The moment Ranran opened the door while preparing to welcome her parfait in open arms, she wasn't expecting her apprentice before her.

"Shinichi!? What the hell are you doing here!?"

"What the hell!? Shouldn't I be the one asking this!?" He confronts her sternly before forcing his way into the penthouse.

Ranran stepped aside, allowing Shinichi to enter the luxurious penthouse. He looked around, taking in the elegant furnishings and spacious layout. "So this is where you've been hiding," he commented, still in disbelief.

Ranran closed the door behind him, looking at Shinichi with a mix of annoyance and curiosity. "Hiding like a coward is not my motto, I have been attempting to look into Eiji's death after that rope of his was discovered to have a clean cut," she said defensively.

Shinichi raised an eyebrow. "Really!? Then why are you saying in a five-star hotel?"

Ranran sighed, knowing that Shinichi wasn't going to let this go. "Did you check your smartphone? How is the signal bar now?"

Shinichi took out his smartphone from his pocket and checked the signal before realizing, "Wait," He cast a look on his mentor, "Did you purposefully come here to contact the other members of Tantei Association to look into this case?!"

"Precisely!" Ranran smirked, "The campsite barely had a signal, nor Wi-fi or anything useful I could've used at my disposal to understand the motive behind Eiji getting killed, which is why I decided I needed a vehicle to get here!"

"By vehicle, you mean to say you hijacked Miss Rika's horse!?"

Ranran grinned sheepishly. "I needed a mode of transportation, and I knew she wouldn't mind. Besides, I fed and took care of the horse."

Shinichi shook his head in disbelief. "You're unbelievable. You know that?"

Ranran chuckled. "You're just jealous you didn't think of it first. Anyway, how did you know I checked into a hotel!?" She confronts him, "I didn't specify nor mentioned that there is a hotel here!"

Shinichi gave her a smug smile. "When you let slipped about booking a reservation, it took me a while to realise that you knew this island had a hotel, which is why you were all hush-hush while speaking over the phone."

Ranran propped herself on the luxurious couch as Shinichi confidently paced about with his deductions.

"When you went missing on a Tuesday, the first odd thing I learned was that Arima-sensei made the announcement that you were alright, that you do not need to be searched. Even the instructors didn't seem surprised or bothered that a 6-year-old girl went missing, which lead me to believe that there was something fishy going on. And when I heard that Reina told me you longed knew that Arima-sensei was using this trip to date around but you never use it to weasel your way out of this camping trip, that is when I knew why," Shinichi explained.

Ranran raised an eyebrow, impressed by Shinichi's observation skills. "And why is that?"

"Because you knew that she will go straight to your parents. But judging your research skills which you did well before preparing for this trip, I am certain you knew in advance that since sensei has no way of contacting anyone in the outside world, blackmailing her in front of several instructors will not do good for her the moment police officials come about since it will lead straight back to school and ended up giving her a bad review, endangering her career. So I knew you definitely blackmailed her that night on a Tuesday before she let you go quietly, in exchange for silence."

Shinichi is looking her directly in the eye and then adds, "Then, there was also the food going missing...the portion of food you had stolen could've been enough to last you a month, but then I also remembered that you detest camping so much so...the last thing you would want is to live in the forest for over a month and get back home as soon as possible. So I deduce you were not stealing it for yourself, but also for the horse to take you to that hotel. And to top it off, I know that you detest eating pears, and yet you stole a huge amount of them. I didn't get it at that time why wouldn't you just steal your favourite food instead, then I remembered when Miss Rika was mad that you stole one of her best horses...during horse riding lessons, I remembered she said the one you stole loves eating pears. Which is why by the time I arrived at the hotel, there was another half-eaten pear next to the horse."

"What about the hotel? This hotel itself was built not long ago, so it shouldn't have appeared on the map yet. How do you know where to locate it with no GPS?"

"Ah, that was actually a chance of luck," Shinichi said, grinning. "There was an abandoned small information centre not far from the campsite when I arrived, I spotted an outdated map that mentioned this village which was quite a distance. Truthfully, I was expecting the village to be abandoned, and I will find no chance of asking a local whether anyone knows of a hotel build here. Fortunately, the village wasn't completely without locals, asked around, then used Takuma's compass to get me here."

"Wait, if you arrived here...it would've taken you 2 hours between the campsite and here on foot!"

