Isn't it very scientific to use the Death Note to kill people?

Lin Jiashu sat on the examination chair and rolled up his sleeves, revealing the wound on his arm where the skin and flesh had been torn open after being grazed by a bullet.

Asagi sat opposite him, intently cleaning his wound and preparing to disinfect it.

"It will hurt a little, please bear with it."

Asagi said softly, preparing to begin the disinfection process.

Koizumi Akako stood to the side with her arms crossed.

She watched Asagi Narumi's overly meticulous, even tender and considerate, care for Hayashi Yoshiki, and combined with the doctor's excessively handsome face... her wine-red eyes narrowed slightly.

From the moment he entered this private clinic until now, the doctor has not asked about the origin of the wound, focusing entirely on treatment. This tacit silence speaks volumes.

The witch's gaze swept back and forth between the two of them.

A strange, sour feeling suddenly welled up inside her, causing her to snort and say sarcastically, "No wonder he's a famous detective. He can easily find a beautiful female doctor to clean his wounds in the middle of the night."

As soon as she said it, Koizumi Akako suddenly regretted it.

What's going on...?

Doesn't saying something like that make you sound like you're jealous?

However, Lin Jiashu was neither embarrassed nor denied it. Although his face was indeed pale from the pain of treating his wound, he seemed to be unable to suppress a smile and said in a relaxed tone, "Yeah, didn't I tell you from the beginning? I've attracted quite a few girls."

Koizumi Akako was speechless.

Lin Jiashu's attitude made her very unhappy, extremely unhappy!

Just as she was about to say something, Asano Minoru, who heard this, couldn't help but chuckle softly.

He looked up at Koizumi Akako, whose face had clearly turned very sour, and explained, "Although I do look very much like a girl, Miss Akako, you've misunderstood. I'm actually a man."

"?"

Koizumi Akako was stunned.

She looked at the man in front of her with suspicion, until her gaze fell on his flat chest and the Adam's apple, which was not obvious but definitely present. An embarrassed look immediately appeared on her face.

What, what are you doing...?

It really was a man—

Recalling the random thoughts she had just had, she blushed and awkwardly said "Oh."

The wound was treated quickly.

Since the wound wasn't directly hit by a bullet but only grazed, the treatment had nothing to do with surgery. Cleaning it, applying medicine, and bandaging it was enough.

At that moment, the door to the examination room was gently pushed open.

"Hiroki?"

Hearing the noise, Asagi turned around with some surprise, "Didn't I tell you to rest early?"

"I heard Jia Shu's voice..."

Hiroki Sawada, or rather Hiroki Aso, stood outside the door. His expression tightened when he saw the bandage on Yoshiki Hayashi's arm inside the room.

"Brother Jiashu".

He couldn't help but take a few steps in, his voice trembling with anxiety: "Your injuries... were they from again?"

He had been eavesdropping outside the door, which is why he knew that Lin Jiashu had been shot.

Koizumi Akako, however, narrowed her eyes slightly.

Even such a young child knows about "those people," which means that this doctor who looks like a woman and this little devil are both connected to the guy who wants to kill Lin Jiashu?

Hayashi Yoshiki seemed to have no idea he would see Hiroki here.

According to information that Asagi Narumi had told him, Hiroki would sit in front of the computer and program every day after school without fail, always thinking that the sooner he could build Noah's Ark, the sooner he could help Hayashi Yoshiki...

If it's Noah's Ark, plus the cross-age tracking system that will appear later, plus the Death Note—

That scene is so vivid I can't help but laugh even in my dreams.

"It's nothing, I just bumped into it by accident, don't worry about it, Hiroki."

Hearing Hayashi Yoshiki's words of comfort, Hiroki's expression did not relax; instead, it became even more somber.

However, Lin Jiashu didn't seem to want him to dwell on these emotions too much, and naturally changed the subject: "How have you been lately? You must be having a good time at school, right?"

"Well, although the classes are boring, and sometimes I feel like my classmates are a bit childish... it's actually not bad, and Dr. Chengshi takes good care of me." He said this, looking at Lin Jiashu very seriously, "Give me some more time... I'll be able to help you soon, Jiashu-nii."

"Let's not talk about that now."

Lin Jiashu smiled with relief. "It's getting late, Hiroki. You should go and get some rest. You can't stay up late these days, can you?"

Hiroki looked up at Hayashi Yoshiki, then at Asagi Minami and Koizumi Akako beside him, and finally nodded, leaving the consultation room with a heavy expression.

After the wound was treated, Lin Jiashu did not linger.

After thanking Asagi, he left the clinic with Koizumi Akako.

It was already past eleven o'clock.

The night was dark.

The quiet residential area late at night is the complete opposite of the bustling Shibuya not long ago, and the so-called Halloween atmosphere has nothing to do with this place.

"Although I already said that."

Lin Jiashu suddenly stopped and turned to face her. The moonlight outlined his slightly pale profile. "I'm sorry, I never thought I would let you go through something so dangerous."

Koizumi Akako crossed her arms, looked away, and remained silent.

Standing here at this moment, her mind was suddenly in turmoil. There was the lingering fear of surviving a disaster, the astonishment at the suicide killer, the intense curiosity about the secrets behind Lin Jiashu, and... a few inexplicable worries.

Silence spread between the two, with only the faint sound of the night wind blowing through the street.

After a long pause, Lin Jiashu suddenly spoke.

"So, I'm afraid I won't ask you out again in the future."

Koizumi Akako turned her head sharply, her red eyes widening in astonishment: "...What?"

She almost thought she had misheard.

They had just been through a life-or-death situation together, and he was even injured while protecting her. How could he suddenly say something like this?

