The hours ticked by, and I still couldn’t sleep.
Kazune 13 had shifted here one week ago. She was already here when the murder took place and therefore couldn’t be the culprit. The police had thoroughly examined the optional shift records, so that much was fact. And yet, in my anger, I suspected her all the same. That was absolutely unacceptable. With each passing second, I was more and more grateful I managed to stop myself from saying it out loud.
In short: Kazune 13 was not the culprit. The next suspect, then, was Koyomi 13. Having lost his son, he had plenty of motive. But…if he was the culprit, why did he concoct a fake alibi for Kazune?
One possible answer was that he could foresee that Kazune would fall under suspicion, and he wanted to protect her from being falsely accused. According to the police records, however, Koyomi 13 denied any involvement in the murder. If he truly wanted to protect Kazune, the best option would be to give her an alibi and confess to the murder. But no—instead, he pointed the finger at a third party.
In World 13, my house was known to the whole country as “the stabber’s victim’s house.” Koyomi 13 had argued that anyone could have seen the stabber’s wife standing outside the house and decided to play vigilante in the name of justice. Not impossible, per se, but it was so wildly implausible that it made it all the more obvious he was covering for someone. But if so, then that “someone” had to be Kazune 0…and yet I couldn’t see any way that my Kazune could possibly be the true culprit.
The night after I tackled the stabber, she said to me, “Think of what it would do to our son if anything happened to you.” In her mind, she always put Ryou first. There was simply no way she’d murder someone in a parallel world—not if she wanted to go home to her son!
That left only one other possibility. And aside from one point, it would explain all the strange circumstances.
Was Koyomi 13…trying to frame Kazune 0?
“Koyomi?” a voice called softly. I turned to find Kazune peeking into the living room, looking at me with concern. “What are you doing still awake?”
I could have asked her the same. “I can’t sleep.”
“…Thinking about the case?”
She walked over, sat down, and slid her legs under the kotatsu table. And as she gazed at me silently, I found myself opening up to her.
“I just can’t see Kazune as the killer. But if Koyomi’s the killer…then I can only assume he’s trying to pin the crime on her. And I hate the thought of me doing that to you, no matter what world it’s in.” As much as I wanted to think it through rationally, my emotions wouldn’t let me.
“I wouldn’t want to believe Koyomi could do such a thing, either. He told me he’d love every me and all my possibilities—I can’t imagine he’d ever be cruel to a Kazune.”
That was something I said to my Kazune too. In the end, Koyomi 13 was still me.
“…More importantly…” she started.
“Hm?”
That was when I noticed that she was struggling to tell me something.
“…I…” She couldn’t seem to get the words out.
Instead of rushing her, I sat there in silence and waited for her to continue.
Then, at last, she continued. “I think…I could have…killed her.”
My first reaction was what?
Right—this Kazune had lost her son, so maybe she could have killed the stabber’s wife. She had the motive. I knew all that from the beginning…but…
“I know for a fact you didn’t do it,” I said. “You’ve been here for the past week. You couldn’t possibly have murdered someone in World 13 two days ago.”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying.”
Then what was she saying? “I could have killed her…” Was she trying to say Kazune 0 definitely didn’t do it since she had no motive?
“If I was from this world…and if I was sent to a world where my son was murdered… I think that might be enough…to make me kill that woman.”
…Excuse me? Was she saying a Kazune whose Ryou was still alive would be driven to murder upon discovering a world where he died? She made it sound like…like…
“Are you saying my Kazune’s the killer?” I asked.
“No! That’s not it. But…I think…the possibility is there.”
My mind went white—and I started seeing red.
Are you stupid? My sweet Kazune would NEVER kill someone! I shouldn’t have taken you seriously, you witch! My Kazune hasn’t lost her son—you can’t assume you know a thing about how she feels! You’re not her! Why did you even come here? We were happy before you showed up! WE WERE HAPPY! But then you sent my wife to a world where our son is dead, and now she’s suspected for murder, and her IP is locked! What if those suspicions are never cleared? Will Kazune 0 be arrested in World 13, never to come home again, while YOU get to play the role of the happy mother? Get the hell out! Why should she—why should WE have to give up our happiness to some random Kazune we don’t even—!
Just then, I realized that Kazune 13 was looking at me with sorrow in her eyes.
Instantly, I felt my whole body break out into a sweat. What…what in the world was I thinking just moments before? I had vowed to love every her and all her possibilities—the whole die, not just one side of it! Were those thoughts my idea of love? Or was I glaring at her with hatred in my heart, thinking only of my Kazune with no compassion for this one?
“Oh shit.” That selfish, hypocritical anger I just felt…had given me an epiphany. “It can’t be…”
Parallel shifting. Optional shifting. Kazune 0 and Kazune 13. IP lock. Murder. My parallel self. The vow to love every Kazune—the vow I’d forgotten.
“Kazune?”
“Huh?”
“I’m sorry.” All I could offer her was an apology.
“For what?” she asked, confused.
Why was I sorry? Because I’d struck upon the incredibly selfish truth of this case.
“I know who killed her.”