"Ah no, I ain't that dumb," He chuckled, "I borrowed a horse from Miss Rika, then saw your horse parked outside the makeshift horse stable at the car parking lot with a half-eaten pear, so I parked next to it and here I am."

"Wait, you mean you have stolen her horse!?"

"Stolen is a bit of a strong word. I asked for permission by leaving her the note in my tent before riding it out."

"But you didn't ask from her face to face!?" Ranran exclaimed.

"Everyone was asleep anyway, and it was 12 am plus when I ventured out," he shrugged, "Besides, I know Miss Rika wouldn't mind. She has 26 other horses besides the one I have used."

"So in other words...since you and I took her horse without letting her know...she has 24 horses left."

"Well, technically yes," Shinichi admitted, "But it's not like we're going to keep it forever. I'll return it to her in the afternoon."

Ranran shook her head in disbelief. "You really are something, Shinichi. You never fail to surprise me."

"Anyway," Shinichi sighed tiredly, "It took me a while to get here, can I take a warm shower?"

Before she could reply, Ranran noticed a couple of things that weren't on the little blue-eyed boy.

The 6-year-old girl noted that he had darker eye rims compared to the last time she saw him on a Tuesday. In addition to that, she also can't help but notice that there were red angry patches around his neck and hand, "What happened to you at that campsite while I was away?" She pointed to his eyes, neck and hands. "You looked like a racoon who has recently been in a fight with a wild bear."

"Oh man, you have no idea," He groaned, rubbing his face in frustration. "It was nothing that dramatic. Just some bug bites and lack of sleep. But I appreciate your concern."

Ranran raised an eyebrow, "Bug bites? More like mosquito bites on steroids! And lack of sleep? Were you all singing campfire songs with Bigfoot all night or what?"

Shinichi shook his head, "No, just that damn Mouri Ran kept screaming every 12 am all because she claims to see a ghost, while all of us were each sleeping in our own tents. It was unbearable."

"Tents?" Her brows shot up, "During a typhoon? Were you all not sleeping in a bunk bed room at that activity centre when I last left?"

"As soon as you left, we had a severe infestation in every single bunk bedroom. We tried dealing with them using a spray, but it was so severe that all of us has no choice but to sleep outside and pitch our tents. And thanks to the typhoon, officials couldn't come here to search for Eiji's corpse. And there were several times of power trips here and then, so a lot of things went haywire for all of us. Even a warm shower...ugh," He shivered, "We made a campfire to boil water before taking a shower, but it ain't as good for a weather like this damn it."

Feeling sympathetic, she says, "Go take a shower, then share everything from start to finish."

"Also, can you call the hotel service for a hot chocolate, please?"

And with that, he headed towards the bathroom.

As Ranran heard the shower turn on, she couldn't help but think. "I hate camping, but damn...what other crappy hell has he and the other children dealt with?!"

But as she waited for Shinichi to finish his shower, she couldn't shake off the feeling that there was more to his story than just bug bites and lack of sleep. She made a mental note to ask him again about what happened at the campsite.

A few minutes later, Shinichi emerged from the bathroom with his clean set of pyjamas he brought along with his spare bag, and a steaming mug of hot chocolate in his hand while Ranran is eating her parfait. He plopped down onto the couch opposite Ranran and took a sip.

"Ah, this is back to my old life," he sighed contentedly.

"Okay, spill the beans," Ranran said, leaning in eagerly. "What really happened at that campsite?"

Shinichi hesitated for a moment before taking a deep breath and starting to recount his ordeal. As he spoke, Ranran listened intently, her eyes widening in disbelief at some parts and narrowing in concern at others.

By the time he finished, she let out a low whistle. "Every 12 am?! Jesus Christ, I knew her fear of the supernatural is bad, but damn...I would slap her if it were me!"

"Oh, you had no idea, Ranran. I was very tempted," Shinichi replied, taking another sip of his hot chocolate.

"And also double damn, sleep in a tent?! I rather die than live like that. Oh, wait," It then occurs to Ranran, "I am pretty sure Takuma was more than happy, right? He always loves fishing."

"Just that part, but that is about it. He too was complaining about the bugs and the weather," Shinichi said with a chuckle before deciding to ask, "Now that you have caught up on everything, would you mind answering me how are you, a 6-year-old, is able to afford to check into a penthouse in the middle of nowhere?!"

