Tokyo: Are you even a proper lawyer?

Masashi Akiyama ignored Rieko Uchida's words.

He walked directly to a park bench and took out his old-fashioned smartphone from his suit pocket. He propped the phone up on the wooden bench.

"Please move over a little."

Rieko Uchida looked up in bewilderment, meeting Akiyama's calm, expressionless eyes behind his glasses.

She instinctively obeyed the instruction, taking two steps to the left and standing in the dappled sunlight filtering through the bamboo leaves.

Masashi Akiyama nodded and stopped two steps away from her.

"Masashi Akiyama," he said, pointing to himself and introducing himself briefly.

"Ah? Ah, I'm Rieko Uchida..."

"Nice to meet you."

A brief silence.

Uchida's fingers gripped the hem of her skirt tightly, her knuckles turning white. The cartoon bandage on her knee stood out starkly in the light.

"So, why did Fukuda Ayakako specifically keep you here?"

Uchida suddenly raised his head, his eyes widening.

How did you know?

"It's not hard to guess. Suddenly bringing a group of people and leaving you and me, strangers, alone while everyone else left, it's clearly a deliberate attempt to create a space for solitude."

He chuckled briefly. "Is Fukuda trying to embarrass me?"

Rieko Uchida stood frozen in place.

Fukuda did indeed give her an ultimatum this morning: "You have to teach that lawyer a lesson! Otherwise..."

From junior high to high school, she had seen too many people who disobeyed Fukuda and what they ended up with.

But this man in front of her had helped her on the street yesterday.

Dilemma.

If we don't do as Fukuda says...

Rieko Uchida suddenly shivered.

She bit her lower lip, her fingers trembling as she raised them to rest on the first button of her uniform shirt.

The metal buttons were cold.

As long as you untie it, as long as you open the collar, as long as—

I advise you not to.

Masashi Akiyama's voice was like a bucket of cold water poured over his head.

Rieko Uchida's fingers froze in mid-air.

She looked up and saw Akiyama tapping his chin on the phone on the bench.

"You don't think I just left my phone there to give it a comfortable place, do you?"

"The video recording function is already on. Our every move is being recorded."

He paused, looking at Rieko Uchida's suddenly pale face.

"So whatever you're going to do, you'd better think carefully about the consequences. Didn't Fukuda tell you that even she herself has suffered at my hands?"

This person, this person...

Rieko Uchida took a half step back, her heels crunching softly on the fallen leaves.

"But...but if I can't do it..." Her voice trembled, "Fukuda will..."

That's your problem.

Masashi Akiyama interrupted her.

He walked to the bench, picked up his phone, and confirmed that the red recording icon on the screen was still flashing.

"All I need to do is ensure my safety and innocence."

Rieko Uchida stared at him blankly.

She could hardly reconcile the image of the cold, almost cruel man before her with the figure who had knelt by the street last night, carefully cleaning her wounds.

Just as she was about to say something...

"Ugh~ I hate you, Akiyama-san."

A sweet, cloying voice came from behind the bamboo grove, trailing off with a long, drawn-out tone.

Ayaka Fukuda emerged from behind a dense clump of bamboo, followed by a group of girls.

"I thought you'd give me some interesting shots~"

Fukuda waved the pink smartphone in his hand.

The body of the device was covered with rhinestones and cartoon stickers, which reflected a cheap and dazzling light in the sunlight.

She turned the screen towards Akiyama, where the recording interface was displayed. Clearly, they had been secretly filming since earlier.

"Isn't Uchida cute enough?"

"Fukuda-san," Akiyama rubbed his temples, "if you've asked me to meet just to play this kind of silly prank, then I'll consider whether it's necessary to continue accepting your meeting requests."

The air suddenly froze.

Fukuda's smile froze.

"How indifferent~"

A girl with flaxen hair standing next to Fukuda spoke up.

"Fukuda, didn't you say this top lawyer was completely infatuated with you? But it doesn't seem like that at all to me!"

"Shut up, Reiko."

Fukuda's voice turned cold. She

He didn't look at the girl named Reiko, but stared at Akiyama Masashi as he approached step by step.

Then she suddenly turned around and stood in front of Rieko Uchida.

Uchida instinctively tried to back away, but Fukuda's hand was faster than hers—

“Pah!”

The crisp sound of slapping echoed through the bamboo grove.

A red, swollen handprint quickly appeared on Rieko Uchida's cheek.

She covered her face, her eyes instantly reddening, but she bit her lower lip, afraid to cry out.

Fukuda grabbed Uchida's chin, forcing her to lift her head, his nails digging deep into Uchida's skin.

"I knew it." Ayakako Fukuda looked at Rieko Uchida's swollen face and smiled. "She's cuter like this now."

She released her grip, turned to face Masashi Akiyama, and waved casually.

"Akiyama-san, what's about to happen is not something a gentleman should see. You can leave now."

"Fukuda-san is truly unscrupulous."

Akiyama fiddled with the old-fashioned cell phone in his hand.

"There's nothing I can do about it~" Fukuda turned around and gave Akiyama a bright smile.

"It's because Akiyama-san doesn't like me. Since he doesn't like me, he doesn't deserve my kindness."

She paused, then gently touched her lips with her finger, making a shushing gesture.

She spoke clearly, word by word:

"Since you've already taken money from our family, why don't you just be a good, obedient dog?"

She moved her finger away from her lips and pointed at Masashi Akiyama.

"Keep it a secret, Akiyama-san."

Just then, the light gray light screen reappeared before Masashi Akiyama's eyes.

[Ayaka Fukuda: Seriously, he embarrassed himself in front of Reiko again. What's wrong with Masashi Akiyama? And Rieko Uchida, she can't even handle this little thing, what a waste! Well, whatever, I guess I'll have to rely on her for some fun from now on. Let me think, should I strip her naked and record a video to upload? Or should I have her scam some pocket money from those greasy old men? Either way, it seems like I'm letting her off easy! Ugh, so annoying, someone please think of something more fun!]

[Can converge world lines]

[Fork in the road 1: Listen to Ayaka Fukuda and just walk away. You are her lawyer, and if your client causes a scandal before the trial, it will be detrimental to your chances of winning, so don't worry about it anymore, just leave. (Reward: Become Ayaka Fukuda's dog. Ayaka Fukuda will trample you underfoot, crushing your face and dignity, but you should be very happy, right?)]

[Branch Two: Not only do you not leave, you even want to join. The painful expression on a beautiful girl's face when she's injured, her cowardly tearful appearance, her trembling body and inability to resist... just imagining it makes your blood boil. What's more, now there's an opportunity for you? (Bonus: Some restricted videos on Ayaka Fukuda's phone)]

[Branch 3: Of course you'll leave, but you choose to take Rieko Uchida with you. A woman as awful as Ayaka Fukuda isn't worth your energy and effort. It's time to teach her the consequences of messing with you; mere disgrace isn't enough. (Reward: An unknown private law firm)]