Everyday Life with a Murderer

Chapter 53: The Court

[The court case]

Seiji sat in the waiting room, dressed in rather elegant attire. Next to him was his lawyer. The sterile walls and harsh lighting doing nothing to calm his nerves. He glanced around at the other people, but their faces were just a blur. The ticking of the clock on the wall seemed to echo in his mind, each second stretching out interminably.

His heart pounded in his chest, a mixture of anxiety and fear tightening his throat. He felt a heavy weight of guilt and regret pressing down on him, thoughts of what he could have done differently to stop this mess from happening playing on a loop in his mind. The sense of loss and sadness was overwhelming; memories of Hideaki flooded back, making him feel hollow inside.

Suddenly he saw Ken and Rika. They also been chosen as a witnesses.

Ken seeing his friend went to him.
"Hi buddy. How's it going?" He asked.

Seiji, looking up from his thoughts, sighed, "Could've been better..."

Rika chimed in, "Seiji, I'm so sorry that it ended that way..."

"Thanks Rika... But... Now there's nothing we can do to change it..." The blond-haired programmer replied, sighing.

"I'm guessing that he will be sentenced to death," Ken pondered aloud.

Rika, hearing that, bumped him on his shoulder, frustrated at her boyfriend's comment. "Ken! Don't make it worse for Seiji!"

"But it's the most possible end of it. Rika-chan, Miyahara is a serial killer. I don't know how many bloodlust he did before besides that teenage camp slaughter I knew from a friend, but... you saw how he can be. How insane he can be if he wants to kill. Judge would most probably wouldn't want to let such a danger live amongst us, normal people."

This time Seiji spoke. "You're... you're probably right, Ken..." He said, tears welling up again at the thought of Hideaki being killed just like that. But he tried to suppress his emotions. He didn't want to show how broken he was right now.

As the door to the courtroom opened slightly, Seiji took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. He knew he had to face this, but the uncertainty of the outcome gnawed at him. With a final glance at the clock, he stood up, ready to confront the reality of the situation and his role in it.

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The courtroom was packed with spectators, reporters, and officers of the law. The air was thick with tension as the judge took his seat, banging the gavel to call the court to order. Seiji and Hideaki were led in by bailiffs, their expressions solemn.

As their gazes met, they both felt a rush of conflicting emotions.

They took their places, Seiji glancing nervously at Hideaki, whose expression showed the toll of days of unstoppable crying and tiredness due to stress or unslept nights at the arrest room. The killer was dressed in a typical prison uniform: a gray, two-piece set consisting of a plain, button-up shirt and matching trousers.

The courtroom was filled with tension. Seiji sat nervously beside his lawyer, while Hideaki stand shaking with his legal counsel.

The judge, an elderly man with a stern expression, addressed the courtroom.

"Today, in this courtroom, I will deliver the final verdict regarding the case. Defendants, Mr. Miyahara and Mr. Sekiguchi, and all parties involved, thank you for your presence."

The judge looked over the case files before addressing Seiji and Hideaki directly. "Mr. Sekiguchi, Mr. Miyahara, you are here because of very serious accusations. Mr. Miyahara, you are accused of multiple counts of murder. Mr. Sekiguchi, you are accused of harboring a fugitive and obstructing justice."