"Ah, that!" Ranran almost forgot about it, before grinning, "Well, I owed it to my earlier days as The Fox."

"Eh!?" He almost spilt his drink.

"When I was 3, during my apprenticeship days, the clients who consisted of nobles and royals had to pay fees before we began services. Either they pay with money upfront or offer a skillset that would benefit our revenge online agency. One of our client's family owns multiple chains of the hotel around the world, so happens that they recently opened a new one, which covers this island. So it was all expenses covered for 2 weeks by the client."

Shinichi looked at Ranran with a mix of surprise and admiration. "You were quite the entrepreneur even at 3 years old," he said, impressed. "And to think that it's all thanks to your training at The Fox."

Ranran nodded, feeling proud of herself. "Yes, it was tough, but it paid off. I learned a lot during my time there, and it has helped me in many ways."

"And yet, you didn't bother to tell me any of this!" Shinichi had a nerve grown around his forehead, "I was bitten by bugs, forced to sleep in a small tent for several days, didn't have a good shower while dealing with bad weather...and yet here you are enjoying life while I was forced to deal with Ran's screams every 12 am!"

"In the first place, you never asked," Ranran replied with a smirk before adding, "Also, my client made it clear that they will not be paying for anyone I bring in, in case I bring in a group of leeches to suck their money dry."

Shinichi let out a sigh, feeling defeated. "I guess that's fair," he said. "But still, it would have been nice to have some luxury after all that roughing it in the wilderness." Almost forgetting something, he then asked, "Neh Ranran, since you have been here for several days, did you dig up anything about Eiji's death?"

"So far, none," Ranran admitted as she revealed, "I contacted the rest of the association members earlier, and any social media Eiji had was removed abruptly. In addition," Ranran suddenly remembers, "I told them to dig up anything about Eiji and Kodama Forest camp, and then I learn this camp was newly opened prior for a month before we joined in. The number of people reported gave it average reviews due to 'haunting events'."

"Haunting events?" Shinichi repeated eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Mostly ghost sightings, I give you an example," Fishing out her phone, she reads out a 3* review, 'Went on the Kodama Forest camping trip and had an interesting experience. During one of the 'hunting events,' we encountered a strange apparition that seemed to be following us. We managed to capture some recordings and a few photos of the entity. Definitely a spooky experience, but would recommend it for thrill-seekers.'"

Ranran then scrolls through another review, "This one is from a mother who came with 3 to 8-year-old kids, 1* review. "'Absolutely terrible experience. The so-called 'hunting events' were terrifying, and not suitable for young children. My kids were traumatized, and we had to leave early. To top it off, the campsite was poorly maintained, and we had to deal with bugs and other pests all night. Would not recommend this campsite to anyone.'"

Shinichi leaned back in his seat, deep in thought. "Interesting. So it seems like this campsite has a reputation for paranormal activity," It then suddenly dawns on him, "You know, when we were out pitching out tents every 12 am, Ran was screaming that she claims she sees a ghost." Shinichi's eyes widened as she realized the connection. And then she kept insisting that the ghost was following her. I thought she was just scared because she was making things up. What if...what if that person who is impersonating a ghost was the same killer who killed Eiji? The same person who cut the ropes?"

Ranran nodded in agreement. "It definitely would make sense. It also probably explains why Eiji's social media accounts vanished."

"Eh!?"

"I overheard him talking to sensei while showing off his social media accounts back at the bus, so I decided to check about his username. Before the accounts were deleted and before Eiji died, I browse through the photos of typical mountain climbing instructors such as him leading a group of climbers up a mountain or rocky terrain, and shots of the instructor demonstrating climbing techniques and equipment. Nothing out of the ordinary. Till I remembered seeing a photo taken at his previous work with the name of the company behind him, which I later had Michio contacted the place, but they insist there was no one by the name of Eiji who works with them."

"What!? That makes things even stranger," Shinichi frowned. "How is it that the company claimed they didn't have Eiji working for them? Unless he applied for the job using a fake identity."

Ranran nodded, "That's what I was thinking too. It's possible that Eiji was using a fake name and identity, which would explain why the company had no record of him. And if he was using a fake identity, it's possible that he had a hidden motive for being here."

Shinichi rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "So we have a killer who may be posing as a ghost and a victim who may have been using a fake identity. This case is getting more and more complicated."

