02x10 - Uninvited Judge

[bunniefuu]

All your sins are trivial.

Now, then. There is an answer as to how President Otonashi k*lled Sumi-san.

Please think carefully.

I'm going to get some fresh air.

I should at least let Kaoruko know what's going on.

I'm going to get some air, too.

Feeling a little tired?

Shall we head back to our room, as well?

No, thanks.

There's no telling what you'd do to me when we got there.

We'll be together tonight anyway, right?

Kuro-senpai, you look good in a suit.

Why not use one for pajamas?

It'd be too hard to sleep in.

Is President Otonashi aware that everyone at the time had their own m*rder plan?

No, I used my own theories and the information I'd gathered

to bait them into telling me.

The president has no way of knowing.

Then was there any need to bring it up?

If President Otonashi finds out, he'll be very surprised.

Give people a strange task, and strange things will happen.

I'll tell him sometime today, I suppose.

Also, like I said, if I hadn't brought it up,

they might have thought about things I didn't want them thinking about.

Doing that made it easier

to lead them to the appropriate false solution that I've prepared for them.

You're not going to wait for them to come up with that solution on their own?

It's easier if I don't.

I've left a decent number of clues to help them come to the solution I've prepared.

Give them time to think more about what kind of person the victim was

and what was going on at the time,

and perhaps they'll come to the conclusion with no more help from me.

Rion-san's the most likely to do so, as I see it.

She may reach the conclusion I want as soon as tonight.

I was prepared for my and Susumu's sin to come to light.

But I didn't expect that it wouldn't end there.

Though I was shocked to learn what Kaoruko and Koya-san were up to...

If you thought this was going to happen, you should've come yourself, Dad.

I'm sorry.

I didn't know what to do.

I thought I would need to hide that part of my past until the day I d*ed,

but I also thought it might be easier if you and Dad knew.

So I was fine with the idea of you

finding out on your own, or Dad denouncing me for it.

I just didn't want to say anything on my own.

Oh, yeah.

Uncle Susumu was practically forced to confess by Iwanaga Kotoko, so I get it.

I won't get mad at you.

Considering your father tried to m*rder your grandmother,

you don't seem very angry.

you don't seem very angry.

I just can't figure out what kind of person Grandmother was.

So it just doesn't seem real...

People tell me she's the one who grew the Otonashi Group to its current size.

but also that she was so problematic that her own family plotted to k*ll her.

But you and Uncle Susumu, and even Uncle Koya and Grandpa...

When all of you talk about her, it doesn't feel like you hate her.

There's no real anger there, even though you all wanted to k*ll her.

That's why it just doesn't feel real.

Yeah... Back then, I did hate her.

If she's alive, it will ruin everything!

That's what everybody said.

But she's been gone a long time, and in that time, I've come to understand...

She wasn't a tyrant who never listened to the people around her,

and it wasn't that she didn't care about our happiness.

She was a victim, too.

She just believed the orders she was given,

and carried them out. Nothing more.

Orders?

From who?

Her father, Denjiro.

My mother was the one who made the Otonashi Group huge,

but it was Denjiro who told her to do it.

He put together detailed plans for growing the group,

and he entrusted them to her.

Otonashi Sumi did nothing but carry out the orders she was given.

Her marriage to your grandfather, Goichi,

was something Denjiro decided without asking her.

Denjiro decided how many children the group needed, how they would inherit the group,

and who they would marry. And she obeyed his every word.

Denjiro's instructions were that specific.

That's why, as the eldest son, I was ordered to take over the group,

and Susumu was never to be more than my aide.

And she tried to make Kaoruko break up with Koya-san so that

she could marry someone from a good family.

To her, that was the way for all of us to be happiest,

and what would benefit the group the most, as well.

And what's really scary is this:

while she was alive, it all worked.

The group was expanding steadily,

along the lines Denjiro had laid out during his life.

The husband he'd chosen for her was

a talented man who did his job of supporting her perfectly.

Susumu, Kaoruko, and I all grew up into the children she wanted us to be.

She did everything Denjiro wanted, eliminated anyone who got in her way,

and continued to succeed for over half a century.

Is someone like that capable of suddenly not following orders?

Could she decide an order was wrong, and disobey it?

Especially when nothing she'd done so far had clearly failed?

It would take an incredible amount of courage.

It might mean denying everything you'd done in your entire life.

Yes.

She was Denjiro's puppet.

I think the truth is that she knew the group was in danger,

and that her children wanted to find happiness in different ways.

But admitting that and changing her policies would mean disobeying Denjiro,

and abandoning something that had succeeded her entire life.

But she couldn't do that, because it worked.

Yeah. That's why she... why Mom d*ed at the best time.

Because she d*ed then, she never had to see the group collapsing,

or her children becoming miserable due to her actions.

She was able to avoid seeing what she'd believed in betray her completely.

She was lucky, as I see it.

But I don't think that means I was right to try to k*ll her.

I was just doing it for my own future.

But you couldn't carry out your plan on your own, right?

So you went to Uncle Susumu...

Once I get focused on something, I lose sight of everything else.

