Chapter 205 - Truth and Reality 128 {156 Solo} (370-371 "Jinsei Gekijo" Playing from the Car Radio)
How much time had passed since then? It was probably only a few minutes, but at a time that still felt like an unbelievable interval, the Boss suddenly raised his face and looked at Nishida and Yoshimura. At this time, Nishida aside, Yoshimura still had his face down, so he didn't notice. However, perhaps Yoshimura just couldn't look the Boss in the face, thinking he had said too much.
The Boss's eyes were clearly bloodshot, but his tears had already stopped, and surprisingly, he looked refreshed. Then—
"What should I do after this?"
He opened his mouth.
"As I said earlier, I've heard from Masamitsu himself that he has no particular desire for punishment. However, unlike a crime prosecutable only upon complaint where it can't be treated as a crime unless the victim reports the damage, now that it's out in the open, with this amount... Anyway, now that it's come to this, I want you to turn yourself in."
Nishida spoke calmly.
"Turn myself in?"
Hearing that, the Boss took a blatantly suspicious attitude and—
"By when do I have to do it?"
He asked somewhat sulkily.
"Naturally, as soon as possible if possible, but since you probably have various things you need to finish, within a few days at the latest..."
Nishida also replied flatly.
"I see. ...But, since I also want to settle my affairs as much as possible, I really need one to two months. Is that okay?"
At the unexpected words from the Boss's mouth, Yoshimura, who had been looking down until then, suddenly raised his face.
"Hey, Boss, what are you saying! Turning yourself in is only truly established by confessing before the police find out you're a criminal. In a case like this where it's become clear through a police investigation, it's merely treated as a surrender, and there's almost no possibility of a sentence reduction. Normally, we would have to arrest you! Even so, we're trying to somehow treat it as a voluntary surrender at the very limit, so what's with that mistaken attitude!"
Yoshimura, who had been dejected until just before, had his anger ignited again, but given the Boss's words and actions, it couldn't be helped. Even Nishida—
"It's true that encouraging you to turn yourself in is the maximum consideration we can give you. To be honest, even that couldn't be denied if it were called a mistake considering a police officer's duty. That's exactly why, if you're reflecting on the meaning of what you've done, please go to the Engaru Station as soon as possible. That is the earnest wish of me and Yoshimura, I want you to understand."
In a sense, he could only plead.
However, even to Nishida's further persuasion—
"No matter what you say, there's the shop, and there are mountains of things I have to settle! If you don't like it, I can only say arrest me."
He made a statement that wouldn't be an exaggeration to call defiant.
"Boss! Enough already!"
As expected, Yoshimura struck the low table with his fist and protested strongly, but Nishida restrained him and—
"Anyway, please turn yourself in as soon as possible. That's the only way left for you now."
Saying that, he stood up abruptly. Then, to Yoshimura—
"Let's go."
He ordered shortly without looking back and started heading quickly toward the entrance.
Yoshimura followed him, shouting—
"What are you saying, Section Chief Assistant!? Is this okay!? Hey!"
But since Nishida kept walking toward the entrance without reacting, he had no choice but to follow while clicking his tongue. Meanwhile, Nishida put on his shoes at the entrance and left the house immediately without any hesitation. Yoshimura managed to follow him, and Nishida got into the car with an expressionless face, while Yoshimura was quite irritated. And then they started on their way back.
From then on, they just drove the car toward Rubeshibe in silence on Route 242, where it was already starting to get dark near 4:00 PM, making them feel the early sunset of an autumn day.
However, Yoshimura himself wasn't driving in total silence the whole time. For a while after starting the engine and driving off, Yoshimura had spoken to Nishida a few times in a shouting tone, saying things like "What are you going to do with this!", but because Nishida remained unresponsive the whole time, Yoshimura had eventually fallen completely silent. And perhaps unable to bear the atmosphere in the car, Yoshimura had turned on the radio on his own without getting permission from Nishida.
As for Nishida, he didn't particularly mention Yoshimura's action either, and was just looking at the unchanging scenery of the mountains with the autumn leaves in their final stages. But to be honest, it could be said that he had just lost sight of himself, let alone the words he should say to Yoshimura.
Certainly, the Boss's attitude was not one that a person who had deeply repented should take, and Yoshimura's anger was natural. Even so, Nishida had no other means than to encourage him to turn himself in. In the end, he just didn't want to arrest the Boss if possible. It could be called a "flight" from the Boss's house as a form of escapism.
Between the two awkward men, the audio from the radio continued to flow lazily, but as for what kind of program it was, Nishida was initially in a state of "his mind being elsewhere" and didn't understand it at all. However, as he listened, he understood it was a typical talk show where they read letters from listeners and developed stories, and if there were requested songs, they would play them—a truly ordinary of ordinary structures. Considering the day of the week and the time slot, he idly listened, thinking it was probably a program for housewives or adults listening while working rather than for young people.