Ranran nodded in agreement, "And to add to that, do you remember seeing an instructor named Kagetora Kiryu erased before being replaced by Eiji's name for the rock climbing event? I had the members look into it, and he supposedly died after the shower unit he was using exploded, which burned him to death. The odd part, while everyone was investigating this, was...this shower unit model isn't prone to exploding."

Shinichi's eyes widened in shock. "What? That's a horrible way to go." He paused, deep in thought. "Kagetora's death and Eiji's murder...I wonder if there was any connection between the two?"

"The only ties they have is that only seemed to come out of Jun's mouth," Ranran then recounted to Shinichi a conversation she overheard that night while on the way to retrieving her PS vita between Miki and Jun.

"Besides their marriage woes...." With Shinichi putting the finished hot chocolate on the table, he folded his arms, "Sinning leading to them getting punished because of the deaths surrounding it...I am starting to wonder if either Miki committed a murder but Jun covered up for him?"

"It didn't sound like it," Ranran doubts, putting away her empty cup of parfait, "Jun accused Miki of murdering Eiji and Kiryu, including another individual named Kichiro. Full of hatred and vindictiveness towards Miki...it didn't sound like someone who will cover up a crime, even though he is her husband."

Shinichi nodded slowly, "That's true. I mean judging how volatile she is...it wouldn't even be a surprise if she falsely accused him."

"Another thing was the 'she' the two keep bringing up," Ranran noted, "Miki sounded very defensive over the fact that whoever this 'she' is to Jun, that 'she' is an enemy of hers regardless."

"Who is 'she' do you think Jun was referring to...could it be Miki's secret mistress, Rika?"

"Eh!?" It was Ranran's turn to grow startled, "Rika the horse instructor? You saw them having an affair behind her back or anything?"

"Neither of us did, but Takuma mentioned he could tell that Rika had those lovey-dovey eyes all over Miki, even though he is married to Jun."

"But did Miki respond back?"

"Not that Takuma noticed, Miki's eyes are solely focused on Jun and no one else," He shrugs, crossing his fingers, "I feel like if we can get to the bottom of who is this 'she', the case would eventually break wide open."

"And uh...there is one more thing I need to bring up," Ranran played him a video before handing it to him, where she sees his eyes grow big when a mysterious figure was going through her bag while everyone was away from the activity centre.

Shinichi's eyes widened as he watched the video. "Who is that?" he asked, rewinding the video and watching it again.

"I have no idea," Ranran admitted. "I've never seen that person before. But he or she stole some of the meds I brought over for our trip. Mostly painkillers."

Shinichi studied the video carefully, trying to see if he could recognize anything about the figure. "It's hard to tell anything from this video," he said finally. "But I do think it's important. Whoever that is, I had a suspicion this person as well as the guy who kept scaring Ran as the ghost, as well as whoever did this to Eiji and blew up the shower unit which killed Kiryu....everything points back to the same person."

Ranran nodded in agreement. "Yes, it's definitely possible. But the question is, who is this person and what is their motive?"

Shinichi sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I wish I knew," he said. "We need more information."

Ranran thought for a moment. "Well, we know that Eiji was using a fake identity, so I had Michio get Genzo to see if he can find out who he really was. That might give us some leads. I also had Emiko and Junko to looked into Yasuo Miki and Yasuo Jun's background check, hopefully, it gives us something to work on."

"I see...." Then Shinichi pressed, "Did you all discover anything else about Kodama campsite?"

"Since the campsite is still fairly new, we didn't really have much to work on." Ranran shook her head. "But I have a feeling that there might be more to this than meets the eye. 3 dead people are involved in something....how on earth are they linked?"

Seeing that time is late, Ranran stood up from her seat, "Well, I am heading to bed and continue the meeting with them tomorrow around 10 am. Are you heading back to the campsite with the horse you stole?

"Sorry, not happening," He groaned, "I am really exhausted from the lack of sleep, all thanks to Mouri Ran's screaming that there is a ghost every 12 am. I am sleeping in this penthouse"

Ranran chuckled, "Fair enough."

As Ranran left the living room, he called out, "Ranran. About the laptop, you are using to interact with the other members...could you lend it to me?"

Ranran turned around, surprised. "Sure, but why do you need it?"

"I need to monitor the progress of the investigation, after having no Wi-fi for several days while you were at the penthouse while I was at the campsite...I would be slacking if I don't know how far all of you had discussed before tomorrow's meeting."