Susumu's much calmer. He can see the big picture.

I trusted his vision more than anything.

I'm not cut out to lead the group.

If I'd taken it over, it would've been a disaster.

You should tell him that!

I have, many times! But he refuses to believe me.

That might've been why

you were able to refuse to follow the orders you were given.

You weren't satisfied being in the places Grandmother prepared for you,

so your desire to find your own path won out.

That's right.

If we'd followed her orders and experienced success,

we might've become Denjiro's puppets, too.

Success sometimes harms people and leads them to their own destruction.

Was she giving me hints the whole time?

Everyone had an alibi and a m*rder plan.

A planned m*rder wouldn't have given the victim a chance to scream.

Every person's story had contradictions. Something that removed them from suspicion.

But with this theory...

Dad, you said Grandmother d*ed at a good time, right?

I did. But why?

I think I might have figured this out.

I think I figured out the truth behind the m*rder years ago.

I didn't feel any excitement at finding the answer.

Iwanaga Kotoko had laid it out for me to find from the start.

Uninvited Judge

Grandmother committed su1c1de.

That's why everyone, including my grandfather, had an alibi.

Rion, your grandmother would never commit su1c1de.

She ruled the people around her with an iron fist. She had no reason to k*ll herself.

But it was clear the group was going to fall apart, right?

That's why you were all plotting to k*ll her.

And Uncle Susumu and Uncle Koya,

you both realized that Grandmother's success had trapped her,

and there was no way for her to stop what she was doing.

We're older now. We see things differently than we did then.

So we don't hate her. We know our mother was a victim, too.

She had ample reason to k*ll herself.

She was an excellent businesswoman,

smart enough to know that if she kept following Denjiro's orders,

the group would go bankrupt.

The group's collapse would be tantamount to disobeying Denjiro's orders.

She had to avoid that at all costs.

But not doing what he told her to would be a betrayal, too.

To her, that must've been terrifying.

Given how much success she'd experienced by doing what she'd been told,

that was impossible.

The only way out of it was su1c1de.

It was the only way she could protect the Otonashi Group and escape from

the terror she was feeling.

But... Mom? Committing su1c1de?

I'll grant that back then, I thought everything would be resolved if she d*ed.

And I was right!

If Mom knew that, then perhaps she might choose to end her life.

But wouldn't it have been easier to disobey Denjiro's orders than k*ll herself?

When you're under that much pressure, it's common to take the easy way out.

Whenever that happens, the people around you will say,

"You should've just quit your job,"

or "You should've just cut them out of your life," as if it's that easy.

But from the victim's perspective,

Stress

they have responsibilities, or they're too scared of what come after.

Stress

Pressure

Stress

Pressure

Work

That's why su1c1de is so appealing.

Stress

Pressure

Work

Relationships

It offers an escape from responsibilities, and you don't need to know what happens after.

If you have someone you can share your responsibilities with

and talk to about what to do next, it's different.

But Sumi-san didn't have anyone like that, right?

At that point, death was a blessing for her.

My father said the same thing. She d*ed at the best time. She was lucky.

That means choosing death was a compelling alternative for her.

But a simple su1c1de wasn't an option.

The death of a leader of a group that size would bring shame to it.

It would damage the brand's image.

She'd be doing it to protect the group. So that wasn't an option for her.

Thus, she needed to die in a way that made people suspicious.

So it was a su1c1de made to look like a m*rder?

Made to look like a robbery gone wrong?

Okamoto Osteopathic Clinic

She was alone on her way back from the massage parlor,

and walking through an empty residential area.

That's where she put her plan into action.

To make it look like the robber

stole her bag and took the bills from her wallet before running,

she made sure she wasn't carrying any money,

and threw the wallet and bag on the ground.

Then she took out the Kn*fe she was secretly carrying.

But wasn't the Kn*fe devoid of fingerprints?

She used the hem of her jacket to keep her fingers from touching the Kn*fe grip.

And then, to make it clear that it was a m*rder, she screamed.

Thief!

Somebody, get the man in the black jacket!

He ran toward the station!

Now no one would suspect su1c1de.

That accomplished most of her goal,

but a m*rder would surely be investigated by the police.

If suspicion were to fall upon the members of the group,

it would damage the brand's image.

Thus, she k*lled herself at a time when everyone had an alibi,

and thus no one would be under suspicion.

It makes sense.

But if Mom k*lled herself, then why did Dad say he did it?

Is it possible that Grandfather carefully manipulated her into k*lling herself?

Made her believe that it was the best way out,

and then gave her the information that he was sure would be the last push she needed?

So that's it...

The final push she needed was knowing that her own children

were all plotting to k*ll her.

Not only did she think she was going to bring about the downfall of the group,

she also realized that all she'd done for the sake of her children's happiness

had only made their lives worse.

su1c1de might've seemed like the only choice.

After all, all her children wanted her dead.

If Grandfather deliberately showed her this,

then perhaps we can say that he's the one who k*lled her.

And in a sense, my brother,

Kaoruko, Koya-san, and I all had a hand in her death.

