Chapter 59: Revisiting Old Haunts
The trio arrived in Kisarazu City, Chiba Prefecture, the very next day. Since Miyako had to stay behind to look after the twins, she didn't join the trip.
Located in the central-western part of Chiba Prefecture and facing Tokyo Bay, Kisarazu was a mid-sized city with a population of roughly 130,000. It took about an hour from Tokyo via the JR Uchibo Line, making the distance completely manageable. The local economy centered heavily around manufacturing and fishing, and while they had been pushing to develop their tourism sector in recent years, it remained, by and large, a relatively quiet regional town.
Ai had spent her early childhood growing up here alongside her mother, completely oblivious to her father's identity.
Later on, her mother was incarcerated for theft, and Ai was promptly handed over to an orphanage. Sometime after that, she snuck out of the facility, made her way to Tokyo... and launched her career as an idol.
This marked the absolute first time Ai had ever returned to her... hometown.
Though using that specific word felt a bit inaccurate, given that she had never felt a shred of belonging here. Besides, during her toddler years, she and her mother had bounced around even smaller towns; it was simply that she had clocked a significantly longer period of time in this particular city.
If one were to analyze it, Ai could probably be classified as a somewhat materialistic girl—she explicitly, undeniably preferred the glittering prosperity of Tokyo.
The group strolled down the streets of Kisarazu. Both Ai and Hikaru wore hats and dark sunglasses to maintain their disguises, while Ichigo walked right alongside them wearing only a pair of shades, looking for all the world like a personal bodyguard.
With Christmas just around the corner, even this small town was beginning to radiate a festive energy. The shop windows lining the commercial street were packed with an assortment of holiday decorations, and vibrant red and green tinsel hung gracefully beneath the storefront eaves. Though the actual holiday had yet to arrive, one could already feel a cozy, heartwarming holiday spirit filling the air. Small groups of children huddled outside the toy store entrances, staring longingly at the Christmas gifts on display behind the glass.
"Are we heading straight to find my mother? I don't actually know where she lives now," Ai said, her tone laced with uncertainty. "Honestly, I don't even know if she's still in this city. She might have packed up and left ages ago."
Ai only possessed her mother's legal name. But in Japan, trying to track down a completely obscure, ordinary citizen using nothing but a name—without hacking directly into the National Police Agency's database—was a monumental challenge.
Hikaru was well aware of this reality. "Let's hunt around first and hit up the spots where she's most likely to surface. If we hit a total dead end, we can always reach out to Kurokawa-san for a favor."
"You mean the Senior Commissioner of Tokyo? Don't go assuming the police are completely omnipotent," Ichigo said, shaking his head. "Setting aside the fact that he absolutely won't pull a citizen's private records for you, even if he could, Chiba Prefecture falls entirely outside his jurisdiction unless we're dealing with a major criminal case."
"Who said anything about pulling official records? I just figured that since Akane learned her profiling skills directly from him, he must be a master at it himself," Hikaru said, shrugging his shoulders. "We can completely map out the clues we already have and ask him to help analyze her background information."
"There you go committing another crime, and this time you're trying to drag a cop into breaking the law with you," Ichigo couldn't help but deadpan.
"You are overthinking things entirely. This is called investigation, social engineering—it is completely above board," Hikaru said, showcasing his incredibly flexible moral boundaries. "Let's put a pin in that for now and just look around. The city isn't that big; we might stumble onto a lead if we poke around."
"So, where does Hikaru-kun plan to head first?" Ai asked curiously.
"Let's just do a grand tour of every single place your mother might have frequented."
With that game plan in mind, the trio made their way to the old rental apartment where Ai used to live.
Standing in the narrow alleyway, the group tilted their heads up to inspect the dilapidated, low-rise building. It was an ancient wooden apartment complex; the paint on the exterior walls had chipped away into a mottled mess, and several roof tiles were completely missing. The entire structure exuded a dangerous aura, looking as though it might collapse at any given second.
"My mother and I lived right there," Ai said, pointing up toward a window on the third floor.
"What a dump. No one's actually living in there right now, are they?" Ichigo noted, his brow furrowing as he studied the structural integrity of the building.