Ranran nodded in understanding. "Of course, I understand. I'll leave it on the desk for you." She headed towards her room to fish out the laptop to Shinichi and place it on the desk, "Get some sleep, it is 1:45 am now."

Shinichi nodded gratefully. "Thanks, Ranran. I'll make sure to catch up on some sleep tonight." He watched as she left the room before turning his attention to the laptop on the desk. He opened it up and started to scroll through the messages from the other members, catching up on everything that had happened since he had last been online.

As he read through the messages and video recordings of the meetings, he couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. "Man, how far behind I am in this investigation?"

Shinichi rubbed his eyes and continued to read, trying to catch up as much as he could. The more he read, the more he realized just how complex this case was. There were so many different leads and suspects to investigate, and it seemed like every time they made progress, something else would pop up to throw them off.

The case was getting more complicated by the minute, and he had a feeling that things were only going to get worse before they got better.

He decided to make a list of all the leads they had so far and try to organize them in a way that made sense. As he typed away on the laptop, he felt a sense of clarity starting to emerge. It was as if the act of organizing everything had helped him see the bigger picture.

Finally, after half an hour of reading and typing, Shinichi felt satisfied with his progress. He closed the laptop and stretched, feeling his muscles loosen up. "Time to get some sleep," he muttered to himself as he headed towards one of the bedrooms.

As he lay in bed, his mind raced with all the information he had learned. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something they were missing, some key piece of information that would tie everything together. But for now, he knew he needed to rest and recharge for the next day's meeting.

With that thought, Shinichi closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

......................................

Fast forward to today, things brought them to this moment, "Shinichi, I am surprised that you were able to keep track of all of the things we have previously discussed." Emiko was impressed, after hearing the story of how Shinichi tracked down Ranran, let alone, was able to keep track of the investigation pretty quickly on her computer.

Now at the luxurious restaurant, the meeting between the members of Tantei Association members continues. "I have my ways, anyway, anything about Miki and Jun?" 

"Ah yes, this one is based on rumours, but it was unexpected," With Junko shuffling the files, she collectively reads out, "I tracked down the university they used to study...tell me, guys, what do you all think of when you hear the name Midori no Daigaku University?"

Shinichi raised an eyebrow. "Midori no Daigaku (University of Greenery) University? That's a prestigious school, known for its advocating the environment seriously."

Junko nodded in agreement. "Yes, that's correct. But according to some rumours I found, Yasuo Miki and Yasuo Jun were involved in an incident that took place on campus. Apparently, before they married, Itsuki Jun, before taking in her husband's surname, she used to have a fiance that ain't Miki."

Ranran leaned forward, intrigued. "A fiance? Who?"

Junko flipped through the files before finding the relevant document. "His name was Nakamura Kichiro. He was a student at Midori no Daigaku as well, studying environmental engineering. According to witnesses, he and Jun were deeply in love and were planning to get married after graduation."

"Eh!? Kichiro!?" Both Ranran and Shinichi reacted in unison.

Junko nodded. "Yes, I guess this must be the Kichiro you've all been searching for."

Ranran decided to fire more questions,  "So what happened? Why did Jun end up with Miki? Is it because they broke their own engagement? Or the marriage fell apart? Or-"

"No, he died doing their post-graduation programme. They haven't even walked down the aisle yet at that time."

"Eh!?" Another ear-piercing united voice blasted through the laptop at Tantei Association HQ, which made Michio, Emiko and Junko wince.

Junko nodded solemnly. "Yes, it seems that Nakamura Kichiro died during their post-graduation program in South America in Argentina. According to the reports, he fell off a cliff during an expedition, Jun was there at that time, devastated by his death and never been herself since."

 "That's awful," she said quietly. "But what about Miki? How did he fit into all of this?"

Junko flipped through the files again. "It seems that Yasuo Miki and Itsuki Jun studied the same course as Kichiro, the same year at Midori no Daigaku, and the three of them became close friends. After Kichiro passed away......Miki was there to console Jun and was there for her when she needed someone to lean on. They eventually fell in love and got married. But..."

"....but what?" Shinichi prompted her to continue.

"There have been rumours even before Miki got married to Jun. Some people at the university were suspicious of their relationship and believed that Miki was just taking advantage of Jun's vulnerable state. But there's no concrete evidence to support this theory. Also...."Junko frowns, "There have also been rumours that Jun may have been forced to marry Miki."