I'm not sure.

It's hard to say if even the president would've been able to figure it out.

At the time,

I'm sure you were all pursuing your m*rder plots carefully, and in secret.

Perhaps he'd simply created false evidence

that made it look like you were plotting to k*ll her,

in order to drive her to su1c1de.

It's more natural to assume that he lied, and by chance, his lies came true.

That's very kind of you to say.

But this is still partially our responsibility.

We shouldn't make Dad take all the blame.

Like Iwanaga-san said,

if Grandfather had just told you this, you wouldn't have accepted it.

Unless you first assumed he was the k*ller,

then found out that you were all plotting her m*rder,

and then finally objectively looked at the position she was in at the time,

you wouldn't have believed it.

You were asked by my grandfather to lead us to this truth, weren't you?

President Otonashi never felt that was necessary.

Now, do you two agree with Rion-san's answer?

If so, I'll consider this your final answer,

and present it to President Otonashi tomorrow at noon.

There's no better answer to be had.

I agree.

What will you do with the rights to the inheritance, then?

It was Rion-san who came up with this answer.

Will you still follow the rules you laid out at the start?

After trying to k*ll my mother,

how am I supposed to ask for priority rights to her inheritance?

I'm sure Kaoruko feels the same.

If she was the kind of person who could ask for priority after this,

she wouldn't have been afraid of the question in the first place.

Does anybody really need priority at this point?

Just have Grandfather split it up.

Let's tell the president that, then.

Rion-san, can you give your answer to the president directly tomorrow?

I can, if you'd rather not.

I'll do it myself.

If I let you do it, you'll probably make them all seem worse than they are.

The name "Rion" has a nice ring to it.

It's like a combination of "squirrel (risu)" and "lion."

Cute and brave. Just like you.

Where did that come from?

It's just the English spelling of "lion" put into Japanese.

My brother always did love lions.

If you were a boy, he might've called you Reo.

You know him so well.

Why don't you take this as an opportunity to make amends?

I'll think about it.

But first, I need to visit Mom's grave.

In her own way, she was trying to protect things that needed to be protected.

I need to pay my respects.

And I need to tell Kaoruko, too, I guess.

But would it be better to wait until we get certainty from the president tomorrow?

September th

This is our answer. What do you think, Grandfather?

I should've done this sooner.

Ryoma, Susumu, Kaoruko, Koya-kun,

I've made you all suffer from more guilt than you deserved.

Your answer is correct.

But I didn't know you were all planning to k*ll your mother.

That was pure coincidence.

I am glad, though, that I put my own plan to k*ll her into effect before you did.

I was able to avoid making you k*ll your own mother.

No, it's still true that all of us have sinned.

It's not a crime that can be judged in a court of law, though.

And I've got no proof, but I don't think Mom would hate you.

Back then, we all were doing the only things we could do.

Everyone has times when they want to k*ll someone else.

Or even times when they'll pick up a deadly w*apon and try to k*ll them.

But whether or not you cross that last line makes a big difference.

I will take the responsibility for k*lling Sumi-san.

All you need to do is watch me die.

I've kept this from you,

but I've been suffering from malignant tumors for a long time.

The doctors say that in six months, I won't be able to walk.

I'll be in constant pain and eventually die an awful, miserable death.

This illness and pain are the price I pay for k*lling Sumi-san.

I will not choose death with dignity or take any dr*gs to ease the pain.

I shall accept my suffering until the last moment of my life.

m*rder carries a steep price.

A price that must be paid even if you don't get caught.

You must never think it normal to succeed after committing such a sin.

They've all decided not to ask for priority in the inheritance.

Rion-san did the most to come up with the answer,

but she says you can divide the inheritance as you like.

Most people would be more greedy.

No, I think it's the natural decision.

You've done more than anyone, Kotoko-san.

I'm glad I asked you to do this. You have my thanks.

I think it's too soon for you to thank me.

If you'd k*lled her with your own hands, I wouldn't have needed to say anything.

But you picked a method that's much more your style.

You should be a little more aware that what you did was wrong.

Right now, you're thinking that the method you chose was right.

As you said, you were able to keep your children from k*lling their mother.

But that means you don't regret the choice you made, or your success.

Rion-san.

Your claim was that Otonashi Sumi-san k*lled herself.

But why not make it look like an accident?

Because...

She could have dropped something and run out into the road to pick it up,

or slipped and fallen off a train platform.

There were any number of options, if she wanted to take them.

On the surface, she didn't look like someone who'd commit su1c1de.

Even if her death was slightly unnatural, it still would have been ruled an accident.

K-Kotoko-san...

Then there would've been no police investigation.

No need to look into alibis.

In fact, Kaoruko-san's alibi almost fell apart.

Without that broken bone, she wouldn't have had one.

And if the police had done a more thorough investigation,

they might have seen through her efforts to make it look like su1c1de.

Making it look like m*rder was a risky move.

Which means that she didn't do it.

Otonashi Sumi-san's death was no su1c1de. It was m*rder.

Now, let me tell you who the real k*ller is.

To be continued