But looking into Lin Jiashu's eyes—those eyes that always held a gentle smile or a playful glint—they now resembled two bottomless pools of cold water, churning with emotions she couldn't comprehend.

In an instant, a multitude of thoughts flashed through Koizumi Akako's mind.

This guy is because of what happened tonight...

Are you afraid of implicating me...?

So, the reason he was always so distant, even though he cared about me a lot, was all because of this?

On one hand, magic wants to get closer to you, but on the other hand, it tries to push you away so as not to get hurt.

Once this idea takes hold, it grows wildly like weeds.

Koizumi Akako recalled all his previous unusual behavior: the occasional hints of melancholy, the perfectly timed aloofness, and even tonight's words of "unwilling to end the date" followed immediately by a joke... everything seemed to make sense now.

Once a witch starts imagining things, she can't stop.

This self-righteous guy, who does he think he is?

(Saying he wanted to like another girl... he's probably just trying to discourage me!)

(So ​​actually... actually he had been doing this all along...)

Koizumi Akako felt as if her heart was being tightly gripped by something; it felt a little sore, a little bitter, and a strange, burning emotion surging within her chest.

The anger and sarcasm she had prepared for after being "abandoned" by him were completely ineffective at this moment.

She just stared at him blankly, at this man who seemed gentle but was actually more stubborn than anyone else and better at hiding himself than anyone else.

The night wind blew up the ends of her hair under her witch's hat, and also ruffled the stray hairs on Lin Jiashu's forehead.

He stood there quietly, meeting her gaze, without urging or explaining, simply waiting for her reply.

Koizumi Akako took a deep breath, the cool night air filling her lungs, but it couldn't cool the ever-burning pride and flames in her heart.

She suddenly stepped forward, closing the distance between them. Her wine-red eyes shone brightly in the night, staring straight into Lin Jiashu's eyes.

"Stop being so self-righteous, Lin Jiashu!"

Koizumi Akako stepped forward, looked up at him, and said in a tone that, though still sharp, carried an unyielding firmness, "Stop making decisions on your own. Do you think it's up to you to decide whether or not to continue seeing each other?"

Her wine-red eyes gleamed in the night, and she even revealed a slightly assertive smile: "You don't want to implicate me? Or do you think I'm afraid of those cowardly fellows? But let me tell you, the more mysterious and dangerous something is, the stronger a witch's curiosity becomes!"

Looking into her eyes, Lin Jiashu finally gave in after a long while.

"...Fine, anyway, if I don't explain it to you clearly, you'll definitely try every means to find out the truth for yourself."

Koizumi Akako did not refute.

The next moment, Lin Jiashu's expression became more serious than ever before: "I have indeed been involved in a very dangerous organization, a transnational criminal syndicate shrouded in darkness."

Hayashi Yoshiki briefly described the existence of the Black Organization.

From the Black Organization's goals, scientific research, and its cruel and mysterious methods, even a rough explanation is still unbelievable for a girl living a peaceful daily life.

"While I was working for them, I was also secretly gathering intelligence on them. If I'm not mistaken, tonight's sniper was sent by a high-ranking member of the organization codenamed 'Rum,' and he's probably starting to doubt my loyalty."

Koizumi Akako was terrified.

"You're already a suspect?"

“It’s just suspicion, there’s no solid evidence to prove it,” Lin Jiashu chuckled softly. “So the snipers who appeared tonight were just sent by him… otherwise, they would have already pointed a gun at my head and shot me.”

Did they send in snipers just because they suspected something?

Earlier, sniper bullets fell at his feet, and the sniper's decisiveness when he shot himself, along with the smell of blood... everything was so vivid and real.

Finally, Lin Jiashu carefully took out a folded piece of paper from the inside pocket of his coat.

When unfolded, a somewhat hastily written signature appears at the top:

【Wakita Kanenori】

"This signature belongs to Rum."

“I don’t want you to encounter danger like tonight again, nor do I want you to get involved in this mess on your own.”

"Hongzi".

"If you really want to help me, all you need to do is find out the real name of the person who signed this..."

"Once I have his real name, I'll probably be able to get even more information."

Koizumi Akako looked at the signature, then at the heavy entrustment in Hayashi Yoshiki's eyes, and her pride flared up again.

Isn't he just like that guy named Feng something-or-other?

She snatched the autograph: "Hmph! This is nothing to a witch! Just wait, I'll find out that guy's real name... In exchange, I'll definitely put a collar on you next time, hehehehe!"

"..."

Seeing her seemingly lost in some kind of fantasy, laughing smugly, Lin Jiashu was speechless.

The two of them didn't say anything more after that.

After parting ways at the street corner, Koizumi Akako disappeared into the night on her broom.

As he watched her disappear in the direction she had vanished, the heaviness on Lin Jiashu's face slowly faded, replaced by a relieved smile.

He returned to his home in the Mihana Second Apartment.

I went into the bedroom, closed the door, and shut myself out from the outside world.

He pulled a black notebook out of his pocket.

Tucked among them were fragments of the Death Note, one page of which bore a clearly written message:

[Original Yamauri Norori]

Cause of death: Suicide by gunshot

[Time: 21:01, October 31st. Arrived at the rooftop of the Tanimura Building in Shibuya, preparing to carry out the sniping mission against the target.]

[21:21:24, After receiving the signal, fire was fired, the first shot grazing the target's arm. The second and third shots missed, and the fourth shot grazing the target's right arm was fired just as the target was about to disappear from sight.]

[Target out of sniper range, mission failed. Begin disassembling the sniper rifle in preparation for withdrawal.]