"The next letter is from Mr. Carbey in Hakodate? It says, 'I always enjoy listening to this with my customers at the hair salon where I work.' Well, well, thank you very much! 'It's a personal matter, but I've become engaged to my boyfriend and we're going to have a ceremony next spring.' Oh! Congratulations! You must be in the midst of happiness right now. And, um, 'However, his mother doesn't seem to think very well of me, and to be honest, I'm worried about whether I can get along well in a mother-in-law relationship in the future.' I see. That's certainly a bit concerning... 'I've heard that Kura-san is married, but from the husband's perspective, do you really care if the relationship between the wife and mother-in-law isn't good? He only tells me it'll work out eventually... Please give me some advice if you have any.' Yes, yes. In my case, my wife and my mother were relatively friendly from the start, so I didn't have to worry about this kind of problem at all—"
He seemed to be of a certain age, but the light narrative style of the DJ named "Kura-san" and the broadcast content were so far removed from the situation the two were in that the car entered Ikutahara town in an indescribable atmosphere. Naturally, the program proceeded as it was, without caring about such things at all.
"Next is an email from... Mr. Mizukami in Kitami. It just arrived here a moment ago. 'Several decades have passed since my retirement, and while I often have too much time on my hands, I have encountered this program and made it a temporary pleasure.' Oh! It seems to be from a great senior. Thank you very much for your courtesy! As someone broadcasting, nothing makes me happier than to hear that. However, if I may say so, it's truly symbolic of the IT era that such an elderly person would send a letter to the program by email... And the continuation is, 'Now, in looking back on my life, it has been nothing but things that didn't go as I hoped, and even now, it has been a life full of regrets.' Haha. Well, even for me, who's nearly 50, I'm always thinking every day that I should have done this or that, so for such a great senior of life, well, there must be many things he thinks about... And, 'Also, if it were simply a matter of things not going my way, I could accept that as unavoidable as long as I'm out in society, but there were also times when I let things that a person shouldn't compromise on remain ambiguous, just going along with the atmosphere of the place. Even back then, I thought it was best to stand my ground when I should, regardless of whether I clashed with those around me, but when it came to execution, it was quite difficult.' I see, this is truly a difficult problem. Constraints, human relationships, and things that can't be easily overcome by individual conscience or thoughts will come up... Once you become a member of society, regardless of age, everyone probably has these kinds of worries... 'For a small citizen like me, my fight song for life was Murata Hideo's "Jinsei Gekijo." When he sang with that powerful voice that seemed to resonate from the bottom of his gut, [If duty is discarded, this world is darkness], I thought "That's right, that's right," but it's also true that I became disgusted with my own pathetic reality. That Murata Hideo also passed away in June of this year (Author's Note: Passed away June 13, 2002. Aged 73), and singers who can sing about a man's way of life have almost disappeared, which is lonely for an old man. For my sake, I would be happy if you could play "Jinsei Gekijo" on the program.' Hmm, that's right. Murata Hideo-san has passed away... For a star who represented the Showa era, a great singer, to disappear, even for someone my age, there's a sense of loneliness. I understand! Then, in response to the request, please listen to Murata Hideo's "Jinsei Gekijo"!"
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Murata Hideo "Jinsei Gekijo" (The video that was linked in the main story seems to have been deleted due to copyright issues, so I will link to another video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zfLpTMxv04
(Author's Note: "Kira no Nikichi" mentioned in the song is a person who was active as a sworn brother of the famous "Shimizu Jirocho."
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%89%E8%89%AF%E3%81%AE%E4%BB%81%E5%90%89
Also, the bearded old man who appears in the video is Koga Masao, a famous composer who was said to be the man for Showa songs and also composed "Jinsei Gekijo.")
Furthermore, "Jinsei Gekijo" itself was already released and became a hit in Showa 13 (1938) by a pre-war singer named "Kusunoki Shigeo," and the Murata Hideo version (released in 1959) is itself a cover. However, it seems it became a full-fledged hit around 1962. Sato Sounosuke, who wrote the lyrics for this song, had already passed away in 1952 (it's improper to say it's fortunate, but the copyright issue regarding the "lyrics" has been cleared by this).
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The two had been listening in silence as before, but almost at the same time the song was cut off in the middle by the DJ, Yoshimura pulled the car over to the sidewalk in the center of Ikutahara town and stopped while slowly slowing down.
"What's wrong!?"
Nishida questioned while keeping his gaze away from Yoshimura. To the superior's natural question, the subordinate replied—
"Is the Section Chief Assistant okay with this?"
He said in a low voice, also keeping his gaze toward the windshield, ignoring the context.
"Okay with this?"
When Nishida repeated the other's phrase and asked—
"About the Boss,"
He said bluntly.
"Sigh... That's why I told him to turn himself in, right?"
Nishida let out a sigh and argued back inanely this time while looking at Yoshimura.
"Even if we do as the Boss says, where on earth is that turning himself in! It's true that at the point where we're encouraging him to turn himself in, it's not turning himself in in the true sense. However, even so, we're not doing it to let him take his time as he says. In other words, it's like a last-minute samurai's mercy, right? A few days is the limit for waiting. If we allow more than that, it'll become a self-denial of what we've done so far!"
Unlike before, he appealed strongly while looking directly into Nishida's eyes.