I expect to be compensated accordingly." Yamaguchi's voice was cold. "The money needs to be in my account before the trial begins. Not after. Before."
"It will be."
"It better be. For your sake. And for your client's."
Ren heard chairs scrape against the floor. Footsteps. The café door opening and closing.
He lowered the menu.
They were gone.
He sat in the corner for a long moment, his heart pounding, his mind racing. He had heard it. Proof—not legal proof, not yet, but proof—that Judge Yamaguchi was corrupt. That she was being paid to influence the trial. That she was working with Kenji's people.
He pulled out his phone and texted Kobayashi: Yamaguchi is taking money. I heard her. The trial is compromised.
Her response came a minute later: Come to Ito's chambers. Now. Don't talk to anyone.
---
Judge Ito's chambers were on the fifth floor, in a section of the building that Ren hadn't seen before. The room was smaller than he expected—bookshelves, a desk, a window that faced north. Ito was sitting behind the desk, his face pale. Kobayashi stood by the window, her arms crossed.
"Sit down," Ito said.
Ren sat.
"Tell me exactly what you heard."
Ren told them. Every word. Every detail. The man's voice, Yamaguchi's voice, the mention of money, the threat.
When he finished, Ito leaned back in his chair.
"This is worse than I thought," he said. "Yamaguchi isn't just corrupt. She's running the show. She's been protecting Kenji—and probably others—for years."
"Can you remove her from the case?" Kobayashi asked.
"Not without evidence. Real evidence. A recording, documents, something I can take to the judicial review board."
Ren looked at Kobayashi. "Akemi."
"I'll call her," Kobayashi said. "But we need to be careful. If Yamaguchi finds out we're investigating her—"
"She'll destroy us," Ito finished. "That's why we do this quietly. No leaks. No loose ends."
Ren stood up. "I'll help. Whatever you need."
Ito looked at him. "You've done enough, Akiyama-kun. More than enough. Go home. Rest. Prepare for the trial."
"I don't rest."
"I know. That's what worries me."
---
Ren left the courthouse through a side entrance, avoiding the main lobby and the reporters who had gathered outside. Takeshi was waiting in the car, his face grim.
"How bad is it?"
"Bad. Yamaguchi is taking money. She's going to try to influence the trial."
"Can they stop her?"
"I don't know." Ren got into the car. "But we're going to try."
---
That evening, Ren visited Hikari.
The halfway house was quiet. The other girls were in their rooms, studying or sleeping or staring at the walls. Mrs. Tanaka was in the kitchen, preparing dinner—something that smelled like curry and ginger.
Hikari was in the garden, sitting on the bench, her hands in her lap. She looked up when Ren walked through the door.
"You look tired," she said.
"I'm always tired."
"Sit down."
He sat beside her. Their shoulders touched. The sun was setting behind the fence, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink.
"I found something today," Ren said. "About the judge. The one who's supposed to oversee the trial."
Hikari's expression tightened. "What about her?"
"She's corrupt. She's been taking money from Kenji's people. She's going to try to make us lose."
Hikari was quiet for a long moment. Then she said, "So what do we do?"
"We fight. Like we've been fighting. We find evidence. We expose her. We make sure the world knows what she is."
"And if we can't?"
Ren looked at her. At her profile, her jaw, her eyes that had seen too much and still believed in something.
"Then we find another way," he said. "There's always another way."
Hikari turned to face him. Her hand found his in the darkness.
"I'm scared," she said.
"I know."
"But I'm not going to run. Not anymore."
"Neither am I."
They sat in the garden, holding hands, watching the stars appear one by one. The air was cold, but neither of them moved.
Mrs. Tanaka called them in for dinner. They stood up together, walked inside together, sat at the table together.
The other girls watched them with curious eyes. Yuki, the girl from the stairs, was sitting at the far end of the table, her dark hair hiding her face. But when Ren sat down, she looked up.
"You found him," Yuki said. It wasn't a question.
"Yes."
"And?"
"And he's in jail. He's not getting out."
Yuki nodded slowly. Then she looked at Hikari.
"You're lucky," she said. "You have someone who fights for you."
Hikari looked at Ren. "I know."
---
That night, Ren received a message from Akemi.
I found something. About Yamaguchi. Come to the safe house tomorrow. 10 AM.
Ren stared at the message. His heart pounded.
He typed back: I'll be there.
Then he put the phone away and closed his eyes.
Tomorrow, they would take the next step.
Tomorrow, they would get closer to the truth.
Tonight, he would rest.
For Hikari. For himself. For everyone who had been hurt by Kenji and the people who protected him.