Ranran frowned, "Forced to marry him? What do you mean?"

Junko shrugged, "I'm not entirely sure, but apparently... some people believe that Miki is allegedly from a rich family, that they manipulated or coerced Jun into marrying him after finding out she is single. Apparently, Miki had a crush on her, but it appears Kichiro took the step first. When he swore to his parents that he will not marry anyone but Jun, rumours spread that his family organized Kichiro to die during the expedition so that their son would marry Jun."

Shinichi leaned back in his chair, processing all the information. "This is a lot to take in. So, it's possible that Miki's family had a hand in Kichiro's death, just to make sure that Miki could marry Jun?"

"But that is a lot of effort just to marry their son, even if he were from a rich family....usually what they normally do is sent their son overseas or to a boarding school. Not go and take extreme lengths to marry someone who has recently loved a fiance she loves dearly." Ranran then asked them over the laptop, "Is Jun's family rich? Which would make sense why they do so."

"No, they ain't. Which makes things strange," Junko confirmed. "From what I found, Jun's family is also from a poor family like Kichiro. Jun's family has more to gain than Miki's since they are now married."

"There are other circumstances that could have led them to do this to her," Shinichi crossed his fingers, "I may not know what is it now, but certain rumours have an ounce of truth."

"But to be honest, if Miki's family is from a rich family....his surname Yasuo...do we know of any rich family with the surname Yasuo?" Emiko had her pencil poked on her chin thoughtfully.

"That would be difficult," Shinichi replied. "There could be many rich families with the surname Yasuo in Japan, but it would be difficult to pinpoint a specific one without more information."

"It's worth looking into," Ranran said. "There must be something that made two people who had no romantic interest towards the other be stuck in a loveless marriage, and I had seen it myself a lot personally back in the U.K."

"Agreed," Emiko nodded. "We should keep investigating and gather more information before jumping to any conclusions. I'll dig around and see if I can find any information on rich families with the surname Yasuo or any other possible leads later on."

"Thank you, Emiko," Shinichi smiled. "We appreciate your help."

With everyone on board, they continued their investigation into the mysterious marriage between Jun and Miki. 

But while the investigation is progressing, they had no idea of the hell that awaits back at Kodama Forest camp.

............................................

After an hour or so after a beautiful horse-tracking expedition, the children of 1-A were exhausted but filled with joy. They had ridden through fields and forests, across rivers and hills, and the wind in their hair had made them feel free and alive.

Their newly amazed substitute form teacher, Arima-sensei, was too mesmerized by the beauty of nature to notice the time passing by. She had always lived in the city and had never experienced anything like this before. The mountains, the trees, the animals, everything was so beautiful and peaceful. She felt as if she was in a dream.

As the group headed back home, they were guided by Rika, the horse instructor. 

And so far, Takuma who is used to being popular as an athlete was able to strike up a friendship with the woman to investigate the case as Shinichi instructed, "You seemed to love horses a lot, Miss Rika."

"I can't help it, it is the only few things that made me happy, besides my childhood crush."

"Eh!?" Reina, Takuma's girlfriend who was with him asked, "You have a childhood boyfriend?"

'No, crush. I don't even have that courage to say those words," Rika corrected in disappointment, towards herself more while staring up into the skies while their horses trotted, "I met him when I was around the lowest point of my life," Rika said, her voice soft and wistful. "I lived with a single mother growing up, my tousan died not long at that time due to illness when I was 6, in a work accident. My mother who couldn't accept this ended up relocating as a result, which meant I lost all of the friends that I have made years ago."

Takuma listened intently to Rika's story, his eyes widening with sympathy. He had never heard someone talk so openly about their past before. Rika continued, 

"From someone who used to live in the countryside and then later transition to a life in the city, I couldn't accept it and desperately wanted to move back. Kids used to taunt me at that time since I had a bit of a funny country accent at that time before I outgrew it, I couldn't understand what was so nice about the city that my mom would simply move me away. I hated her so much and demanded she let me live with my paternal grandmother at that time who was still alive, but she always said no because I would end up burdening her. But I felt like she was a liar. Because we would always argue endlessly without fail, even to the point when the door slammed, she never let me go back to the countryside which was my hometown. I hated her, hated the kids in my school, and everyone around me."

