(Akira opens the door to the apartment, and Kenji follows her inside the place.)
Kenji: Well, that was something wasn't it? The guy was all cut up. Who would do that, I mean without any personal vendetta involved?
Akira: Personal or Nah, but one thing's for sure. This is just another case of the serial killings, happening a lot in this precinct.
Kenji: What are you planning to do about it?
Akira: Nothing.
(Akira stands up from her chair and starts clearing the table off its contents.)
Kenji: Nothing? You're just gonna sit and see people get cut into ribbons?
Akira: My job was to go visit the crime scene, see the dead body, make a report put a ribbon on it, and deliver it to the good for nothing scoundrels at the head office. As your half-assed-witted self said, my boy, we're from the special task force....not the crime branch. There's a reason I stay away from those people's business.
Kenji: (looks at Akira's face) Oh well, I sense some bad blood.
Akira: It's better if you stay out of it. (continues cleaning the table)
Kenji: (looks around the apartment) Need a hand?
Akira: No, but if you touch anything, you'll be only left with one.
Kenji: Alright! For Christ's sake! I am going out for a walk.
Akira: Won't be missed.
(Kenji bangs the door close as he departs.)
(Kenji's walking on the street. There are a thousand things running across his mind. Why did he even ask to be posted to Japan? Was it any good to leave his ailing mother alone and come here? And most of all, why is Akira such a bitch?! He was so done with her, to the point where he was thinking of spending the rest of his days in a cheap love hotel or getting a new place to stay. He didn't want to see her face ever again. What does she think of herself? Treating people the way she does.)
(He stops by Ryu's ramen shop. Thinking he might as well eat a bowl of ramen to calm himself down. He hasn't eaten anything after he puked, looking at the dead body in the mortuary.)
Ryu: (as Kenji enters the shop) Oh! Kenji-san! How are you doing?
Kenji: I am...ah...fine, Ryu-san. Can I have a tonkatsu ramen bowl, please?
Ryu: (orders someone at the back of the shop to start working on the ramen) Kenji-san! You look stressed and a little blue. Is the heat of the work catching up? Don't worry, my ramen bowl will spring you back to health, chop-chop!
Kenji: (scoffs and continues to look down. He takes a shaky hand and rubs his forehead.) Heh, thanks, Ryu. Ya...I got a bit too overwhelmed today. Was my first time at a mortuary.
Ryu: It happens with the best of us. I remember when it was my first time at a slaughterhouse. I was a rookie, only 19. I couldn't eat properly for a whole week.
Kenji: 19, huh? That's bonkers. (he rubs his forehead again, like calming a non-existent headache)
Ryu: How's our femme fatale? She's treating you ok? Not too harsh, is she?
Kenji: (slightly bangs the table with his fist) Tell me something, Ryu. Why is she like that?
Ryu: Like she's against the whole world or something?
Kenji: (banging his hand fully on the table) YA!!! Exactly.
Ryu: Haha. That's our Akira for you. She was always like this. After Peter died.....
Kenji: Peter?
Ryu: She didn't tell......ah....right. Why would she?
Kenji: (gives a confused look at Ryu)
Ryu: She was a mother to a sweet little boy. Peter, we used to call him Pete. He was the most well-behaved boy I've ever seen. He never used to complain. He always did what he was told. Sometimes he had to sit here with me in this shop for hours until Akira arrived from her work in the crime branch. She used to serve there before she got transferred to the special task force. She can't leave Peter to his dad. He was an alcoholic. One day when Akira left for her usual shift, Pete was alone with that bastard and he beat him up pretty bad. Since then, Akira always used leave Pete with me. She was the family's sole breadwinner after her husband lost his job and started betting on horses. He lost all the savings that way as well. They both fell in love back when they were in the academy. They were always happy together. Her husband was the happiest when Pete was born. He turned sour when he lost his job. He became a monster, even. Hitting Pete, hitting her. All bloody and bruised. She carried on because she loved him too much. She always hoped he'd turn a new leaf someday. He'll become the man she used to love once again. She's not the kind of person to take shit from anyone. She has faced some tough times, my boy.
Kenji: Then what happened to Peter?
Ryu: He was on a field trip while Akira was on a mission. He.....uh....he got shot on the head in a crossfire. Or that's what she tells us.
Kenji: (shifts on his seat)
Ryu: After that, Akira took a break from the force for a while. Her husband sobered up. They even tried for another baby but she got a miscarriage. After a while, she left her husband and started living alone. We've heard he died in a freak accident some years ago and she's been alone since.
Kenji: Oh...oh my.
Ryu: It's expected of a person to grow bitter once something like this happens. But that doesn't give her the liberty to go harsh on you like that....I'll talk to her about it.
Kenji: No...uh...it's fine.
(Ryu and Kenji sit in silence for a while. The ramen bowl arrives. Kenji eats it with an unsettled stomach and a heavy heart. He finishes his meal and leaves the place.)
Kenji: Thanks Ryu. See ya.
(Kenji returns to the apartment. He sees Akira sleeping on the couch. He brings a blanket from the room and puts it on Akira.)
Kenji: Don't worry, you're not alone.