"How has this place not been demolished yet?" Hikaru had fully assumed the building would have been torn down years ago. "This basically qualifies as a condemned structure, doesn't it?"
"Can we go upstairs and take a look?" Ai asked hesitantly.
"Personally, I wouldn't recommend—actually, you know what, if Ai wants to go up, let's go up."
Hikaru didn't genuinely believe the building was going to collapse the exact millisecond they stepped inside. It had managed to stand tall all these years, after all. For a disaster like that to strike, they would have to be fictional protagonists suffering from a severe case of author malice.
He gave the peeling wall a firm punch, knocking loose a layer of dust, and then the group began their ascent up a stairwell choked with garbage until they reached the top floor. The wooden steps let out structural creaks and groans beneath their weight, making every single step a nail-biting exercise in hoping they wouldn't plunge straight through.
When they reached the door, Ai discovered it had completely rotted away, yet it remained completely inaccessible because a pile of broken timber had effectively wedged it shut.
"Do you still want to force your way inside? If not, we can call it a day here," Hikaru said, eyeing the wreckage of the entryway.
"Every single piece of familiar furniture is gone. Someone else probably moved in after I left," Ai said, peering through a gap in the splintered wood. "Let's go visit the orphanage instead."
The group left the alleyway and waited on the street corner for a good while before finally flagging down a taxi.
"To the Kisarazu Orphanage, please," Ai instructed the driver.
This particular facility was still fully operational, given that child welfare institutions in Japan fell under governmental administration. Child welfare facilities were primarily run by local governments; while private or religious organizations operated a few select locations, the vast majority were public entities. These institutions didn't just house orphans; they also provided temporary shelter, basic living security, and educational opportunities for children who couldn't remain at home due to domestic issues.
The trio stood beneath the shade of a tree outside the main gate, peering inside through the iron bars. Right in the center of the courtyard, a small Christmas tree had been erected. Though the decorations were modest, it sparkled beautifully beneath the winter sun.
"This place has completely changed too," Ai murmured, staring at the buildings inside as if chasing down a fleeting memory.
"Does Ai feel any nostalgia being here?" Hikaru asked.
"I mean, I did proactively run away from this place by myself," Ai said, shaking her head. "Even though I spent a significant chunk of time here, I never really clicked with anyone else. There was no one here who genuinely cared about me, and there was no one here I cared about in return."
It had felt suffocating, thoroughly boring. And most importantly... Ai could never find a sense of home within those walls, which was exactly why she had walked away.
"Regardless of how you felt, they still looked after you for a period of time."
Hikaru was actually profoundly grateful to this orphanage. At the very least, it had allowed Ai to grow up healthy and safe after being separated from her mother.
He pulled his hat down even firmer, marched straight over to the donation window, and systematically dropped a tidy sum of cash.
"Hikaru-kun, you're surprisingly soft-hearted," Ai said, looking at him with a trace of pleasant surprise.
"It's just a drop in the bucket," Hikaru said, quickly turning his face away to hide his embarrassment. "I just thought... if there had been more kind-hearted people looking out for this place back then, maybe your upbringing would have been a little warmer, Ai."
"Uh..." Ichigo pressed a hand against his forehead. "Or there's a chance the director's standard of living would have just skyrocketed."
Ai completely tuned out Ichigo's cynical commentary, keeping her eyes locked dead on Hikaru, her gaze shimmering with profound emotion. Hikaru quietly returned her gaze, and in an instant, the romantic tension between the two spiked dramatically.
"Ahem, ahem." Ichigo let out a thoroughly loud, theatrical cough. "Should we get moving?"
Ai's face flushed an instant, violent crimson, and she frantically whipped her head in the opposite direction.
Hikaru also felt a wave of awkwardness wash over him. "Is there anywhere else you want to check out?" he asked, stiffly forcing a change of subject.
The group flagged down another taxi by the curb and piled into the back seat to head toward their next destination.
"Where can I take you folks today?" the driver asked cheerfully, happy to lock in his first fare of the shift.
Ai stared out the window at the stark, pale sky, her voice quiet.
"...To the Women's Second Prison."
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