Takuma remained quiet, couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose everything and feel so alone. He knew how it felt, but relocating is another, "I know a friend like that." Reina thinks.

"You do?"

Thinking about Ranran, Reina says, "She lost a friend 2 years ago through a murder, her parents moved her here and refused to let her remain there. Even to this day, she feels very resentful towards them."

Rika nodded, "How old is she?"

"Same age as us, 6 years old," Reina answers.

"6..."Rika paused, "That meant she was only 4 when it happened. Must have been traumatic."

"Oh, you had no idea...."Reina didn't want to share anything about Ranran's dark past, it was too horrifying and mind-boggling, it ain't a surprise that Ranran has become cold and calculative. But by chance, it was a miracle that Ranran didn't become a villain, especially after all of the hell hole she had dealt with.

Seeing that glimpse image of Ranran's eyes becoming soulless utterly sent chills to Reina.

"One day, I met him when my mom took me to horse therapy."

"Eh? What is horse therapy?" Takuma blinked while asking.

Rika smiled, "It's a type of therapy that uses horses to make people happy."

"Wow, I've never heard of that before," Takuma said, impressed.

"It was a life-changing experience for me," Rika continued. "When I met him, he too was one of the kids who was seeking this therapy as I was. He was so kind and patient with the horses, and I was fascinated by his ability to communicate with them. I started to visit him regularly and would watch him work with the horses. He eventually taught me how to ride, and it was one of the happiest moments of my life."

Takuma smiled, happy to see Rika's face light up with joy as she talked about her childhood crush.

"But I never told him how I felt," Rika said, her voice tinged with regret.

"Why? Is it because you fear that he made fun of you and cut all ties with you?" Reina thinks.

"Oh no no, he ain't like that," Rika dismisses the little girl, "When we reunited in middle school, he had many fangirl mails and Valentine cholates, but he always turned them down nicely, which made him a cool kid who is very respectful with women."

"Then...what happened?"

"Originally, I felt like I wanted to have my feelings sorted out till we end up at the same university. But then...." With her voice tinged with regret, she revealed, "He fell for a taken woman."

Takuma and Reina exchanged a surprised glance. They didn't expect the story to take such a turn.

Rika continued, "I didn't know it at first, but when I found out, it was like a punch in the gut. I didn't blame him, though. He couldn't help who he fell in love with. But it still hurt."

"Wait, by taken...is she married?" The first person that comes to Takuma's mind was Miki's wife, Jun.

"No," Rika shook her head, "She was engaged to someone at that time. But then the fiance died, so when she became single...anyway, surprisingly, they married within a month after the guy passed away."

Reina and Takuma were stunned, how does....seriously!?

"A month!?" Takuma covered his mouth with his hand, "How does...how does one marry someone after losing the one person who love her deeply dies within a month!?"

"Am I even hearing this right?!" Even Reina was taken aback by this information, for she could not even foresee herself doing that if she ever breaks up with Takuma. And she is certain he feels the same.

"It was a shock to everyone," Rika said, "But I think she just needed someone to cling to during her grief, and he was there for her. I don't know if it was love or not, but I felt like he didn't deserve her."

"In what way? Did she mistreat him?" Takuma found himself asking.

"Oh yes, in many ways unimaginable." Rika clicked her head in disapproval thinking about it, "While they were dating...every single thing that never goes her way, she always belittled his efforts. When he bought her flowers, she complained that they weren't her favourite colour. When he took her out to dinner, she criticized the restaurant he chose. It was always something with her to find fault in Miki, and nothing he do could ever make her happy. During their wedding, she was busy making comments to her family and friends about how she settled for him because he was only good to her, and how she wished she could have married the fiance who died. I remembered at one time, she even made him apologize for things he didn't even do wrong, just to satisfy her ego. Even the recent business venture they settled on recently..."

Rika refrained at first, but she then ambiguously said, "They wanted to open this particular company not long ago which I won't name what it does, but all I can say was the wife wanted it to be open somewhere isolated away from civilization."

"That's terrible," Reina gasped.

"She sounds like a pain," Takuma didn't sound pleased listening to this, feeling frustrated before pressing, "Did you not tell him to divorce her?"

"....the thing is..." Rika sighed deeply, "I think it wouldn't have made a difference if I did."

And that comment made the two children exchange quiet looks.